Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Unimore and ITIS Da Vinci of Carpi: Atmosfera Project for monitoring air quality in Carpi

The students of a 5th class specialising in environmental chemistry at ITIS Da Vinci in Carpi, as part of the ‘Atmosfera’ project sponsored by GARC Ambiente, will conduct a pilot monitoring of air quality in Carpi in collaboration of Unimore, ARPAE and the Municipality of Carpi. The project, developed by the Secondary School, aims to enhance students' skills in experimental air quality monitoring, broadening their educational opportunities. It also includes the dissemination of the results to the local community, focusing on environmental issues, particularly air quality and climate-altering compounds. To support this, the project’s coordinators, Professors Roberto Arletti and Gianluca Bilardi from ITIS Da Vinci, have sought the collaboration of Professor Alessandro Bigi from the Department of Engineering Enzo Ferrari.

Professor Bigi's research group has provided the necessary equipment for students to design and manage a monitoring network for the indicative measurement of nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and ozone (O₃) at four locations in the city of Carpi, in collaboration with and with the approval of the local municipality. This pilot network, which will remain active throughout the project's duration, is based on compact, portable, low-cost sensors from Unimore and is integrated into the ARPAE air quality monitoring network. ARPAE supports the project by supplying validated atmospheric pollutant data, which are crucial for calibrating the portable equipment.

The pilot network will enable students to gain new knowledge about air quality, assess the variability of NOₓ and O₃ concentrations in areas of Carpi where measurements are currently unavailable, and gain hands-on experience with innovative equipment for measuring atmospheric pollutants, as well as understanding the associated instrumental uncertainty.

“The European Environment Agency identifies poor air quality as the leading environmental health risk in the continent, and UNEP (the UN Environment Programme) ranks it as the top global risk. Although air pollutant concentrations have significantly decreased in Europe over the past few decades, there is still work to be done," comments Professor Alessandro Bigi from Unimore. "Most importantly, improving the environment requires both expertise and commitment. The students of ITIS Da Vinci are putting in a lot of effort and are eager to acquire new skills, and we are happy to contribute in any way we can”.

This activity, in line with the collaboration between Unimore and the city of Carpi, is part of the atmospheric monitoring work that Unimore has been conducting for nearly a decade in Italy and across Europe. Using compact/portable research equipment, in partnership with other research institutions and municipalities, the university focuses on studying both pollutant and climate-altering compounds, as well as assessing the exposure of specific categories of workers.

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng