The uRban hEat and pollution iSlands inTerAction in Rome and possible miTigation strategies (RESTART) project
- 1Sapienza Università di Roma, Department of Physics, Rome, Italy (annamaria.siani@uniroma1.it)
- 2University of Bologna, Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”, Bologna, Italy
- 3CNR, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), Rome, Italy
- 4University of Rome Tor Vergata, Department of Physics, Rome, Italy
In this contribution, the activities envisaged in the framework of the project “uRban hEat and pollution iSlands inTerAction in Rome and possible miTigation strategies” (RESTART) and the results obtained in its first phase are presented.
The aim of RESTART is the investigation of the linkage between the Urban Heat Island (UHI) and the Urban Pollution Island (UPI) in Rome (Italy), offering a series of mitigation strategies including tailored Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), such as green areas/walls/roofs, trees, and ready-to-use guidelines for the improvement of well-being and liveability in urban environments.
The project’s activities are divided into two main phases. The first phase is focused on determining the state of the art of the UHI and UPI in Rome, analysing the meteorological processes affecting these two phenomena and identifying possible links between them, analysing how severe/low pollution events and extreme weather events, such as heatwaves or cold spells, interact and possibly trigger their occurrence. These phenomena are investigated by using ground-based atmospheric monitoring instruments, belonging to international observatories and dense networks of instruments and providing quality-checked datasets of WMO-compliant meteorological and air quality measurements in the Rome area.
In the second phase, the environmental vulnerabilities identified will drive the numerical investigation of city-scale ventilation, heat transport, and air pollutants removal/accumulation. The most up-to-date numerical modelling chains will combine cutting-edge numerical simulations with mesoscale and dispersion models to simulate the connection between UHI and UPI, both in the ex-ante and ex-post NBS implementation scenario. The thermodynamic and chemical processes that govern UHI and UPI will be analysed, focusing on thermal comfort, pollutant dispersion and photochemical tropospheric ozone reactions. The outcomes, obtained from the combination of numerical and experimental analyses, will provide general recommendations and guidelines that will be disseminated within the scientific community, population, and policymakers.
In this contribution, the results relating to the assessment of UHI Intensity (UHII) and UPI Intensity (UPII) in Rome over the period 2018-2023 are presented and discussed. The evaluation of UHII and UPII is carried out using hourly observations of near-surface air temperature and in-situ pollutant concentrations.
The project is funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (Prot. 2022KZ2AJE) as a Project of National Interest (PRIN2022).
How to cite: Di Bernardino, A., Brattich, E., Argentini, S., Campanelli, M., Barbano, F., Casasanta, G., Cecilia, A., Di Sabatino, S., Erriu, M., Falasca, S., Maestri, T., and Siani, A. M.: The uRban hEat and pollution iSlands inTerAction in Rome and possible miTigation strategies (RESTART) project, 18th Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Risks, Chania, Greece, 30 Sep–3 Oct 2024, Plinius18-95, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-plinius18-95, 2024.
