Marcel Langner

Determination of PM10 deposition based on antimony flux to selected urban surfaces

Deposition of PM(10) particles to several types of urban surfaces was investigated within this study. Antimony was chosen as a tracer element to calculate dry deposition velocities for PM(10), since antimony proved to be present almost exclusively in PM(10) particles in ambient urban air. During 18 months, eight sampling sites in Berlin and Karlsruhe, two cities in Germany, were operated. PM(10) concentrations and dry deposition were routinely sampled as two week averages. Additionally, leaf-samples were collected at three sites with tall vegetation. The obtained deposition velocities ranged from 0.8 to 1.3 cms(-1) at roadside sites and from 0.4 to 0.5 cms(-1) at the other sites. With reference to the whole canopy, additional deposition velocities of about 0.5 cms(-1) were obtained for leaf surfaces. As a consequence, it can be concluded that vegetation-covered areas beside streets show the highest potential to capture particles in urban areas.

Source apportionment of organic compounds in Berlin using positive matrix factorization - assessing the impact of biogenic aerosol and biomass burning on urban particulate matter.

Source apportionment of 13 organic compounds, elemental carbon and organic carbon of ambient PM(10) and PM(1) was performed with positive matrix factorization (PMF). Samples were collected at three sites characterized by different vegetation influences in Berlin, Germany in 2010. The aim was to determine organic, mainly biogenic sources and their impact on urban aerosol collected in a densely populated region. A 6-factor solution provided the best data fit for both PM-fractions, allowing the sources isoprene- and α-pinene-derived secondary organic aerosol (SOA), bio primary, primarily attributable to fungal spores, bio/urban primary including plant fragments in PM(10) and cooking and traffic emissions in PM(1), biomass burning and combustion fossil to be identified. With mean concentrations up to 2.6 μg Cm(-3), biomass burning dominated the organic fraction in cooler months. Concentrations for α-pinene-derived SOA exceeded isoprene-derived concentrations. Estimated secondary organic carbon contributions to total organic carbon (OC) were between 7% and 42% in PM(10) and between 11% and 60% in PM(1), which is slightly lower than observed for US- or Asian cities. Primary biogenic emissions reached up to 33% of OC in the PM(10)-fraction in the late summer and autumn months. Temperature-dependence was found for both SOA-factors, correlations with ozone and mix depth only for the α-pinene-derived SOA-factor. Latter indicated input of α-pinene from the borders, highlighting differences in the origin of the precursors of both factors. Most factors were regionally distributed. High regional distribution was found to be associated with stronger influence of ambient parameters and higher concentrations at the background station. A significant contribution of biogenic emissions and biomass burning to urban organic aerosol could be stated. This indicates a considerable impact on PM concentrations also in cities in a densely populated area, and should draw the attention concerning health aspects not only to cardio-vascular diseases but also to allergy issues.

Particulate Matter in the Urban Atmosphere: Concentration, Distribution, Reduction – Results of Studies in the Berlin Metropolitan Area

Urban agglomerations are places of increased emissions of anthropogenic pollutants into the atmosphere. Since most of these pollutants are harmful to humans, reduction of their ambient concentrations is a major issue of environmental policy on international, national, and local levels. According to Wiederkehr and Yoon (1998), air pollutants can be grouped into major and trace or hazardous air pollutants. Major air pollutants comprise six classical pollutants: sulphur dioxide (SO2), airborne particles, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), lead (Pb), and ozone (O3). Hazardous air pollutants can be found in much smaller concentrations than major air pollutants and include different chemical, physical, and biological agents, like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radio-nuclides, and micro-organisms.

Klimawandel und Gesundheit in Berlin-Brandenburg

Die Region Berlin-Brandenburg stellt sich als besonders vom Klimawandel gefahrdet dar. Nach Angaben des Landesumweltamtes Brandenburg werden die Zahl der Sommertage, heisen Tage, Tage mit Schwule und tropischen Nachte zukunftig teilweise sehr deutlich zunehmen (Linke et al. 2010). Vor diesem Hintergrund entwickelt das Teilprojekt 5 „Warn- und Interventionssysteme fur Gesundheitsvorsorge und Krankheitsmanagement“ des Innovationsnetzwerks Klimaanpassung Brandenburg Berlin (INKA BB) Masnahmen zur klimaadaptiven Gesundheitsvorsorge und untersucht Zusammenhange zwischen Hitze- bzw. Luftbelastung und Gesundheit. Erste Untersuchungsergebnisse zeigen fur den Agglomerationsraum Berlin-Brandenburg positive signifikante Zusammenhange zwischen der Mortalitat bzw. Morbiditat und thermischer Belastung.