Current projects
Project title: “Study of air pollution indicators in sites of Greater Rosario, in relation to land use and fires in the Paraná River Delta. Associated effects on the health of the population.”
Applicant Institution: Scientific and Technological Center (CCT) Rosario
Implementing Unit (Department): IFIR, Rosario
Institution to which it depends: CONICET – UNR
Managing entity: ROSCyTEC Foundation
Accrediting and/or funding entity: Santa Fe Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation (ASaCTeI) (PEICID-2023-129)
Project title: “Applied study of atmospheric pollutants in central latitudes of Argentina”
Period: 2025 Call. Project accredited by UNR with number 80020240100057UR.
Applicant Institution: Faculty of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences UNR
Implementing Unit (Department): Faculty of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences UNR and IFIR
Institution to which it depends : UNR and CONICET-UNR
Managing entity: UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE ROSARIO
Accrediting and/or funding entity: UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE ROSARIO (80020240100057UR)
Title of the project: “Atmospheric aerosols and climate change”
Implementing Unit : Faculty of Exact Sciences, Engineering and Surveying
Institution to which it depends : UNR and Rosario Physics Institute (IFIR)/CONICET-UNR
Accrediting and/or funding entity : UNR (1ING625)
Director : María Isabel Micheletti
Co-Director : Rubén D. Piacentini
Title of the project: “Study of atmospheric aerosols in urban and rural sites in Argentina and applications in atmospheric radiative transfer, health and environment”
Implementing Unit : Rosario Physics Institute (IFIR)
Institution to which it depends : Rosario Physics Institute (IFIR)/CONICET-UNR
Accrediting and/or funding entity : CONICET (PIP 112202101 00982CO)
Director : María Isabel Micheletti
Project title : Pierre Auger Project for ultra-high-energy cosmic rays.
Dr MI Micheletti is an active member of the Pierre Auger International Collaboration (www.auger.org). Fellow Virginia Binet is also currently included, as a Doctoral Fellow under the direction of Dr. Micheletti. Specific area of responsibility within the
P. Auger International Collaboration: atmospheric studies (mostly aerosols) within the Atmospheric Conditions Task, of importance for reconstructions of cosmic ray showers and for interdisciplinary studies in the area of atmospheric physics.
Project title : “Concentration of particulate matter and black carbon in urban, industrial and rural areas of the Central Region of Argentina in relation to land use. Estimation of the risk to the health of the population”
Implementing Unit : Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology (IMBIV)
Institution to which it depends : CONICET – UNC
Accrediting and/or funding entity : National Agency for Scientific and Technological Promotion (PICT2018-03805)
Principal Investigator : Dr. Hebe A. Carreras
Co-responsible researcher : Dr. María Isabel Micheletti
Brief overview
We analyze air quality based on the levels and characteristics of its defining components: gases and particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere (aerosols). For decades, we have analyzed atmospheric pollutants, gases, and aerosols using satellite tools [1-4 ] , as well as sampling equipment and procedures for collecting and subsequently analyzing samples using advanced experimental techniques [5, 6]. This allows us to obtain aerosol concentration values, Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), and information on their characteristics: size, shape, chemical composition, and optical properties. We also analyze the sources and trajectories of air masses that transport atmospheric particles [7]. A particular case is the analysis of bioaerosols (such as pollen and spores) and their impact on allergies [8 , 9] . Aerosols also contribute to climate change, exacerbating the greenhouse effect of global air warming in two ways: a) through negative radiative forcing (net balance of radiation entering and leaving the atmosphere) , thus contributing to atmospheric cooling primarily through radiation scattering; and b) through positive radiative forcing , increasing radiation towards the atmosphere and the Earth's surface (soil and water). In this latter case, the most significant contributors are combustion byproducts (soot, carbon, or carbon dioxide ). The group analyzes air quality and its applications in various fields of knowledge: health and the environment, climate change, attenuation of solar radiation and cosmic ray signals, impact on astronomical/astrophysical/solar facilities—particularly the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory [10]—and its relationship with meteorological variables [11-15]. Interdisciplinary work is carried out with professionals from health, the natural sciences (physical, chemical, biological, atmospheric, geological, meteorological, and astronomical), as well as the social and political sciences, to implement public policies that help prevent risks, remediate harmful effects, and promote environmental cleanup [16]. Gases and aerosols are analyzed in Greater Rosario and other locations in Argentina, both under standard conditions [17] and atypical situations, namely: – the case of highly polluting events such as the arrival of smoke from fires in the Paraná Delta or ash from volcanic eruptions in the Andean region [18-20]; – the case of lower pollution due to a reduction in the intensity and frequency of emission sources, such as that which occurred during population isolation due to the COVID-19 quarantine [21]. The spatio-temporal distribution and evolution of atmospheric pollutants are investigated. These are analyzed in relation to land use, in different sites of special interest in Argentina [22] and, especially, in Greater Rosario.
Related
Director : María Isabel Micheletti
Members: Rubén Piacentini, María Virginia Binet, María Fernanda Valle Seijo, Greta Piñol and Patricia Garnero.
Spaces/Institutions/Academic Units: Rosario Physics Institute (CONICET-UNR), Faculty of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (UNR) and Faculty of Exact Sciences, Engineering and Surveying (UNR).
Contact
maria.i.micheletti@gmail.com