BayCEER Workshop 2021

Variability of Airborne Ultrafine Particles around Munich Airport: Preliminary Results from Summer 2021

O 1.6 in Soil-vegetation-atmosphere interactions in a changing climate

14.10.2021, 17:00-17:12, H 36

Airports and air traffic can be major sources of ultrafine particles (UFP), next to other anthropogenic and natural sources. UFP are in the size range of 100 nm or less and can be either liquid or solid. When airborne, UFP can have multiple effects on climate, weather and air quality i.e. when impacting cloud formation as condensation nuclei, altering chemical processes in the atmosphere, or being aspirated or taken up.

This project investigates to what extent a large airport and the respective near-ground air traffic contribute to the overall atmospheric UFP mixture. Further focussing on the lowermost atmosphere being in exchange with Earth's surface, we aim to elucidate the transport of these UFP into adjacent urban areas.

We designed and established two monitoring stations around Munich Airport on a North-South axis. Both stations are equipped for measuring UFP by means of a mobility particle size spectrometer (MPSS, 8...800 nm) and a total condensation particle counter (CPC, 8...3000 nm). The setup is completed by meteorological measurements (wind speed and direction, precipitation, solar radiation, humidity, pressure and temperature). Particularly wind speed and wind direction are relevant parameters to analyse the origin of detected UFP.

Officially launched in May 2021, we will present first results showing diurnal and weekly time series of UFP measurements and how they are connected to weather conditions, airport operation and other emission sectors in the surroundings.

This project is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection (TLK01U-76519).

Keywords: ultrafine particles, airport, air traffic

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