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    Aerosol particle measurements at three stationary sites in the megacity of Paris during summer 2009: Meteorology and air mass origin dominate aerosol particle composition and size distribution
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2013) Freutel, F.; Schneider, J.; Drewnick, F.; Weiden-Reinmüller, S.-L.; Crippa, M.; Prévôt, A.S.H.; Baltensperger, U.; Poulain, L.; Wiedensohler, R.A.; Sciare, J.; Sarda-Estève, R.; Burkhart, J.F.; Eckhardt, S.; Stohl, A.; Gros, V.; Colomb, A.; Michoud, V.; Doussin, J.F.; Borbon, A.; Haeffelin, M.; Morille, Y.; Beekmann, M.; Borrmann, S.
    During July 2009, a one-month measurement campaign was performed in the megacity of Paris. Amongst other measurement platforms, three stationary sites distributed over an area of 40 km in diameter in the greater Paris region enabled a detailed characterization of the aerosol particle and gas phase. Simulation results from the FLEXPART dispersion model were used to distinguish between different types of air masses sampled. It was found that the origin of air masses had a large influence on measured mass concentrations of the secondary species particulate sulphate, nitrate, ammonium, and oxygenated organic aerosol measured with the Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer in the submicron particle size range: particularly high concentrations of these species (about 4 μg m−3, 2 μg m−3, 2 μg m−3, and 7 μg m−3, respectively) were measured when aged material was advected from continental Europe, while for air masses originating from the Atlantic, much lower mass concentrations of these species were observed (about 1 μg m−3, 0.2 μg m−3, 0.4 μg m−3, and 1–3 μg m−3, respectively). For the primary emission tracers hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol, black carbon, and NOx it was found that apart from diurnal source strength variations and proximity to emission sources, local meteorology had the largest influence on measured concentrations, with higher wind speeds leading to larger dilution and therefore smaller measured concentrations. Also the shape of particle size distributions was affected by wind speed and air mass origin. Quasi-Lagrangian measurements performed under connected flow conditions between the three stationary sites were used to estimate the influence of the Paris emission plume onto its surroundings, which was found to be rather small. Rough estimates for the impact of the Paris emission plume on the suburban areas can be inferred from these measurements: Volume mixing ratios of 1–14 ppb of NOx, and upper limits for mass concentrations of about 1.5 μg m−3 of black carbon and of about 3 μg m−3 of hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol can be deduced which originate from both, local emissions and the overall Paris emission plume. The secondary aerosol particle phase species were found to be not significantly influenced by the Paris megacity, indicating their regional origin. The submicron aerosol mass concentrations of particulate sulphate, nitrate, and ammonium measured during time periods when air masses were advected from eastern central Europe were found to be similar to what has been found from other measurement campaigns in Paris and south-central France for this type of air mass origin, indicating that the results presented here are also more generally valid.
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    Characterization and source apportionment of organic aerosol using offline aerosol mass spectrometry
    (Katlenburg-Lindau : Copernicus, 2016) Daellenbach, K.R.; Bozzetti, C.; Křepelová, A.; Canonaco, F.; Wolf, R.; Zotter, P.; Fermo, P.; Crippa, M.; Slowik, J.G.; Sosedova, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Huang, R.-J.; Poulain, L.; Szidat, S.; Baltensperger, U.; El Haddad, I.; Prévôt, A.S.H.
    Field deployments of the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) have significantly advanced real-time measurements and source apportionment of non-refractory particulate matter. However, the cost and complex maintenance requirements of the AMS make its deployment at sufficient sites to determine regional characteristics impractical. Furthermore, the negligible transmission efficiency of the AMS inlet for supermicron particles significantly limits the characterization of their chemical nature and contributing sources. In this study, we utilize the AMS to characterize the water-soluble organic fingerprint of ambient particles collected onto conventional quartz filters, which are routinely sampled at many air quality sites. The method was applied to 256 particulate matter (PM) filter samples (PM1, PM2.5, and PM10, i.e., PM with aerodynamic diameters smaller than 1, 2.5, and 10 µm, respectively), collected at 16 urban and rural sites during summer and winter. We show that the results obtained by the present technique compare well with those from co-located online measurements, e.g., AMS or Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM). The bulk recoveries of organic aerosol (60–91 %) achieved using this technique, together with low detection limits (0.8 µg of organic aerosol on the analyzed filter fraction) allow its application to environmental samples. We will discuss the recovery variability of individual hydrocarbon ions, ions containing oxygen, and other ions. The performance of such data in source apportionment is assessed in comparison to ACSM data. Recoveries of organic components related to different sources as traffic, wood burning, and secondary organic aerosol are presented. This technique, while subjected to the limitations inherent to filter-based measurements (e.g., filter artifacts and limited time resolution) may be used to enhance the AMS capabilities in measuring size-fractionated, spatially resolved long-term data sets.
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    In situ formation and spatial variability of particle number concentration in a European megacity
    (München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Pikridas, M.; Sciare, J.; Freutel, F.; Crumeyrolle, S.; von der Weiden-Reinmüller, S.-L.; Borbon, A.; Schwarzenboeck, A.; Merkel, M.; Crippa, M.; Kostenidou, E.; Psichoudaki, M.; Hildebrandt, L.; Engelhart, G.J.; Petäjä, T.; Prévôt, A.S.H.; Drewnick, F.; Baltensperger, U.; Wiedensohler, A.; Kulmala, M.; Beekmann, M.; Pandis, S.N.
    Ambient particle number size distributions were measured in Paris, France, during summer (1–31 July 2009) and winter (15 January to 15 February 2010) at three fixed ground sites and using two mobile laboratories and one airplane. The campaigns were part of the Megacities: Emissions, urban, regional and Global Atmospheric POLlution and climate effects, and Integrated tools for assessment and mitigation (MEGAPOLI) project. New particle formation (NPF) was observed only during summer on approximately 50 % of the campaign days, assisted by the low condensation sink (about 10.7 ± 5.9 × 10−3 s−1). NPF events inside the Paris plume were also observed at 600 m altitude onboard an aircraft simultaneously with regional events identified on the ground. Increased particle number concentrations were measured aloft also outside of the Paris plume at the same altitude, and were attributed to NPF. The Paris plume was identified, based on increased particle number and black carbon concentration, up to 200 km away from the Paris center during summer. The number concentration of particles with diameters exceeding 2.5 nm measured on the surface at the Paris center was on average 6.9 ± 8.7 × 104 and 12.1 ± 8.6 × 104 cm−3 during summer and winter, respectively, and was found to decrease exponentially with distance from Paris. However, further than 30 km from the city center, the particle number concentration at the surface was similar during both campaigns. During summer, one suburban site in the NE was not significantly affected by Paris emissions due to higher background number concentrations, while the particle number concentration at the second suburban site in the SW increased by a factor of 3 when it was downwind of Paris.