Mt. Cimone, where the “O. Vittori” atmospheric observatory is located , credits: CNR-ISAC.
A study published in Environmental Research- coordinated by the Institute of Atmospheric Science and Climate (CNR-ISAC) in collaboration with Italian Air Force (CAMM Monte Cimone) and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) – investigated the possibility to use atmospheric observations of methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) from the “O. Vittori” observatory at Mt. Cimone to constraint anthropogenic emissions of CH4, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the Po basin. The study reported differences of estimated yearly emissions with respect to the traditional CH4 “statistical” inventories.
Paolo Cristofanelli (CNR-ISAC, corresponding author) emphasizes the need to consider the information obtained from atmospheric observations to support the quantification of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions: “The diversity of land use in the Po basin makes this region an string contributor to CH4 emissions in Italy and Europe. We have shown that using atmospheric observations for supporting the quantification of anthropogenic emissions from the Po basin is not trivial, and different aspects contributing to the total uncertainty of these emission estimates should be considered. In particular, the spatial representativeness of the measurement site with respect to the target emission region must be accurately assessed. However, we suggested that atmospheric observations from Mt. Cimone can help in monitoring and verifying the CH4 emissions from this key region”.
Mt. Cimone is a class-2 atmospheric site within the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) Research Infrastructure (http://www.icos-ri.eu) and the research was supported by the Joint Research Unit “ICOS Italia”, funded by Ministry of University and Researches (MUR), throughout CNR-DSSTTA and by the project “Progetto nazionale Rafforzamento del Capitale Umano CIR01_00019 – PRO–ICOS–MED “Potenziamento della rete di osservazione ICOS-Italia nel Mediterraneo – Rafforzamento del Capitale Umano” (funded by MUR).
Fratticioli et al. 2023 Environmental Research https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.116343