Climate change-induced disasters and cultural heritage: Optimizing management strategies in Central Europe

Due to climate change, it is foreseen that the frequency and magnitude of extreme climate events such as heavy precipitation, flooding and drought will increase throughout Europe. In recent times, numerous areas suffered from disasters that produced significant damage to cultural heritage. Although different risk management strategies are currently enforced in Central Europe, there still exist many challenges that undermine their effectiveness. This study reviews the necessary points to be addressed for strengthening existing management strategies within the region and the characteristics of potential resilience building measures. It presents feasible and tailored ICT solutions (e.g. a web GIS platform) and decision support tools (e.g. a manual for cultural heritage resilience and a handbook on transnational rescue procedures) for the protection of cultural heritage against floods, heavy rain and fire. These tools result from the Interreg Central Europe project ProteCHt2save, concentrating on risk assessment and sustainable protection of cultural heritage in changing environments. The proposed measures are tested at pilot sites and successfully integrated in local risk management plans. Future work is also proposed for further implementation of the results

Airborne Pollen, Allergens, and Proteins: A Comparative Study of Three Sampling Methods

Nowadays, there is a wide range of different methods available for the monitoring of pollen and allergens, but their relative efficiency is sometimes unclear, as conventional pollen monitoring does not thoroughly describe pollen allergenicity. This study aims to evaluate airborne pollen, allergen, and protein levels, associating them with meteorological and chemical parameters. The sampling was performed in Bologna (Italy) during the grass flowering period, with three different devices: a Cyclone sampler (CS), a Dicothomous sampler (DS), and a Berner impactor (BI). Total proteins were extracted from aerosol samples, and grass allergens Phl p 1 and Phl p 5 were quantified by ELISA. Airborne Poaceae pollen concentrations were also evaluated, using a Hirst-type trap. Proteins and allergens collected by CS resulted about ten times higher than those collected by the other two instruments, possibly due to their different cut-offs, while DS and BI results appeared consistent only for the total proteins collected in the fine fraction (1.3 vs. 1.6 mu g/m(3)). Airborne proteins correlated neither with Poaceae pollen nor with its aeroallergens, while aeroallergens correlated with pollen only in the coarse particulate, indicating the presence of pollen-independent aeroallergens in the fine particulate, promoted by high wind speed

Risk mapping for the sustainable protection of cultural heritage in extreme changing environments

Cultural heritage is widely recognized to be at risk due to the impact of climate change and associated hazards, such as events of heavy rain, flooding, and drought. User-driven solutions are urgently required for sustainable management and protection of monumental complexes and related collections exposed to changes of extreme climate. With this purpose, maps of risk-prone areas in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin have been produced by an accurate selection and analysis of climate variables (daily minimum and maximum temperature-Tn and Tx, daily cumulated precipitation-RR) and climate-extreme indices (R20mm, R95pTOT, Rx5 day, CCD, Tx90p) defined by Expert Team on Climate Change Detection Indices (ETCCDI). Maps are available to users via an interactive Web GIS (Geographic Information System) tool, which provides evaluations based on historical observations (high-resolution gridded data set of daily climate over Europe-E-OBS, 25 km) and climate projections (regional climate models-RCM, ~12 km) for the near and far future, under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. The tool aims to support public authorities and private organizations in the decision making process to safeguard at-risk cultural heritage. In this paper, maps of risk-prone areas of heavy rain in Central Europe (by using R20mm index) are presented and discussed as example of the outputs achievable by using the Web GIS tool. The results show that major future variations are always foreseen for the 30-year period 2071-2100 under the pessimistic scenario (RCP 8.5). In general, the coastal area of the Adriatic Sea, the Northern Italy, and the Alps are foreseen to experience the highest variations in Central Europe

BIOAEROSOL

Cultural heritage constitutive materials can provide excellent substrates for microbial colonisation, highly influenced by thermo-hygrometric parameters. In cultural heritage-related environments, a detrimental microbial load may be present both on manufact surface and in the aerosol. Confined environments (museums, archives, deposits, caves, hypogea) have peculiar structures and dif- ferent thermo-hygrometric parameters, influencing the development of a wide range of microbial species, able to induce artefact biodeterioration and to release biological particles in the aerosol (spores, cellular debrides, toxins, allergens) potentially dangerous for the human health (visitors/users). In order to identify the real composition of the biological consortia, highlighting also the symbiotic relationships between microorganisms (cyanobacteria, bacteria, fungi) and mac- roorganisms (plants, bryophyte, insects), an interdisciplinary approach is needed. The results from in vitro culture, microscopy and molecular biology analysis are essential for a complete understanding of both microbial colonisation of the cul- tural objects and the potential relationship with illness to human. Concerning the bioaerosol, of crucial importance are the time and techniques for sampling

Bioarosol

Cultural heritage constitutive materials can provide excellent substrates for microbial colonisation, highly influenced by thermo-hygrometric parameters. In cultural heritage-related environments, a detrimental microbial load may be present both on artworks surface and in the aerosol. Confined environments (museums, archives, deposits, caves, hypogea) are characterised by peculiar structures and different thermo-hygrometric conditions, influencing the development of a wide range of microbial species, able to induce artefact biodeterioration and to release biological particles in the aerosol (spores, cellular debrides, toxins, allergens) potentially dangerous for the human health (visitors/users). In order to identify the real composition of the biological consortia, highlighting also the symbiotic relationships between microorganisms (cyanobacteria, bacteria, fungi) and macro-organisms (plants, bryophyte, insects), an interdisciplinary approach is needed. The results from in vitro culture, microscopy and molecular biology analysis are essential for a complete understanding of both microbial colonisation of the cultural objects and the potential relationship with illness to human. Concerning the bioaerosol, of crucial importance are the time and techniques for sampling

Efficiency evaluation of treatments against rising damp by scale models and test in situ

The presence of water in masonries is one of the most relevant cause of decay in historic buildings. If water is present, particularly rising damp, degradation processes such as biological growth, powdering due to salt crystallization cycles may arise and be intensified. Treatment against rising damp is therefore generally advised for the protection and preventive conservation of historic buildings. Within this framework, the JPICH Project "Effectiveness of methods against rising damp in buildings: European practice and perspective - EMERISDA" (2014-2017) aimed at a scientifically based evaluation of the effectiveness of different methods against rising damp and at decision support tool definition for a conscious choiceuse of these methods in the practice of conservation. During the present paper the methodology adopted on site for the evaluation of the efficiency of methods aiming at stopping/limiting rising damp on masonries is described. Specifically, results concerning the treatments on masonries with chemical injections (solvent and water based) and with plasters application on scale models and the case study of Agora in Ferrara (Italy) are presented. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS