Annamaria Lima

University of Naples Federico II | UNINA · Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources

About a century ago, B was recognised as an essential element for the normal growth of plants and terrestrial organisms. Limitations for plant development have been recognised in agricultural systems, particularly in highly weathered soil. Boron is rarely analysed in whole rock or soil analysis, as it requires specific analytical techniques. It is...

Campi Flegrei (CF) is a large volcanic complex west of Naples, in a densely populated region at high volcanic risk due to recurrent ground uplift and subsidence (bradyseism) that has been ongoing since at least Greek-Roman times. We compare the current period of unrest beginning in 2005 with that of the bradyseism crisis of 1982-84. Despite the sim...

Urbanization is becoming the norm: the percentage of the global population living in urban settings increased from less than 30% in 1950 to 57% in 2021 and is expected to reach 68% by 2050. Over the last 4000 years, technological progress has changed the livability and quality of urban environments, not constantly influencing them for the better. S...

The line of research on potentially toxic elements (PTEs) is of growing interest to the scientific community for protecting society against adverse health issues. The Campi Flegrei caldera in southern Italy is an active volcanic area where above two million people live, making it an ideal study area for investigating PTEs of natural and anthropogen...

Campi Flegrei is an active volcanic field in south Italy where the potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are of growing concern because the intensive anthropogenic and volcanic activities might pose adverse human health effects. In this article, 394 topsoils (0–15 cm) are collected for instrumental analysis of the <2 mm fraction. The geochemical maps i...

In this study, 500 bottom soils and 7300 topsoils samples were collected to determine the major elements concentrations and to evaluate the correspondence of soil chemical contents and the local geology and to better identify background values. The <2 mm fraction of each sample was analysed for a total of 52 elements combining ICP-MS and ICP-ES tec...

A big monitoring programme was carried out in Italy from 2015 to 2018 with the aim to assess the environmental conditions of the Campania region territory. Among the different environmental media, 7300 samples of topsoil (10–15 cm) were collected and analysed for 52 elements through an analytical methodology combining ICP-MS and ICP-ES. Specificall...

Bioavailability of some major and trace elements was evaluated in 1,993 topsoil samples collected across Campania region (Southern Italy). A main focus was made on Al, Ca, K, Mg, Cu, Tl since they are linked, for different reasons, to agriculture. Bioavailability was assessed by an extraction with ammonium nitrate and the data were compared with th...

In 2015 began the “Campania Trasparente” project (http://www.campaniatrasparente.it), a monitoring plan with the objective of assessing the environmental conditions of the Campania region territory. Among the different environmental matrices (air, water, top and bottom soil, vegetables, biological samples) 7,300 samples of the topsoil (10-15 cm) we...

Over the last two decades, the Campania region in Italy has been the focus of public debate and concern about environmental issues. Using data from soil, water, air, vegetables, animal products, and human blood, a multimedia monitoring study was performed to measure the contribution of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to pollution in the region...

Campania Region, Southern Italy, in the last 10 years was facing potential environmental issues which needed to be addressed, with the proper scientific approach, to alleviate pressure from public opinion, based more on emotions than on scientific data. Such pressure indicated an increase of oncological incidence, not supported by scientific data o...

In 2015, the "Campania Trasparente" project (http://www.campaniatrasparente.it), a monitoring plan focused on assessing the environmental conditions of the territory of the Campania region, started thanks to the financial support of the regional government. The project's general management was in charge of the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale...

The Commune of Santiago is an administrative unit belonging to Chile's capital city. It is the central hub for local transportation services and the centre of most national government functions. In 2017, a geochemical survey was carried out focusing on the topsoils of the commune. A total of 121 samples were homogeneously collected across an area o...

Il volume illustra i risultati del monitoraggio geochimico-ambientale finalizzato alla valutazione dell’inquinamento da Contaminanti Organici Persistenti (noti nella letteratura come POP - Persistent Organic Pollutants) e Elementi Potenzialmente Tossici (EPT) della matrice aria della Regione Campania. Tale lavoro è stato svolto nell’ambito del “Pro...

Agricultural soil (Ap-horizon, 0–20 cm) samples were collected from 33 European countries as part of the GEMAS (GEochemical Mapping of Agricultural and grazing land Soil) soilmapping project. The Mg data derived from total concentrations (XRF) and two acid digestion methods, aqua regia (AR) and Mobile Metal Ion (MMI®), were used to provide an overv...

In2017,ageochemical survey was carried out across the Commune of Santiago, a local administrative unit located at the center of the namesake capital city of Chile, and the concentration of a number of major and trace elements (53 in total) was determined on 121 topsoil samples. Multifractal IDW (MIDW) interpolation method was applied to raw data to...

The project Geochemical Mapping of Agricultural and grazing land Soil (GEMAS) was carried out in 33 European countries (5.6 million km2) with an average sampling density of 1 site per 2500 km2. The main objective was to assess the chemical quality of productive soils. All collected soil samples were prepared in the same laboratory, and subsequently...

Several recent models that have been put forth to explain bradyseism at Campi Flegrei (CF), Italy, are discussed. Data obtained during long-term monitoring of the CF volcanic district has led to the development of a model based on lithological-structural and stratigraphic features that produce anisotropic and heterogeneous permeability features sho...

Radon is a ubiquitous radioactive gas proceeding from the decay of some naturally occurring radionuclides, mostly abundant in igneous rock and volcanic materials, including soils. It is the heaviest noble gas, thus chemically inert, and moderately soluble in water. The total amount of radon in nature derives from three unstable isotopes: 219 Rn (23...

An empirical method was applied to estimate the ²²²Rn fluxes distribution across the Campania region (Italy) by using both gamma-rays and U, Th, K concentrations in soils. As a first step, K, Th and U soil concentrations and ⁴ K, ²³⁸U and ²³²Th activity have been converted into their own specific activity to calculate the Terrestrial Gamma Dose Rat...

The activity concentration of both naturally occurring (NOR) (i.e. U-238, Th-232, K-40) and technogenic (Cs-137) radionuclides was determined on 51 soil samples collected across Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Measures were carried out at the Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies National Academy of Sciences, RA (CENS) with a High Purity Ge dete...

L’onda mediatica che ha colpito la Campania in questi anni, relativamente alle problematiche ambientali, ha posto all’attenzione della pubblica opinione una situazione di disagio che vede protagonista l’intero territorio regionale. Tale condizione si riverbera negativamente sulle condizioni socio-economiche della comunità, generando un largo disori...

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are a group of synthetic molecules, consisting of organic structures containing at least one aromatic ring and one covalently bound chlorine atom, widely used for decades in agriculture (as insecticides and fungicides) and, subordinately, in the medical field. The study area, corresponding to the Acerra-Marigliano...

Because most relevant studies have used small sample sizes, to date, representative atmospheric monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) on a regional scale has been very limited, which makes it difficult to precisely identify “hotspots” and possible pollution sources. In this study, an ultrahigh resolution monitoring technique was used t...

Il volume illustra, anche attraverso immagini, grafici e tabelle, i risultati del monitoraggio geochimico–ambientale finalizzato alla valutazione dell’inquinamento da elementi potenzialmente tossici dei suoli superficiali e profondi della Regione Campania nell’ambito del “Programma Campania Trasparente – Attività di Monitoraggio Integrato per la Re...

In October2004, Senior and Mazza published a paper on The Lancet Oncology where the villages of Marigliano, Nola and Acerra were included within the vertices of a so-called "triangle of death" where the local population resulted to be strongly affected by a cancer incidence higher than the regional average. The aim of this work has been the evaluat...

In this paper we presented the statistical information and spatial distributions of Pb, Zn, Cd and Sn obtained from the analyzes conducted on 121 topsoil samples from the city of Santiago. Results show essentially the anthropogenic impact that required an additional children health risk assessment for Pb exposure for both its toxic or carcinogenic...

The products of the natural decay of uranium-238, an unstable isotope of a radioactive element almost ubiquitous in geological materials, include radon-222 (Rn-222) and radium-226 (Ra-226). Rn-222 has a half-life of 3.8 days and its decay products (progeny) are represented by further radioactive isotopes of polonium (Po-218, Po-214, Po-210), bismut...

In recent years, Campania region in southern Italy has been subject to the attention of media for the alleged wide-scale contamination of an area with an original agricultural vocation interested, nowadays, by the presence of high environmental impact industrial activities and uncontrolled waste dumping. Often dumped waste, specially tyres and othe...

Mining activities are among the main sources of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the environment which constitute a real concern worldwide, especially in developing countries. These activities have been carried out for more than a century in Chile, South America, where, as evidence of incorrect waste disposal practices, several abandoned mining...

Concern about health effect of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) has led to an increasing global attention about their concentration levels in the environment. Soil geochemistry has been widely used as a tool for environment monitoring. This study investigates topsoil geochemistry of Campania region (Southern Italy) and (i) allows a reliable overvi...

This work discusses the results of a geochemical survey conducted in the Salerno urban area to determine the sources patterns of major, minor, trace and ultra-trace elements in soils. In particular, the study focused on elements that are potentially toxic and listed in the environmental Italian legislation (D.L. 152/06), in order to effectively mon...

The demand for ‘high-tech’ element resources (e.g., rare earth elements, lithium, platinum group elements) has increased with their continued consumption in developed countries and the emergence of developing economies. To provide a sound knowledge base for future generations, it is necessary to identify the spatial distribution of critical element...

This study is the first attempt to evaluate occurrence, distribution and potential health impacts of As at a national scale in Italy. In various environmental matrices, As geochemical distribution was investigated and carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were assessed with respect to different exposure routes and age groups. Both deterministic a...

Total organic carbon (TOC) contents in agricultural soil are presently receiving increased attention, not only because of their relationship to soil fertility, but also due to the sequestration of organic carbon in soil to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. In this research, the spatial patterns of TOC and its relationship with pH at the European sca...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of persistent organic pollutants. They have been identified as a type of carcinogenic substance and are relatively widespread in environment media such as air, water and soils, constituting a significant hazard for human health. In many parts of the world, PAHs are still found in high concentratio...

This study comprehensively interprets the contamination status of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in the soils from Benevento provincial territory, southern Italy, and its implications for environmental health by means of a systematic grid sampling method and geostatistics. The total concentrations of OCPs in the soils ranged from 0.058 to 16.9 ng...

I am often reminded of the famous saying of Goethe: “Vedi Napoli e poi muori! - See Naples and die!”. Sadly, Naples is now confronted with a number of serious, ongoing problems with a need to alleviate pressure on the worsening environment. One serious problem facing the environment is the presence of the potentially hazardous persistent organic po...

Geochemical studies that focus on environmental applications tend to approach the chemical elements as individual entities and may therefore offer only partial and sometimes biased interpretations of their distributions and behaviour. A potential alternative approach is to consider a compositional data analysis, where every element is part of a who...

This study shows the statistical and spatial distribution of Mo, Sn and W in topsoils of the Campania Region. Topsoil samples were collected based on a 16 km2 and a 3.8 km2 cell sampling grid in the suburban and urban areas, respectively. Samples were analysed for Mo, Sn and W concentration by using ICP-MS after an Aqua Regia digestion. Multifracta...

In this paper we present a comparison of statistical and spatial distributions between Pb, Cu and Zn raw-data and clr-transformed data of 3669 topsoil samples from the Campanian Region. Results show that both approaches, the classical univariate analysis and the compositional data analysis, are necessary to understand the real structure of the data...

Digital image processing analysis was carried out on As in topsoils of the Campania Region (Italy) to recognise spatial pattern unknown before. The highest As concentration is related to topsoils developed on the NW-SE trending carbonate massifs overlain by pyroclastic rocks where the highest spatial variability and gradient magnitude of As concent...

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the combined use of point pattern, multifractal and digital image processing analysis in order to recognise and characterise spatial patterns of Ni concentration in topsoil in the Campania Region (Italy). After an exploring univariate statistical analysis, spatial clusters and outliers were revealed by...

In Chile almost 90% of the total population lives in urban areas, making the need for studies on environmental conditions of urbanized areas a relevant topic, due to the huge amount of human lives potentially exposed to contaminants. Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) are considered the most ubiquitous contaminants in anthropized areas and they are...

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are synthetic chemicals commonly used in agricultural activities to kill pests and are persistent organic pollutants (POPs). They can be detected in different environmental media, but soil is considered an important reservoir due to its retention capacity. Many different types of OCPs exist, which can have different...

This study shows the statistical and spatial distribution of Mo, Sn andWin topsoils of the Campania Region. Topsoil samples were collected based on a 16-km² and a 3.8-km² cell-sampling grid in the suburban and urban areas, respectively. Samples were analysed for Mo, Sn and W concentrations by ICP-MS after an aqua regia digestion. Multifractal metho...

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) are a major worldwide threat to the environment due to the constant global increase in industrial activity and urbanisation. Several studies have provided detailed maps and a better understanding of the spatial distribution patterns of PTEs in different matrices, but the majority of these studies have simply neglec...

GEochemical Mapping of Agricultural Soils (GEMAS) is a cooperation project between the Geochemistry Expert Group of EuroGeoSurveys (EGS) and Eurometaux. The GEMAS project aim was to produce soil geochemical data at the continental-scale consistent with the EU regulation REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals). All GEMAS proj...

One of the main goals of studying melt inclusions (MI) is to constrain the pre-eruptive physical and chemical processes that have occurred in a magma reservoir at the micro-scale. Recently, several studies that focused on magmatic differentiation of volcanic systems produced detailed interpretations based on data from MI trapped at different times...

Digital image processing analysis was carried out on As in topsoils of the Campania Region (Italy) to recognise any unknown spatial patterns. The highest As concentration is related to topsoils developed on the NW–SE-trending carbonate massifs overlain by pyroclastic rocks where the highest spatial variability and gradient magnitude of As concentra...

Agricultural soil (Ap-horizon, 0–20 cm) samples were collected in Europe (33 countries, 5.6 million km2) as part of the GEMAS (GEochemical Mapping of Agricultural and grazing land Soil) soil-mapping project. The GEMAS survey area includes diverse groups of soil parent materials with varying geological history, a wide range of climate zones, and la...

Geochemical survey aims to enhance mineralisation and contamination through exploration and environmental geochemistry, respectively. This study presents a new comprehensive discrimination analysis of four potentially toxic elements (PTEs) using the high-density Campanian topsoil data set. A workflow of compositional data analysis has been elaborat...

The Sarno River Basin (south-west Italy), nestled between the Somma–Vesuvius volcanic complex and the limestone formations of the Campania–Apennine Chain, is one of the most polluted river basins in Europe due to widespread industrialization and intensive agriculture. Water from the Sarno River, which is heavily contaminated by the discharge of hum...

This study assesses the distribution of Au, Ag, Pt, and Pd in the topsoils from the Campania Region (Southern Italy). The 13,600 km² study area was divided using a 16 km² grid in the suburban and agricultural areas, and a 4 km² grid in urban areas and 2120 topsoil samples were analyzed by ICP-MS after an aqua regia digestion. The maximum concentrat...

This study demonstrates the spatial distribution of Be and its possible sources by using the high density Campanian topsoil dataset. A combination of univariate and multivariate statistical analysis with multifractal methods were performed on the raw-, and compositionally transformed data set to recognise the spatial patterns of Be and its backgrou...

A new GIS based human health risk assessment methodology developed for soil contamination has been applied to a selected area located in Campania region (Italy). The area is about 220 km² wide and it is located between the provincial capital cities of Avellino and Salerno; it was selected since most of it already resulted affected by an high risk l...

This report documents the case history of the Bagnoli brownfield site government remediation project. The site was the second largest integrated steelworks in Italy and is located on the outskirts of Naples, in an area that is part of the quiescent Campi Flegrei volcanic caldera. Hundreds of surficial and deep boreholes have been drilled, with the...

This study demonstrates the use of digital image processing for the spatial pattern recognition and characterisation of Ni concentrations in topsoil in Europe. Moving average smoothing was applied to the TIN-interpolated grid model to suppress small irregularities. Digital image processing was applied then to the grid. Several NE-SW, E-W and NW-SE...

The GEMAS (geochemical mapping of agricultural soil) project collected 2108 Ap horizon soil samples from regularly ploughed fields in 33 European countries, covering 5.6 million km2. The <2 mm fraction of these samples was analysed for 53 elements by ICP-MS and ICP-AES, following a HNO3/HCl/H2O (modified aqua regia) digestion. Results are used here...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a typical group of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), identified as a kind of carcinogenic substance and prevalent in the environment media such air, water and soils. The aim of this work is to investigate concentration levels, profile, possible sources and toxicity equivalent quantity (TEQ) level of s...

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have the potential to concentrate in the marine environment and threaten the local marine life. Here, we present the results of a study of the contamination profiles, spatial distribution, possible sources, and potential ecological risk of OCPs in marine sediments from Gulfs of Naples and Salerno, Southern Italy. Th...

We present a summary of the results obtained on more than 25 years of research achieved on Campi Flegrei (CF) past eruptions, focusing our attention on the role played by fluids in the magmatic system based on fluid (FI) and melt inclusions (MI). Particularly FI and MI data from subvolcanic igneous systems in the CF area provide valuable informatio...