Seasonal Variability of the Acoustic Climate of Ski Resorts in the Aosta Valley Territory

The Aosta Valley is an alpine region in north-west Italy that is characterized by a high level of naturalness, with extensive uninhabited areas that are distant from artificial sound sources. The Aosta Valley Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA-VdA) has been particularly sensitive to the preservation of the soundscape, which is considered an integral part of the landscape, since the laws on noise pollution were first introduced. The nature of the ski areas in the Aosta mountains, which undergoes changes throughout the year, is surely of great importance, especially during the winter season, when the number of visitors is particularly high. In fact, during the winter, the sounds of nature are replaced by those produced by recreation and sports activities. Mountain and snow tourism, which are developed in sensitive environmental contexts in the Aosta Valley, are sectors of immense social and economic importance. Much of this tourism takes place in ski resorts. Three mountain areas with different characteristics, in terms of attendance and recreational/sport activities, have been examined in this paper, as part of a collaboration between ARPA-VdA and the Politecnico di Torino. Acoustic measurements were performed in order to identify the seasonal variations of sound emissions from both natural and anthropic sound sources. In addition to the standard environmental acoustic descriptors foreseen by European legislation (LAeq, Ln, Lden, etc.), the harmonica (IH) index, which provides a quantitative evaluation of the acoustic quality on a zero to ten numerical scale, was used to qualify the acoustic climate of the three areas. The results presented in the paper provide useful information on a relevant subject—the preservation of the acoustic quality of a mountain area of touristic importance—which has been scarcely investigated so far

The Underground Karst Laboratories of Bossea Cave: more than 50 years of collaborations and research

The Bossea Cave, Piedmont, is the first show cave of Italy, opened to the pubblic in 1874. The cavity develops for about 2800 m in the tectonic contact between the Middle Triassic carbonate rocks, and Permotriassic metavolcanics. A main water collector (Mora River) and several water supplies are present inside the cave. Different underground karst laboratories to study hydrogeology, climatology, radon activity and subterranean biology are located in the cave, managed by a multidisciplinary group from Struttura Operativa Bossea C.A.I., DIATI - Politecnico di Torino, and Biologia Sotterranea Piemonte - Gruppo di Ricerca, working together with ARPA Piemonte, ARPA Valle d’Aosta and INRiM. The first laboratory was built in 1969 by volunteers of Gruppo Speleologico Alpi Marittime; over the years, more than 60 sophisticated data logger and sensors were positioned in different touristic and non-touristic areas of the cavity, thanks to the contribution of volunteers, associations and public authorities. The hydrogeological research concerns both the flow hydrodynamics and the water geochemistry. Mora River is continuously monitored since 1983, and water sampling under different hydrodynamic conditions are carried out to chemical analyses. Tracing experiments from surface watercourses to spring waters have been done to understand the recharge area of the karst aquifer. Different environmental parameters are continously monitored in the cave, such as air circulation, air, rock and water temperature, relative humidity, air and water CO2 concentration. Rainfall and snowmelt are monitored too, above and inside the cave, evidencing the infiltration events. Radon (222Rn) derive from the radioactive 238U decay, spreading rapidly into the cave atmosphere and waters. The gas exchange dynamics between rock, water and atmosphere are studied, testing also different equipments for the radon monitoring. Subterranean biology investigations started in 1970, discovering over the years more than 125 different species of hypogeal fauna in the system (75 in the last 30 years), of which four endemics, and six new species to science. A strong contribution to the dissemination of the results was done by the operators, organizing training courses, activities for schools, environmental education, seminars, conferences, and online updates. The fundamental collaboration with the cave managers has allowed to carry out innovative research in this cavity, and to disseminate the discoveries to a not purely scientific or speleological pubblic. Research allows a greater knowledge of the peculiarities and problems of the system, considering the cave not only a tourist attraction, but an important ecosystem to preserve

Environmental parameters monitoring in the oldest show cave of Italy: Bossea Cave

Bossea Cave (Piedmont, Italy) was opened to the pubblic in 1874, making it the first show cave of Italy. This cave develops for about 2800 m in a tectonic contact between carbonate rocks of Middle Triassic, and Permotriassic metavolcanics, and it is crossed for about 1.5 km by a subterranean collector. Three different underground laboratories are present inside the cave to monitor and study several environmental parameters: the Underground Karst Laboratory of Bossea Cave managed by the S.O. Bossea C.A.I. and by the DIATI - Politecnico di Torino, the Karst Hydrogeology Lab, financed by the DIATI – Politecnico di Torino, and the “Giovanni Badino” Climatological Research Centre, funded by PaleoLab of DIATI – Politecnico di Torino and S.O. Bossea C.A.I. The Underground Karst Laboratory of Bossea Cave, together with ARPA Piemonte and ARPA Valle d’Aosta, is mainly concerned with the Radon (222Rn) monitoring. The gas exchange dynamics between water, rock and atmosphere are studied: three Radon monitors for water and two for air tracking were installed in different areas of the cave. The Karst Hydrogeology Lab has 11 data acquisition systems to monitor every 15 minutes water levels, temperature and electrical conductivity of the main subterranean collector and a series of secondary water supplies. The flow rate of the main collector and some secondary inputs are recorded since 1982. The “Giovanni Badino” Climatological Research Centre is aimed at monitoring air, rock and water temperature with extremely precise instruments, calibrated by INRiM. Six main stations are located in touristic and non-touristic cave areas. From June 2021, 52 temperature probes are present in the cavity, acquiring data every 10 minutes. Three atmospheric pressure meters, a pluviograph and two data acquisition systems with four probes for CO2 monitoring are part of the same Lab. Caves are the most important geo-heritage worldwide, however, when cavities are transformed in show caves, an additional impact is produced (e.g. air temperature and CO2 increment, lampenflora growth and pollution). Research allows a greater knowledge of the peculiarities and problems of the system, considering the cave not only a tourist attraction, but an important ecosystem to preserve. Bossea cave is a perfect example of how managers, speleologists and scientists collaboration can exist and bring innovation to natural resources conservation

DUST GENERATION AND DISPERSION (PM10 AND PM2.5) IN THE AOSTA VALLEY: ANALYSIS WITH THE FARM MODEL

The aim of this work is to analyze the origin and the dispersion of the particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) in a mountainous region: the Aosta Valley. To meet this goal, different simulations were performed, using the flexible air quality regional model (FARM), to study two scenarios: winter and summer situations. To evaluate the performance of the FARM model in order to simulate the air quality situation of the selected periods, a comparison of modelled results against observed air quality data was carried out for both primary pollutants and particulate matter next to the measurement stations . Farm performed well in simulating especially ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations, showing a good reproduction of both daily peaks and their daytime variations. PM model results revealed the tendency to under-predict the observed values, so we tried to use a different emission factor for the road traffic (Lohmeyer factor). The new results were good for the urban and suburban areas, but they give over-predictions close to highways. The PM characterisation provided by the model gives good results: in some different points of the analysis domain (mountain, plain and urban points) we found PM profiles wich reproduce expected values

Personal uv exposure on a ski-field at an alpine site

International audienceMountain sites experience enhanced ambient UV radiation levels due to the concurrent effects of shorter radiation path-length, low aerosol load and high reflectivity of the snow surfaces. <br><br> This study was encouraged by the possibility to collect data of personal UV exposure in the mountainous areas of Italy, for the first time. Personal UV exposure (expressed in terms of Exposure Ratio, ER) of two groups of volunteers (ski instructors and skiers) at the Alpine site of La Thuile (Valle d'Aosta region, Italy) was assessed using polysulphone dosimetry which was tested in a mountainous snow-covered environment. In addition measurements of biological markers of individual response to UV exposure such as skin colorimetric parameters were carried out. <br><br> It was found that snow and altitude of study site affect calibration curves of polysulphone dosimeters in comparison to a situation without snow. <br><br> The median ER, taking into account the whole sample, is 0.60 in winter, with a range of 0.29 to 1.46, and 1.02 in spring, ranging from 0.46 to 1.72. There are no differences in exposures across skiers and instructors in spring while in winter skiers experience lower values. UV exposures are not sensitive to the use of sunscreen across instructor/skier group by day or by seasons or by photo-type. With regard to colorimetric parameters, the main result was that both skiers and instructors had on average significantly lower values of L* and b* after exposure i.e. becoming darker but the inappropriate sunscreen use did not reveal any changes in skin colorimetric parameters except in one spring day. <br><br> In conclusions UV intensities on the ski-fields are often significantly higher than those on horizontal surfaces. Given the high levels of exposure observed in the present study, dedicated public heath messages on the correct sunscreen use should be adopted

Personal UV exposure in high albedo alpine sites

Mountain sites experience enhanced UV radiation levels due to the concurrent effects of shorter radiation pathlength, low aerosol load and high reflectivity of the snow surfaces. This study was encouraged by the possibility to collect original data of personal dose on a specific anatomical site (erythemally effective UV dose on the forehead) of two groups of volunteers (ski instructors and skiers) in the mountainous areas of Italy (the Alpine site of La Thuile-Les Suches in Valle d’Aosta region). Personal doses were assessed using polysulphone dosimetry. Exposure Ratio (ER), defined as the ratio between the personal dose and the corresponding ambient dose (i.e. erythemally weighted dose received by a horizontal surface) during the same exposure period was taken into account. In addition measuring skin colours as biological markers of individual response to UV exposure, was also carried out on the forearm and cheek of each volunteer before and after exposure. The median ER, taking into account the whole sample, is 0.60 in winter, with a range of 0.29 to 1.46, and 1.02 in spring, ranging from 0.46 to 1.72. No differences in ERs were found between skiers and instructors in spring while in winter skiers experienced lower values. Regarding skin colorimetric parameters the main result was that both skiers and instructors had on average significantly lower values of luminance after exposure i.e. they became darker. It was found that the use of sunscreen and individual skin photo-type did not produce significant variations in ER across instructor/skier group by day and by seasons (p>0.05). It seems that sunscreen use only at the beginning of the exposure or in a few cases a couple of times during exposure (at difference with the specific instructions sheets), was not sufficient to change significantly skin colorimetric parameters across participants. In conclusion UV personal doses on the ski-fields are often significantly higher than those on horizontal surfaces and consistently more intense respect to personal doses received by sunbathers on the beach in central Italy (ER range: 0.09– 0.42). Given the high levels of exposure observed in the present study, specific public health warnings with regards to the efficacy of sun-protection behaviours (proper application and re-application of sunscreen and protective measures such as hats and sun glasses) should be adopted

Development and validation of a useful UPLC-MS/MS method for quantification of total and phosphorylated-ribavirin in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HCV+ patients

The current standard-of-care therapy in HCV consists in ribavirin (RBV) plus pegylated-interferon-α 2a or 2b and, for HCV-1 infected patients, also directly acting antivirals (DAAs). Despite the increase in the number of patients who reach sustained virological response (SVR) for HCV-1, a great inter-individual variability in the response to therapy remains. Whether new drugs are available in combination with RBV and Peg-IFN for HCV-1, the treatment of the other viral genotypes remains the same: this issue highlights the lasting importance of RBV and Peg-IFN in anti-HCV treatment. Moreover, a strong limiting factor to the usefulness of anti-HCV treatment remains the occurrence of adverse events, first of all hemolytic anemia, which have increased with the addition of DAAs, but is mainly an RBV-dependent effect. For these reasons, the monitoring of RBV exposure in the various compartments should be important. Since the routinely determination of RBV in the target cells as the hepatocytes is impracticable for of its invasiveness, the quantification in easier to obtain cells could be a good choice. In this work, we developed and validated an ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) assay method to quantify RBV concentrations in peripheral blood mononucleated cells (PBMCs). QCs were prepared with RBV and RBV-monophosphate (RMP). Each sample was divided into two aliquots, which undergone the same extraction procedure: one was treated with acid phosphatase to convert RBV phosphorylated metabolites into free RBV, the other one was not-treated. The extracts were analyzed with reverse-phase column with UPLC-MS/MS. Calibration curves fitted a least squares model (weighed 1/X) for ribavirin levels in a range from 0.1ng to 200ng (mean r2=0.9993). Accuracy, intra-day and inter-day precision of the methods were in accordance with FDA guidelines. Moreover, phosphorylated QCs were used to assess the correct determination of total RBV concentration. We tested this method by monitoring RBV concentrations in PBMCs from 20 HCV+ patients, receiving alpha interferon-plus RBV combination therapy. This method showed to be reliable, precise, accurate and suitable for evaluation of intracellular RBV concentrations