Comparison of particulate number concentrations in three Central European capital cities

Autor(en)

Tibor Borsós, Daniela Rimnácová, Vladimir Ždímal, Jiri Smolik, Zdenek Wagner, Tamás Weidinger, Julia Burkart, Gerhard Steiner, Georg Reischl, Regina Hitzenberger, Jaroslav Schwarz, Imre Salma

Abstrakt

Number size distributions of atmospheric aerosol particles in the

mobility diameter range from 10 to 1000 nm were determined in Budapest,

Prague and Vienna for a one-year-long period. Particle number

concentrations in various size fractions, their diurnal and seasonal

variations, mean size distributions and some properties of new particle

formation events were derived and compared. Yearly median particle

number concentrations for Budapest, Prague and Vienna were 10.6 × 10³, 7.3 × 10³ and 8.0 × 10³ cm^− 3.

Differences were linked to the different pollution levels of the

cities, and to diverse measurement environments and local conditions.

Mean contributions of ultrafine particles (particles with a mobility

diameter < 100 nm) to the total number concentration were 80%, 84%

and 74% for Budapest, Prague and Vienna, thus these particles represent

an overwhelming share of all particles in each city. Seasonal variation

of particle number concentrations was not obvious. Diurnal variations of

particles with a diameter between 100 and 1000 nm (N_100–1000)

exhibited similar shape for the cities, which was related to the

time-activity pattern of inhabitants and regional influences. The

structure of the diurnal variation for ultrafine particles was also

similar. It contained a huge morning peak in each city which was

explained by emissions from vehicular traffic. The second peak was

shifted from afternoon rush hours to late evenings as a result of the

daily cycling in meteorological parameters. The character of the

measurement site also influenced the diurnal variation. Diurnal

variation of the mean ratio of ultrafine particles to N_100–1000

clearly revealed the presence and importance of new particle formation

and subsequent growth in urban environments. Nucleation frequencies in

Budapest and Prague were 27% and 23%, respectively on a yearly time

scale. They showed a minimum in winter for both places, while the

largest nucleation activity was observed in spring for Budapest, and in

summer for Prague.

Organisation(en)

Aerosolphysik und Umweltphysik

Externe Organisation(en)

Czech Academy of Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest

Journal

Science of the Total Environment

Band

433

Seiten

418-426

Anzahl der Seiten

9

ISSN

0048-9697

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.06.052

Publikationsdatum

2012

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

105904 Umweltforschung

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 11 – Nachhaltige Städte und Gemeinden

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/90b007c0-292b-461e-aa37-264fc080b10c