Seasonal analysis of particle number concentrations and sources of pollution at ada Marina supersite in the city of Belgrade
Year: 2025
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Ultrafine particles (UFPs), defined as particles with diameters below 100 nm, are of particular interest in environmental health due to their deep penetration into the respiratory system (Leikauf et al., 2020). According to the new World Health Organisation Air Quality Guidelines (WHO, 2021), UFP concentration is identified as an important air quality metric. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the diurnal and seasonal variations in total particle number concentrations (PNC) and UFP particle number size distribution (PNSD) at Belgrade's urban background Ada Marina site. Data was collected using a Mobility Particle Size Spectrometer (MPSS TSI 30XXX, range 10–400 nm), and other equipment for conventional pollutant measurements at Ada Marina site. This study compares the concentrations of PNC and UFP, along with pollution sources, between the heating and non-heating seasons. Measurements were in the period of February to September 2024, while the heating season officially runs from October 15th to April 15th. As anticipated, average PNC levels are higher during the heating season, reaching a peak of 17,908 cm⁻³, with elevated values in the afternoon and evening. In the non-heating season, the highest concentration recorded is 15,214 cm⁻³, occurring between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The morning and evening peaks are mainly caused by rush-hour traffic emissions. Also, we calculated average PNC for nucleation, Aitken and accumulation modes, obtaining 2,924 cm⁻³, 5,864 cm⁻³, and 1,848 cm⁻³, respectively. These concentrations are in the same range as those regiestered in the large nearby cities, such as Athens, Budapest and others (Trechera et al., 2023). When comparing pollution sources between the heating and non-heating seasons, the same sources are identified—biomass burning, nucleation, traffic, and the urban diffuse source—although their relative contributions differ, as expected. Higher concentrations, mainly for particles with diametres in the range 20- 80 nm were registered in the heating period. Also, there is also a smaller difference in concentrations of larger particles, indicating that the reasons for higher concentrations in winter can be biomass burning as well as low thickness of boundary layer. At night, the lowering of the boundary layer height leads to higher concentrations of precursors necessary for nucleation, increasing the concentration of particles (Li et al., 2023).
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7162724044