In February 2017 the “Carbonaceous Aerosol in Rome and Environs (CARE)” experiment was carried out in downtown Rome to address the following specific questions: what is the color, size, composition, and toxicity of the carbonaceous aerosol in the Mediterranean urban background area of Rome? The motivation of this experiment is the lack of understanding of what aerosol types are responsible for the severe risks to human health posed by particulate matter (PM) pollution, and how carbonaceous aerosols influence radiative balance. Physicochemical properties of the carbonaceous aerosol were characterised, and relevant toxicological variables assessed. The aerosol characterisation includes: (i) measurements with high time resolution (min to 1–2 h) at a fixed location of black carbon (eBC), elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), particle number size distribution (0.008–10 $\mathsf{\mu }$ m), major non refractory PM₁ components, elemental composition, wavelength-dependent optical properties, and atmospheric turbulence; (ii) 24-h measurements of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 mass concentration, water soluble OC and brown carbon (BrC), and levoglucosan; (iii) mobile measurements of eBC and size distribution around the study area, with computational fluid dynamics modeling; (iv) characterisation of road dust emissions and their EC and OC content. The toxicological assessment includes: (i) preliminary evaluation of the potential impact of ultrafine particles on lung epithelia cells (cultured at the air liquid interface and directly exposed to particles); (ii) assessment of the oxidative stress induced by carbonaceous aerosols; (iii) assessment of particle size dependent number doses deposited in different regions of the human body; (iv) PAHs biomonitoring (from the participants into the mobile measurements). The first experimental results of the CARE experiment are presented in this paper. The objective here is to provide baseline levels of carbonaceous aerosols for Rome, and to address future research directions. First, we found that BC and EC mass concentration in Rome are larger than those measured in similar urban areas across Europe (the urban background mass concentration of eBC in Rome in winter being on average 2.6 ± 2.5 $\mathsf{\mu }$ g · m ${}^{-3}$ , mean eBC at the peak level hour being 5.2 (95% CI = 5.0–5.5) $\mathsf{\mu }$ g · m ${}^{-3}$ ). Then, we discussed significant variations of carbonaceous aerosol properties occurring with time scales of minutes, and questioned on the data averaging period used in current air quality standard for PM ${}_{10}$ (24-h). Third, we showed that the oxidative potential induced by aerosol depends on particle size and composition, the effects of toxicity being higher with lower mass concentrations and smaller particle size. Albeit this is a preliminary analysis, findings reinforce the need for an urgent update of existing air quality standards for PM ${}_{10}$ and PM ${}_{2.5}$ with regard to particle composition and size distribution, and data averaging period. Our results reinforce existing concerns about the toxicity of carbonaceous aerosols, support the existing evidence indicating that particle size distribution and composition may play a role in the generation of this toxicity, and remark the need to consider a shorter averaging period (<1 h) in these new standards.

In 2005 the Study of Stable Boundary Layer Environment at Dome C (STABLEDC) experimental campaign was conducted at the plateau station of Concordia at Dome C, Antarctica. Temperature profiles measured with a microwave radiometer were used to study the characteristics of surface-based temperature inversions over the course of a year. Statistics of temperature profiles for every month are discussed; the difference between daytime and nocturnal cases observed during the summer months disappears during winter. Surface-based temperature inversions occurred in 70 % of the time during summer, and almost all of the time during winter. During winter the occurrence of warming events leads to a decrease in the temperature difference between the top and the base of the inversion (i.e. the inversion strength). The inversion strength maxima ranged between \(3\,^{\circ }\mathrm{C}\) (December) and \(35\,^{\circ }\mathrm{C}\) (August) corresponding to gradients of 0.1 and \(0.3\,^{\circ }\mathrm{C}\, \mathrm{m}^{-1}\) , respectively. The average surface-based inversion height presents a daily cycle during the summer months with values up to 200 m in the morning hours, while it affects a layer always deeper than 100 m during the winter months. The relationships between inversion strength and the downward longwave radiative flux, absolute temperature, and wind speed are examined. The inversion strength decreases as the longwave radiation increases. A clear anti-correlation between inversion strength and near-surface temperature is evident throughout the year. During the winter, the largest inversion strength values were observed under low wind-speed conditions; in contrast, a clear dependence was not found during the summer.

The annual and diurnal behaviours of near surface wind speed, temperature, and the radiative budget at Concordia Station (Dome C) in different seasons are shown. The wind speed was lowest in summer when a daily cycle was also observed. The largest mean values were concurrent with boundary layer growth in the afternoon. In winter and spring the wind speed reached the highest mean values. Perturbations in the wind flow were due to warming events which occurred periodically at Dome C. The lowest temperatures were in April and at the end of August. The coreless winter behaviour was perturbed by warming events which in many cases produced an increase in temperature of c. 20°C. The average temperature profiles show permanent thermal inversion, with the exception of a few hours in the afternoons during the summer. The strongest ground-based thermal inversions were observed in the polar winter. The largest potential temperature gradients were limited to a 30–40 m deep layer close to the surface. The net radiation was negative almost all the time with the exception of the period from mid-December to mid-January.

An experimental campaign, Study of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Environmental at Dome C, was held during 2005 at the French-Italian station of Concordia at Dome C. Ground-based remote sensors, as well as in situ instrumentation, were used during the experimental campaign. The measurements allowed the direct estimation of the polar atmospheric boundary-layer height and the test of several parametrizations for the unstable and stable boundary layers. During the months of January and February, weak convection was observed while, during the polar night, a long-lived stable boundary layer occurred continuously. Under unstable stratification the mixing-layer height was determined using the sodar backscattered echoes and potential temperature profiles. The two estimations are highly correlated, with the mixing height ranging between 30 and 350 m. A simple prognostic one-dimensional model was used to estimate the convective mixing-layer height, with the correlation coefficient between observations and model results being 0.66. The boundary-layer height under stable conditions was estimated from radiosounding profiles as the height where the critical Richardson number is reached; values between 10 and 150 m were found. A visual inspection of potential temperature profiles was also used as further confirmation of the experimental height; the results of the two methods are in good agreement. Six parametrizations from the literature for the stable boundary-layer height were tested. Only the parametrization that considers the long-lived stable boundary layer and takes into account the interaction of the stable layer with the free atmosphere is in agreement with the observations.