Cultural heritage and the environment

Abstract

Air pollution can have a significant influence on the weathering of monuments and on the deterioration of museum objects and prehistoric cave paintings. Three important mechanisms of stone weathering will be discussed, and an overview of analysis techniques invoked for the assessment of the degradation processes will be given. The effects of several air pollutants on works of art are reviewed, illustrated with examples of the micro-analysis of aerosols in two European museums. The influence of tourism on the preservation of prehistoric rock art is also addressed.