Mobile measurements of atmospheric pollutant concentrations in the pollutant plume of BER airport

Recent research has demonstrated that airports are important emission sources for ultrafine particles (UFP) which may largely contribute to regional UFP number concentrations. However, in areas where multiple particle sources are present, the differentiation and the quantification of the contribution of aircraft emissions to ambient UFP is challenging. We present the results from a car-based mobile measurement campaign in the vicinity of the recently opened Berlin-Brandenburg airport (BER) in Germany. Total particle number concentrations (TNC), CO2, particle mass (PM) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations were measured downwind from the airport. TNC roughly followed an exponential decline with increasing distance to the airport, which was more pronounced during the measurement campaign in the fall than in the subsequent summer. Cluster analysis showed that airport emissions are dominated by elevated TNC concentrations (median elevation by 59%), while particle emissions from vehicle traffic coincided with increased CO2 and eBC concentrations. The airport emission cluster could be found up to approx. 7000 m distance to the central terminal building of the airport during the fall campaign. The real-world emission factors derived from the measurements indicate that aircrafts emit roughly eight times the number of particles per kg fuel than vehicle traffic. Overall, our study presents the effects of airport-related emissions onto the regional air quality downwind from the airport. To get further insights into the contribution percentage of airports to ambient UFP, studies on aerosol dispersion and dynamics modelling are needed.

Automated summary

Recent research has shown that airports are significant sources of ultrafine particles (UFP), which can greatly contribute to regional UFP concentrations. However, distinguishing and quantifying the contribution of aircraft emissions to ambient UFP in areas with multiple particle sources is challenging. A car-based mobile measurement campaign near the newly opened Berlin-Brandenburg airport (BER) in Germany was conducted to investigate this issue. The results revealed that airport emissions dominated by elevated total particle number concentrations (TNC) while particle emissions from vehicle traffic were associated with increased CO2 and equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations.