Atmospheric Concentration of CO 2 and PM 2.5 at Salina, Stromboli, and Vulcano Islands (Italy): How Anthropogenic Sources, Ordinary Volcanic Activity and Unrests Affect Air Quality

Paolo Madonia, Marianna Cangemi, Marcello Colajanni and Aldo Winkler
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Paolo Madonia: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Roma 2, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy
Marianna Cangemi: DiSTeM (Department of Earth and Marine Sciences), Università di Palermo, Via Archirafi 36, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Marcello Colajanni: Petrochemical Engineering Consultant, 30033 Dolo, Italy
Aldo Winkler: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Roma 2, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 8, 1-25

Abstract: Geogenic and anthropogenic sources of atmospheric particulate and CO 2 can lead to threats to human health in volcanic areas. Although the volcanic CO 2 hazard is a topic frequently debated in the related scientific literature, space and time distribution of PM 2.5 are poorly known. The results of combined CO 2 /PM 2.5 surveys, carried out at Salina, Stromboli, and Vulcano islands (Aeolian archipelago, Italy) in the years 2020–2021, and integrated with investigations on bioaccumulation of metallic particulate matter by the mean of data on the magnetic properties of oleander leaves, are presented in this work. The retrieved results indicate that no significant anthropogenic sources for both CO 2 and PM 2.5 are active in these islands, at the net of a minor contribution due to vehicular traffic. Conversely, increments in volcanic activity, as the unrest experienced by Vulcano island since the second half of 2021, pose serious threats to human health, due to the near-ground accumulation of CO 2 , and the presence of suspended micro-droplets of condensed hydrothermal vapor, fostering the diffusion of atmophile viruses, such as the COVID-19. Gas hazard conditions can be generated, not only by volcanic vents or fumarolic fields, but also by unconventional sources, such as the outgassing from shallow hydrothermal aquifers through drilled or hand-carved wells.

Keywords: Aeolian Islands; gas hazard; magnetic properties; plant leaves; volcanic ash; volcanic unrest (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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