ClearfLo: Clean Air for London
Lead Research Organisation:
NERC CEH (Up to 30.11.2019)
Department Name: Billett
Abstract
Poor air quality, particularly in urban areas, has a demonstrable effect on human health, but the processes responsible for producing the main pollutants, namely particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and heat are not well understood and are poorly predicted. The ambition of ClearfLo is to provide integrated measurements of the meteorology, composition and particulate loading of London's urban atmosphere, made at street level and at elevated sites, complemented by modelling, to improve predictive capability for air quality. This ambition will be addressed by establishing new measurement capabilities in London, which will be used for long-term measurements and intensive observation periods, and by analysis and modelling of the measurements to establish key processes.
Organisations
Publications
Visser S
(2015)
Kerb and urban increment of highly time-resolved trace elements in PM<sub>10</sub>, PM<sub>2.5</sub> and PM<sub>1.0</sub> winter aerosol in London during ClearfLo 2012
in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Visser S
(2015)
Advanced source apportionment of size-resolved trace elements at multiple sites in London during winter
in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Valach Amy
(2014)
Volatile organic compound fluxes and concentrations in London (ClearfLo)
in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Valach A; Langford B; Nemitz E; MacKenzie R; Hewitt CN
Biogenic isoprene contribution to total VOC fluxes and concentrations in central London
Valach A
(2014)
Concentrations of selected volatile organic compounds at kerbside and background sites in central London
in Atmospheric Environment
Valach A
(2015)
Seasonal and diurnal trends in concentrations and fluxes of volatile organic compounds in central London
in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Ots R
(2016)
Model simulations of cooking organic aerosol (COA) over the UK using estimates of emissions based on measurements at two sites in London
in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Ots R
(2016)
Simulating secondary organic aerosol from missing diesel-related intermediate-volatility organic compound emissions during the Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) campaign
in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
| Description | 1. Quantification of urban emission fluxes Direct measurements of urban emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides in London, from the BT Tower and a rooftop site at the Kings College London, showed that: (a) emissions of NOx are underestimated in the current London emission inventory, which is consistent with the underestimation of NOx emission factors from diesel engines; (b) whilst some priority VOCs such as benzene are correctly predicted by the emission inventory, other compounds such as isoprene and methanol are either not included at all or underestimated. 2. Contribution of cooking to particulate matter in urban environments A year-long time series of the chemical composition of fine dust (PM1) at Marylebone Rd, London, suggests that the local enhancement in PM1 due to cooking is as large as that from organic carbon compounds emitted by vehicles. A first upscaling of this contribution to the UK has produced the first assessment across the UK's urban centres. 3. ClearfLo work by the Univ. of York showed that long-chain hydrocarbons are an important, usually ignored, class of chemicals emitted by diesel engines. In collaboration with York and the Univ. of Edinburgh, we have included these compounds in a chemistry and transport model and demonstrated that it improves the models capability to reproduce the mesasured secondary organic aerosol concentrations. 2. |
| Exploitation Route | Emission inventories need to be improved for NOx, VOCs and to include long-chain VOCs from diesel combustion for models to simulate better the urban atmospheric chemistry and impacts on human health and climate. The work highlights the importance of cooking emissions for human exposure to particulate matter and opens up a relatively cost-effective way for government to reduce health effects. |
| Sectors | Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | ClearfLo has highlighted the importance of cooking aerosol and solid fuel burning as contributors to urban PM as well as identified interermediate-chaing VOCs from diesel emissions as a missing precursor of secondary organic aerosol. Together with emerging evidence from other studies, this has informed Defra's new Clean Air Strategy 2019, which now targets a much wider range of emissions in its attempt to lower PM exposure of the UK population. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2019 |
| Sector | Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Description | Integrated Research Observation System for Clean Air (OSCA) |
| Amount | £2,438,169 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/T001798/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 04/2022 |
| Title | Concentrations and meteorological data measured at Kings College site and on BT Tower during ClearFlo IOPs |
| Description | Concentrations of NH3 etc., as well as associated measurements on the BT Tower and Kings College site. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Used in larger analyses, bringing together numerous data streams to understand correlations between variables. |
| URL | http://www.clearflo.ac.uk/internal/data/ |
| Title | Eddy-covariance flux measurement system for aerosol chemical components |
| Description | Development of the Aerodyne high resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) into a flux measurement system for PM1 chemical components, including hardware modifications, development of a fast data acquisition mode and flux processing routines. |
| Type Of Technology | New/Improved Technique/Technology |
| Year Produced | 2014 |
| Impact | Underpinned flux measurements to quantify urban emissions and controls of dry deposition velocities of particles. |
| Description | Contribution to NERC 50th anniversary celebration abaord RRS Discovery |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | We presented a poster on the verification of pollutant emissions from London at the CEH stall during the NERC 50th anniversary celebration aboard the RRS Discovery, which was based on NERC grant research. Depending on the day the audience included local and national policy makers, school children and other members of the public. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Keynote lecture at UK-China International Particle Technology Forum VIII: The use of urban micrometeorological flux measurements for the quantification of local emissions and the study of aerosol dynamics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Keynote lecture at UK-China International Particle Technology Forum VIII (vitual meeting) attended by 20+ participants mainly from China |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Poster Presentation at Royal Society Meeting "Air Quality Past, Present and Future" 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Poster at international conference: Aromatic VOC mixing ratios in Delhi, Beijing and London. Acton, W.J.F., Huang, Z., Wang, Z., Wang, X., Zhang, Y., Davison, B., Langford, B., Mullinger, N., Nemitz, E., Fu, P., Hewitt, C.N.; Poster at "Air quality, past, present and future" Scientifc Meeting at the Royal Society, London, 11-12 Nov. 2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Presentation at the NERC Atmospheric Science Showcase at Cranfield |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A presentation and a stall were contributed to the Atmospheric Science Showcase event in Cranfield which formed part of NERC's 50th anniversary celebrations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Stall at the NERC Into-the-blue event, Manchester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A stall was provided at the Into-the-blue event, Manchester, that included a practical demonstration the flux measurement approaches used for methane on the BT Tower, together with the a display of the results of the measurements and their implications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Stall on the RRS Discovery to mark NERC's 50th birthday |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | A stall was provided for the NERC 50th Anniversary celebrations on the RRS Discovery in London which highlighted the BT Tower flux measurements and their findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Talk at national conference ((Royal Met Soc Atmospheric Chemistry Special Interest Group)) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Talk at national conference: Direct measurements of pollutant emissions above megacities. Eiko Nemitz. Royal Met Soc Atmospheric Chemistry Special Interest Group (ACSG). Air Pollution in Megacities: Advances in Monitoring and Modelling. University of Leeds, 20-Mar-2019. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | UnEarthed |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Stall titled "Air Pollution and Us" at the NERC UnEarthed event at the Edinburgh Dynamic Earth, 17-20 Nov 2017. It was very well received by school children and the wider public, who learnt about our research and the research methods used. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |