Person:
Birmili, Wolfram

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1969
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Birmili
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Wolfram
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  • Veröffentlichung
    Long-term trends of black carbon and particle number concentration in the lower free troposphere in Central Europe
    (2021) Sun, Jia; Birmili, Wolfram; Hermann, Markus; Yuan, Ye
    Background The implementation of emission mitigation policies in Europe over the last two decades has generally improved the air quality, which resulted in lower aerosol particle mass, particle number, and black carbon mass concentration. However, little is known whether the decreasing particle concentrations at a lower-altitude level can be observed in the free troposphere (FT), an important layer of the atmosphere, where aerosol particles have a longer lifetime and may affect climate dynamics. In this study, we used data from two high-Alpine observatories, Zugspitze-Schneefernerhaus (ZSF) and Jungfraujoch (JFJ), to assess the long-term trends on size-resolved particle number concentrations (PNCs) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentration separated for undisturbed lower FT conditions and under the influence of air from the planetary boundary layer (PBL) from 2009 to 2018. Results The FT and PBL-influenced conditions were segregated for both sites. We found that the FT conditions in cold months were more prevalent than in warm months, while the measured aerosol parameters showed different seasonal patterns for the FT and PBL-influenced conditions. The pollutants in the PBL-influenced condition have a higher chance to be transported to high-altitudes due to the mountainous topography, leading to a higher concentration and more distinct seasonal variation, and vice versa. The long-term trends of the measured aerosol parameters were evaluated and the decreased aerosol concentrations were observed for both FT and PBL-influenced conditions. The observed decreasing trends in eBC concentration in the PBL-influenced condition are well consistent with the reported trends in total BC emission in Germany and Switzerland. The decreased concentrations in the FT condition suggest that the background aerosol concentration in the lower FT over Central Europe has correspondingly decreased. The change of back trajectories in the FT condition at ZSF and JFJ was further evaluated to investigate the other possible drivers for the decreasing trends. Conclusions The background aerosol concentration in the lower FT over Central Europe has significantly decreased during 2009-2018. The implementation of emission mitigation policies is the most decisive factor and the decrease of the regional airmass occurrence over Central Europe also has contributed to the decreasing trends. © 2021, The Author(s)
  • Veröffentlichung
    Variability of black carbon mass concentrations, sub-micrometer particle number concentrations and size distributions: results of the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network ranging from city street to high alpine locations
    (2019) Sun, Junying; Birmili, Wolfram; Gerwig, Holger; Hermann, Markus; Ries, Ludwig; Schwerin, Andreas; Sohmer, Ralf; Meinhardt, Frank; Wirtz, Klaus
    This work reports the first statistical analysis of multi-annual data on tropospheric aerosols from the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN). Compared to other networks worldwide, GUAN with 17 measurement locations has the most sites equipped with particle number size distribution (PNSD) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) instruments and the most site categories in Germany ranging from city street/roadside to High Alpine. As we know, the variations of eBC and particle number concentration (PNC) are influenced by several factors such as source, transformation, transport and deposition. The dominant controlling factor for different pollutant parameters might be varied, leading to the different spatio-temporal variations among the measured parameters. Currently, a study of spatio-temporal variations of PNSD and eBC considering the influences of both site categories and spatial scale is still missing. Based on the multi-site dataset of GUAN, the goal of this study is to investigate how pollutant parameters may interfere with spatial characteristics and site categories. © 2019 The Authors
  • Veröffentlichung
    Supplement of Decreasing trends of particle number and black carbon mass concentrations at 16 observational sites in Germany from 2009 to 2018
    (2020) Sun, Jia; Bath, Olaf; Birmili, Wolfram; Hermann, Markus; Gerwig, Holger; Ries, Ludwig; Schwerin, Andreas; Meinhardt, Frank; Sohmer, Ralf; Wirtz, Klaus
    Anthropogenic emissions are a dominant contributor to air pollution. Consequently, mitigation policies have attempted to reduce anthropogenic pollution emissions in Europe since the 1990s. To evaluate the effectiveness of these mitigation policies, the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN) was established in 2008, focusing on black carbon and sub-micrometer aerosol particles, especially ultrafine particles. In this investigation, trends of the size-resolved particle number concentrations (PNC) and the equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentration over a 10-year period (2009-2018) were evaluated for 16 observational sites for different environments among GUAN. The trend analysis was done for both, the full-length time series and on subsets of the time series in order to test the reliability of the results. The results show generally decreasing trends of both, the PNCs for all size ranges as well as eBC mass concentrations in all environments, except PNC in 10-30 nm at regional background and mountain sites. The annual slope of the eBC mass concentration varies between -7.7% and -1.8% per year. The slopes of the PNCs varies from -6.3% to 2.7%, -7.0% to -2.0%, and -9.5% to -1.5% per year (only significant trends) for 10-30 nm, 30-200 nm, and 200-800 nm particle diameter, respectively. The regional Mann-Kendall test yielded regional-scale trends of eBC mass concentration, N[30-200] and N[200-800] of -3.8%, -2.0% and -2.4%, respectively, indicating an overall decreasing trend for eBC mass concentration and sub-micrometer PNC (except N[10-30]) all over Germany. The most significant decrease was observed on working days and during daytime in urban areas, which implies a strong evidence of reduced anthropogenic emissions. For the seasonal trends, stronger reductions were observed in winter. Possible reasons for this reduction can be the increased average ambient temperatures and wind speed in winter, which resulted in less domestic heating and stronger dilution. In addition, decreased precipitation in summer also diminishes the decrease of the PNCs and eBC mass concentration. For the period of interest, there were no significant changes in long-range transport patterns. The most likely factors for the observed decreasing trends are declining anthropogenic emissions due to emission mitigation policies of the European Union. © Author(s) 2020
  • Veröffentlichung
    Decreasing trends of particle number and black carbon mass concentrations at 16 observational sites in Germany from 2009 to 2018
    (2020) Sun, Jia; Bath, Olaf; Birmili, Wolfram; Hermann, Markus; Gerwig, Holger; Ries, Ludwig; Schwerin, Andreas; Meinhardt, Frank; Sohmer, Ralf; Wirtz, Klaus
    Anthropogenic emissions are a dominant contributor to air pollution. Consequently, mitigation policies have attempted to reduce anthropogenic pollution emissions in Europe since the 1990s. To evaluate the effectiveness of these mitigation policies, the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN) was established in 2008, focusing on black carbon and sub-micrometer aerosol particles, especially ultrafine particles. In this investigation, trends of the size-resolved particle number concentrations (PNC) and the equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentration over a 10-year period (2009-2018) were evaluated for 16 observational sites for different environments among GUAN. The trend analysis was done for both, the full-length time series and on subsets of the time series in order to test the reliability of the results. The results show generally decreasing trends of both, the PNCs for all size ranges as well as eBC mass concentrations in all environments, except PNC in 10-30 nm at regional background and mountain sites. The annual slope of the eBC mass concentration varies between -7.7% and -1.8% per year. The slopes of the PNCs varies from -6.3% to 2.7%, -7.0% to -2.0%, and -9.5% to -1.5% per year (only significant trends) for 10-30 nm, 30-200 nm, and 200-800 nm particle diameter, respectively. The regional Mann-Kendall test yielded regional-scale trends of eBC mass concentration, N[30-200] and N[200-800] of -3.8%, -2.0% and -2.4%, respectively, indicating an overall decreasing trend for eBC mass concentration and sub-micrometer PNC (except N[10-30]) all over Germany. The most significant decrease was observed on working days and during daytime in urban areas, which implies a strong evidence of reduced anthropogenic emissions. For the seasonal trends, stronger reductions were observed in winter. Possible reasons for this reduction can be the increased average ambient temperatures and wind speed in winter, which resulted in less domestic heating and stronger dilution. In addition, decreased precipitation in summer also diminishes the decrease of the PNCs and eBC mass concentration. For the period of interest, there were no significant changes in long-range transport patterns. The most likely factors for the observed decreasing trends are declining anthropogenic emissions due to emission mitigation policies of the European Union. Quelle: https://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/