- 1Technische Universität Braunschweig, Institute of Flight Guidance, Airborne Meteorology and Measurement Techniques, Braunschweig, Germany (l.bretschneider@tu-bs.de)
- 2Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Department of Atmospheric Microphysics, Leipzig, Germany
Ultrafine aerosol particles (UFP, particles < 100 nm diameter) can contribute to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Aircraft engines have been found to emit significant amounts of UFP. The vertical and horizontal distribution of these particles in the vicinity of airports depends mainly on the wind speed, the local wind direction and the stability of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). To investigate the vertical distribution of UFP emissions depending on these parameters, TU Braunschweig conducted measurement flights with the uncrewed aerial system (UAS) ALADINA near the Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) in October 2021 during the ULTRAFLEB project and near the Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in October 2024 as part of the SOURCE FFR project.
During the two field campaigns, 140 and 110 vertical profiles were conducted at BER and FRA, respectively, at varying periods during the day. The results indicate that UFP concentrations are higher compared to the background conditions downwind of the airport plume. This behaviour can also be seen in the preliminary data analysis of the FRA campaign. During stable conditions of the ABL, the measured UFP remain within the inversion layer, as vertical mixing is suppressed. This is also the case for the relatively larger particles with a size diameter between 300 and 500 nm, which were mainly emitted from car traffic close to the site.
The UAS measurements performed downwind of FRA provide a profound understanding of the vertical distribution of UFP and the interaction with meteorological conditions will allow to relate this results to the in parallel performed particle dispersion and wake vortex modeling.
Acknowledgement:
This research is part of the project ULTRAFLEB (DE: Ultrafeinstaubbelastung durch Flughäfen in Berlin; EN: UFP caused by airports in Berlin) and is funded by the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) under grant RE FOPLAN FKZ 3720 52 201 0 and the work was carried out as part of the UFP exposure study SOURCE FFR (Study On Ultrafine Particles in the Frankfurt Airport Region) commissioned by the Umwelt und Nachbarschaftshaus (UNH).
How to cite: Bretschneider, L., Voß, A., Harm-Altstädter, B., Bärfuss, K., Käthner, R., Pätzold, F., Schlerf, A., Schuchard, M., Hermann, M., Winkler, U., and Lampert, A.: Using uncrewed aerial systems for investigating the vertical aerosol particle distribution close to German airports, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-9787, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-9787, 2025.
