Methodology for setup and data processing of mobile air quality measurements to assess the spatial variability of concentrations in urban environments

Poppel, Martine Van; Peters, Jan; Bleux, Nico

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.020

Cited by 94 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…They used the median as the central tendency measure and a deviation of 15 %. Van Poppel et al (2013) showed that the use of background normalisation leads to a faster convergence towards a representative concentration and reduces the number of runs required to obtain representative results significantly, which is in line with the results in this paper. In those papers, a more limited number of repetitions to perform the data experiment was used.…”

Section: Number Of Repetitionssupporting

confidence: 79%

“…A comparable analysis with this data experiment was performed in Peters et al (2013) and Van Poppel et al (2013). They concluded that a limited set of mobile measurements (20 to 24 runs) makes it possible to map the air quality, and for some streets this number could even be reduced to less than 10 .…”

Section: Number Of Repetitionsmentioning

confidence: 65%

“…In the study of Peters et al (2014) it is demonstrated that the variability in urban BC and ultra-fine particles (UFP) concentrations can be mapped at a spatial resolution of 10 m. However, they used up to 256 repeated measurement runs, which is not always practically feasible. Van Poppel et al (2013) applied background correction to reduce the number of repetitions required to obtain representative results of the spatial variability of pollutants at different micro-environments in a city. The results are also sensitive to the chosen data processing approaches, as stressed by Brantley et al (2014), who explored the influence of different techniques for local emission event detection, background estimation and averaging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mobile monitoring for mapping spatial variation in urban air quality: Development and validation of a methodology based on an extensive dataset

Bossche

Peters

Verwaeren

et al. 2015

Atmospheric Environment

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191

132

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Mobile monitoring is increasingly used as an additional tool to acquire air quality data at a high spatial resolution. However, given the high temporal variability of urban air quality, a limited number of mobile measurements may only represent a snapshot and not be representative. In this study, the impact of this temporal variability on the representativeness is investigated and a methodology to map urban air quality using mobile monitoring is developed and evaluated.A large set of black carbon (BC) measurements was collected in Antwerp, Belgium, using a bicycle equipped with a portable BC monitor (micro-aethalometer). The campaign consisted of 256 and 96 runs along two fixed routes (2 and 5 km long). Large gradients over short distances and differences up to a factor of 10 in mean BC concentrations aggregated at a resolution of 20 m are observed. Mapping at such a high resolution is possible, but a lot of repeated measurements are required. After computing a trimmed mean and applying background normalisation, depending on the location 24 to 94 repeated measurement runs (median of 41) are required to map the BC concentrations at a 50 m resolution with an uncertainty of 25 %. When relaxing the uncertainty to 50 %, these numbers reduce to 5 to 11 (median of 8) runs. We conclude that mobile monitoring is a suitable approach for mapping the urban air quality at a high spatial resolution, and can provide insight into the spatial variability that would not be possible with stationary monitors. A careful set-up is needed with a sufficient number of repetitions in relation to the desired reliability and spatial resolution. Specific data processing methods such as background normalisation and event detection have to be applied.

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Section: Number Of Repetitionssupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Number Of Repetitionsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mobile monitoring for mapping spatial variation in urban air quality: Development and validation of a methodology based on an extensive dataset

Bossche

Peters

Verwaeren

et al. 2015

Atmospheric Environment

Self Cite

191

132

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“…Size distributions in these 'background' areas do not contain particles in the lowest size bins below 10 nm and the geometrical mean diameters (GMD) (!30 nm) is well above that of fresh emissions (B15 nm). This procedure does not estimate the lowest number concentrations occasionally observed in an area but accounts for enhanced background levels in a polluted atmosphere (Lenschow et al, 2001;Van Poppel et al, 2013;Hacker et al, 2016).…”

Section: Flight Patterns and Tracksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrafine particles over Germany – an aerial survey

Junkermann

Vogel²,

Bangert³

2016

Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology

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A B S T R A C T Ultrafine particles in the atmosphere may have important climate and health effects. As they are below visible size and not visible for remote sensing techniques, the majority of observations thus come from ground-based measurements. Some of those observations indicate elevated sources for ultrafine particles. Here we present for the first time airborne measurements of number concentration and size distributions of ultrafine particles along defined flight paths across Germany, allowing to derive background concentrations and to identify major single sources. A significant impact of fossil fuelÁrelated emissions on background and maximum concentrations was found. Maxima reaching up to 90 000 particles cm (3 were encountered in plumes of single large sources extending over more than 200 km. Modelling shows that about 10Á40 % of Germany were continuously affected by such plumes. Regional-scale transport and boundary layer dynamics were identified as major factors controlling spatial and temporal patterns of size and number distributions.

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“…Furthermore, while numerous research studies and reviews have been published on the use of such mobile and personalized monitors for particulate matter, information on the use of mobile monitors for gaseous pollutants is scarce. Studies have distinguished the technologies of mobile monitors of gaseous pollutants from those of stationary monitors (Kumar et al, 2015;Aleixandre and Gerboles, 2012;Castell et al, 2013;Steinle et al, 2013;Snyder et al, 2013;Van Poppel et al, 2013) and evaluated mobile monitors in comparison to reference analyzers (Gerboles and Buzica, 2009;Lin et al, 2015;Williams et al, 2014b), yet no current study synthesizes these findings or promotes new research directions from the perspectives of specific audiences and intended applications. Therefore, this state-of-the-art review is the first to provide an exclusive assessment of small portable air pollution monitors that measure ambient gaseous outdoor pollutants.…”

Section: Background and Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics and applications of small, portable gaseous air pollution monitors

McKercher

Salmond

Vanos

2017

Environmental Pollution

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a b s t r a c tBackground: Traditional approaches for measuring air quality based on fixed measurements are inadequate for personal exposure monitoring. To combat this issue, the use of small, portable gas-sensing air pollution monitoring technologies is increasing, with researchers and individuals employing portable and mobile methods to obtain more spatially and temporally representative air pollution data. However, many commercially available options are built for various applications and based on different technologies, assumptions, and limitations. A review of the monitor characteristics of small, gaseous monitors is missing from current scientific literature. Purpose: A state-of-the-art review of small, portable monitors that measure ambient gaseous outdoor pollutants was developed to address broad trends during the last 5e10 years, and to help future experimenters interested in studying gaseous air pollutants choose monitors appropriate for their application and sampling needs. Methods: Trends in small, portable gaseous air pollution monitor uses and technologies were first identified and discussed in a review of literature. Next, searches of online databases were performed for articles containing specific information related to performance, characteristics, and use of such monitors that measure one or more of three criteria gaseous air pollutants: ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. All data were summarized into reference tables for comparison between applications, physical features, sensing capabilities, and costs of the devices. Results: Recent portable monitoring trends are strongly related to associated applications and audiences. Fundamental research requires monitors with the best individual performance, and thus the highest cost technology. Monitor networking favors real-time capabilities and moderate cost for greater reproduction. Citizen science and crowdsourcing applications allow for lower-cost components; however important strengths and limitations for each application must be addressed or acknowledged for the given use.

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Methodology for setup and data processing of mobile air quality measurements to assess the spatial variability of concentrations in urban environments

Cited by 94 publications

References 22 publications

Mobile monitoring for mapping spatial variation in urban air quality: Development and validation of a methodology based on an extensive dataset

Mobile monitoring for mapping spatial variation in urban air quality: Development and validation of a methodology based on an extensive dataset

Ultrafine particles over Germany – an aerial survey

Characteristics and applications of small, portable gaseous air pollution monitors

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