Characteristics and source apportionment of black carbon in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland

Helin, Aku; Niemi, Jarkko V.; Virkkula, Aki; Pirjola, Liisa; Teinilä, Kimmo; Backman, John; Aurela, Minna; Saarikoski, Sanna; Rönkkö, Topi; Asmi, Eija; Timonen, Hilkka

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2018.07.022

Cited by 167 publications

(135 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Herich et al, (2011) [37] showed at three urban and rural sites in Switzerland, higher BB contributions during winter (33 ± 12%) against (6 ± 10%) in summer. Helin et al, (2018) [38] showed at three locations in Helsinki (1 urban street canyon and 2 suburban sites), higher contribution of BB (44 ± 15% for the 2 suburban sites) during the cold seasons due to residential wood combustion. The study of EBC sources can also be conducted from the evolution of the absorption Å ngström coefficient (α), presented in Figure 6.…”

Section: Ebc Source Apportionmentmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…In particular, the highest values of α were observed during the cold seasons (Figure 6b), in agreement with the higher contribution of BB from the model. Helin et al, (2018) [38] showed that the monthly variation patterns of α at three locations in Helsinki were similar. The highest α values were observed during the cold season and the lowest during the summer; a pattern which was noticed in previous studies as well [40][41][42][43].…”

Section: Particle Number Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Characterization of Aerosol Physical and Optical Properties at the Observatoire Pérenne de l’Environnement (OPE) Site

et al. 2020

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The Observatoire Pérenne de l’Environnement (OPE) station is a rural background site located in North-Eastern France. Besides emissions from agricultural activities, the site is located far from local emissions but at an even distance from the intense emission zones of Western Germany to the north-east and the Paris area to the south-west. In the paper, we report and analyze almost six years of measurements (1 May 2012 to 31 December 2018) of the optical and physical properties of aerosol particles. Based on aerosol optical and physical measurements combined with air mass back-trajectories, we investigate the dependence of these properties on air mass type. Two distinct equivalent black carbon (EBC) sources—origins-fossil fuel (FF) and biomass burning (BB)— were identified. FF was the dominant source of EBC (>70%) but showed a very marked seasonal variation. BB fraction is found higher during the cold seasons in the order of 35% (0.1 µg m−3) against 17% (0.05 µg m−3) during the warm seasons. The highest EBC and N0.54–1.15 (particles whose diameter ranged from 0.54 to 1.15 µm) median concentrations were observed during the night time and during the cold seasons compared to the warmer seasons, indicating primary sources trapped within a thin boundary layer (BL). A different behavior is found for N10–550 (particles whose diameter ranged from 10 to 550 nm) and coarse mode particles (N1.15–4.5, i.e., particles whose diameter ranged from 1.15 to 4.5 µm) median concentrations, which were observed during the warm seasons compared to the cold seasons, indicating rather biogenic secondary sources for the smaller particles, and potentially primary biogenic sources for the coarse mode particles. The scattering and absorption coefficients and single scattering albedo (SSA) show the same seasonal variations like the ones of N0.54–1.15 concentrations, indicating that particles larger than 500 nm seemed to contribute the most to the optical properties of the aerosol.

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Section: Ebc Source Apportionmentmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Particle Number Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Characterization of Aerosol Physical and Optical Properties at the Observatoire Pérenne de l’Environnement (OPE) Site

et al. 2020

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“…In particular, in the Helsinki region, the highest emissions were detected in detached and semi-detached-house areas; these were situated to the west, east and north of the centre of Helsinki. The detailed locations of these areas were reported by Hellén et al (2017). For Copenhagen, the highest emission strengths were also slightly outside the most densely built city centre; the highest concentrations were observed in the suburban areas of Copenhagen.…”

Section: Emissions Of Pm 25 Originating From Rwcmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Local wood combustion sources were reported to be especially responsible for the increased concentrations at suburban sites. Hellén et al (2017) observed that the local emissions from residential wood combustion caused high benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and levoglucosan concentrations in the HMA. The BaP concentrations exceeded the European Union target value for the annual average concentrations (1 ng m −3 ) in certain suburban detached-house areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of residential wood combustion on the concentrations of PM<sub>2.5</sub> in four Nordic cities

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Residential wood combustion (RWC) is an important contributor to air quality in numerous regions worldwide. This study is the first extensive evaluation of the influence of RWC on ambient air quality in several Nordic cities. We have analysed the emissions and concentrations of PM2.5 in cities within four Nordic countries: in the metropolitan areas of Copenhagen, Oslo, and Helsinki and in the city of Umeå. We have evaluated the emissions for the relevant urban source categories and modelled atmospheric dispersion on regional and urban scales. The emission inventories for RWC were based on local surveys, the amount of wood combusted, combustion technologies and other relevant factors. The accuracy of the predicted concentrations was evaluated based on urban concentration measurements. The predicted annual average concentrations ranged spatially from 4 to 7 µg m−3 (2011), from 6 to 10 µg m−3 (2013), from 4 to more than 13 µg m−3 (2013) and from 9 to more than 13 µg m−3 (2014), in Umeå, Helsinki, Oslo and Copenhagen, respectively. The higher concentrations in Copenhagen were mainly caused by the relatively high regionally and continentally transported background contributions. The annual average fractions of PM2.5 concentrations attributed to RWC within the considered urban regions ranged spatially from 0 % to 15 %, from 0 % to 20 %, from 8 % to 22 % and from 0 % to 60 % in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Umeå and Oslo, respectively. In particular, the contributions of RWC in central Oslo were larger than 40 % as annual averages. In Oslo, wood combustion was used mainly for the heating of larger blocks of flats. In contrast, in Helsinki, RWC was solely used in smaller detached houses. In Copenhagen and Helsinki, the highest fractions occurred outside the city centre in the suburban areas. In Umeå, the highest fractions occurred both in the city centre and its surroundings.

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“…AAE is a measurable parameter that describes the wavelength-dependence of optical absorption by black carbon or other light-absorbing particles. The calculation of AAE was done as described in Helin et al [22]. The average AAEs were calculated from instantaneous AAE values weighted with BC mass concentrations.…”

Section: Real-time Particle Measurement and Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fine Particle Emissions from Sauna Stoves: Effects of Combustion Appliance and Fuel, and Implications for the Finnish Emission Inventory

et al. 2019

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Sauna Stoves (SS) are simple wood combustion appliances used mainly in Nordic countries. They generate emissions that have an impact on air quality and climate. In this study, a new measurement concept for comparing the operation, thermal efficiency, and real-life fine particle and gaseous emissions of SS was utilized. In addition, a novel, simple, and universal emission calculation procedure for the determination of nominal emission factors was developed for which the equations are presented for the first time. Fine particle and gaseous concentrations from 10 different types of SS were investigated. It was found that each SS model was an individual in relation to stove performance: stove heating time, air-to-fuel ratio, thermal efficiency, and emissions. Nine-fold differences in fine particle mass (PM1) concentrations, and about 90-fold differences in concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were found between the SS, when dry (11% moisture content) birch wood was used. By using moist (18%) wood, particle number and carbon monoxide concentrations increased, but interestingly, PM1, PAH, and black carbon (BC) concentrations clearly decreased, when comparing to dry wood. E.g., PAH concentrations were 5.5–9.6 times higher with dry wood than with moist wood. Between wood species, 2–3-fold maximum differences in the emissions were found, whereas about 1.5-fold differences were observed between bark-containing and debarked wood logs. On average, the emissions measured in this study were considerably lower than in previous studies and emission inventories. This suggests that overall the designs of sauna stoves available on the market have improved during the 2010s. The findings of this study were used to update the calculation scheme behind the inventories, causing the estimates for total PM emissions from SS in Finland to decrease. However, wood-fired sauna stoves are still estimated to be the highest individual emission source of fine particles and black carbon in Finland.

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Characteristics and source apportionment of black carbon in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland

Cited by 167 publications

References 74 publications

Characterization of Aerosol Physical and Optical Properties at the Observatoire Pérenne de l’Environnement (OPE) Site

Characterization of Aerosol Physical and Optical Properties at the Observatoire Pérenne de l’Environnement (OPE) Site

The influence of residential wood combustion on the concentrations of PM<sub>2.5</sub> in four Nordic cities

Fine Particle Emissions from Sauna Stoves: Effects of Combustion Appliance and Fuel, and Implications for the Finnish Emission Inventory

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Characteristics and source apportionment of black carbon in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland

Cited by 167 publications

References 74 publications

Characterization of Aerosol Physical and Optical Properties at the Observatoire Pérenne de l’Environnement (OPE) Site

Characterization of Aerosol Physical and Optical Properties at the Observatoire Pérenne de l’Environnement (OPE) Site

The influence of residential wood combustion on the concentrations of PM&lt;sub&gt;2.5&lt;/sub&gt; in four Nordic cities

Fine Particle Emissions from Sauna Stoves: Effects of Combustion Appliance and Fuel, and Implications for the Finnish Emission Inventory

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The influence of residential wood combustion on the concentrations of PM<sub>2.5</sub> in four Nordic cities