Exploring NOx Emission from the Ground and the Air in London, UK
- 1Wolfson Atmospheric Chemistry Laboratories, Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, UK
- 2National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of York, York, UK
- 3Stony Brook University, NY, USA
- 4National Ecological Observatory Network Program, Battelle, Boulder, CO, USA
- 5Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- 6University of Reading, Reading, UK
NOx (the sum of NO + NO2) is emitted during most combustion processes. NO2 is a well-known air pollutant detrimental to human health, critical in the formation of tropospheric ozone and its concentration is regulated in many cities. London is a megacity which often finds itself in breach of these air quality regulations. Emission inventories are used in air quality forecast models to predict current and future air pollution levels and to guide abatement strategy. The National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) has been shown to underestimate NOx emission in London (Lee et al. 2012, Vaughan et al. 2016). Top down measurements allow assessment of emissions help understand the difference between measurement and model.
During March – June 2017 NOx emissions were measured using the eddy covariance method sampling from a height of 180 m at the British Telecom (BT) tower in Central London. In July of 2017 measurements of NOx by the UK’s Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement (FAAM) were made as a part of the Effect of Megacities on the Transport and Transformation of Pollutants on the Regional to Global Scales (EMeRGe). A mass balance approach (after O’Shea et al. 2014 and Pitt et al. 2019) has been applied to these measurements producing a measurement of bulk emission of NOx from Greater London and surrounding areas.
Through comparison of these measurements with the NAEI we present an exploration of NOx emission from London and assess how this is captured in the emissions inventory.
Lee et al., Environmental Science & Technology, 2015, 49, 1025-1034
Vaughan et al., Faraday Discussions, 2016, 189, 455-472
O’Shea et al., J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 2014, 119, 4940–4952
Pitt et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2019, 19, 8931-8945
How to cite: Drysdale, W., Vaughan, A., Squires, F., Nelson, B., Pitt, J., Metzger, S., Durden, D., Pingintha-Durden, N., Grimmond, S., Purvis, R., and Lee, J.: Exploring NOx Emission from the Ground and the Air in London, UK, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-17372, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17372, 2020.
