Description
New particle formation from trace gases emitted by anthropogenic sources is of scientific interest since atmospheric aerosols influence global climate and strongly affect human health. Particulate mass (PM) measurements of sizes below 2.5 and 10 ?m are routinely carried out in air quality measurements. However, PM2.5 and PM10 cannot serve as a measure of particles in the low nanometer range since the mass of particles of that size is comparably negligible. Vienna is a typical European metropolitan area including distinct source areas such as a large industrial park including an oil refinery. In May 2016, we measured nanoparticle size distributions during a short test campaign in a suburb of Vienna, Schwechat. Different patterns of the nanoparticle population for air masses originating from different source areas were found. A recent study (Sarnela et al., 2015) measured sulphuric acid and nano-particles in the direct vicinity of an oil refinery during a short intensive campaign. The study shows that the measurement site has to be chosen carefully and that continuous measurements are needed. We improved our setup by building up a set of measurement sites located such that air masses from the main source areas are covered. The sites are equipped with instrumentation for continuous measurement of particle size distribution and total particle concentration. Meteorological, trace gas and PM measurement data of the region are obtained from meteorological and environmental agencies. Figure 1. Three measurement sites located along the main wind direction in Vienna at the Faculty of Physics (1), suburban Schwechat (2) and the Vienna airport (3). The main source areas in the Vienna metropolitan area are (see figure 1) the city of Vienna, a suburban area, a rural and agricultural area and an industrial area including Austrias largest oil refinery and the Vienna International Airport. The continuous measurements are carried out at three measurement sites (see figure 1). The roof-top laboratory of the Faculty of Physics (1) serves as a reference point in the city centre. A second measurement site (2) is established in Schwechat, located 12 km downstream Vienna and at 2 km distance of the oil refinery followed by the Vienna International Airport. The third measurement site at the airport completes the setup. Wind from North-West following the Danube River is the prevailing wind direction. The carefully chosen measurement locations allow to discriminate the influence of air masses from different sources on particle production with a focus on emissions from distinct anthropogenic sources. This long-term study will provide a large data set of continuous size distribution measurements and will contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms leading to nanoparticle production in a typical European metropolitan area. This work was supported by the European Research Council under the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) / ERC grant agreement No. 616075.| Period | 28 Aug 2017 |
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| Event title | European Aerosol Conference 2017 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Zürich, SwitzerlandShow on map |