Particulate matter emissions maps for cities

Emissions of particulate matter (PM), reactive gases and greenhouse gases (GHGs) from industry, transport and domestic activities, degrade air quality in cities. In New Zealand, it is primarily emissions of PM from burning wood or fossil fuels that are of concern. Here we present preliminary results from a 2019 winter field campaign in Christchurch New Zealand. Over the 3-month (June-August) winter field campaign 64 PM 2.5 sensors were distributed throughout the city to provide detailed observations of these particulate emissions. This includes 14 high-quality ES-642 sensors and 50 outdoor dust information node (ODIN) sensors of unknown quality. ODIN sensors were often co-located with ES-642 sensors to assess the validity of these observations.

These PM 2.5 observations are supported by vertical profile observations made using a ceilometer, a micro-pulse lidar as well as a series of radiosonde launches. AWS observations throughout the city and surrounding areas are also employed to provide detailed observations of the airflow and PM transport throughout the city. Using these data backward trajectory modelling will be employed to identify emission sources. Furthermore, these data will be used as a validation of a forward model that may be applied to other cities in the future.