Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Ultrafine particles (UFPs) are a major air quality concern because their small diameter (<100 nm) allows them to reach the lungs’ alveolar regions, causing adverse health effects. Civil aviation and airports are important sources of UFPs in urban areas. In this study, a one-month intensive measurement campaign in November 2022, 1 km downwind of Zurich Airport, revealed that high UFP number concentrations up to 300 000 cm –3 originate solely from aircraft operations. These emissions are either advected downwind of the airport or mixed downward during aircraft landings overhead. The measurements confirm that most aviation-related UFPs are volatile with geometric mean diameters <20 nm. Under certain conditions, they can rapidly grow up to ∼40 nm, while their volatile particle number fraction drops from ∼0.9 to ∼0.1. Online mass spectrometry shows that engine lubrication oil signals closely track aviation-related high UFP levels, enabling attribution of high UFP concentration events to aviation emissions. Multiyear measurements at the site further show that airport emissions dominate daytime UFP concentrations for ∼30% of the time across all wind directions. The widespread presence of UFPs and related organophosphate oil compounds poses a health concern for communities near airports that regulators should address.
Institutions: Paul Scherrer Institute, Kanton Zürich
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funder: Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt
OpenAlex ID: W7155352169