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•NOxemissions from snowmobiles at Svalbard:
almost three times higher than from gasoline cars in 2007
concentrated along the routes as snowmobiles follow one after another forming a
motorcade during fieldwork (Fig. 1)
•Other factors affecting NOxconcentration:
other NOxsources in Longyearbyen: coal power plant, cars and ship traffic
atmospheric conditions promoting accumulation of pollutants in the atmospheric
boundary layer
local atmospheric circulation due to complex topography
The measurements of NOxhave been performed
using the financial aid from the Arctic Field Grant
funding established by Norwegian Research
Council. Special thanks are given to the project
partners, Norwegian Polar Institute and the
University centre in Svalbard, for invaluable
logistical assistance. Norwegian Institute of Air
Research is acknowledged for the leasing of the
equipment and technical support during the
operation of the monitor.
Monitoring of nitrogen oxides at Svalbard:
measurements in Adventdalen
Alena Dekhtyareva1, Kim Holmén2, Mark Hermanson3
1UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 2Norwegian Polar Institute, 3The University Centre in Svalbard
corresponding author: Alena Dekhtyareva, alena.dekhtyareva@uit.no
The measurement campaign
took place in the Adventdalen
valley near Longyearbyen (Fig.
2). Main snowmobile route to
the east coast of Spitzbergen
from the town goes through the
valley along the road, and
therefore there is daily
snowmobile traffic in spring
season lasting from the end of
March to the beginning of May.
The NOxmonitor was installed
in the UNIS CO2lab building
near UNIS automatic weather
station (UNIS AWS) for the
period from 23.03.2017 to
15.05.2017.
Figure 2 Map of Longyearbyen and Adventdalen
RESULTS
•Average daytime (from 7:00 UTC to 19:00
UTC) NO and NO2hourly concentrations
were 0.4 μg∙m-3 and 1.7 μg∙m-3
•Average nighttime (from 19:00 UTC to 7:00
UTC) concentrations were 0.0 μg∙m-3 and
0.9 μg∙m-3
Daytime NOx concentrations are higher than nighttime ones. This reflects the diurnal
pattern of snowmobile traffic intensity.
The distribution of average NOxconcentrations over wind directions suggests
importance of different emission sources during daytime and nighttime.
There is a statistical significant dependence of NOxconcentration on prevailing
meteorological conditions.
The concentrations observed in this study are under European limit set for health
protection (200 μg∙m-3 NO2per hour). However, with further development of tourism
activities at Svalbard, there may appear zones where local wind regime and enhanced
traffic could lead to concentrations of NO2over 30 μg∙m-3, which is annual average
limit value, defined by the Norwegian legislation for the protection of vegetation.
•Compare NOxdata with measurements in
Barentsburg and Ny-Ålesund (Fig. 8) performed
by Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
and Norwegian Institute of Air Research,
respectively.
•Analyse UV data from UNIS and tropospheric
ozone data from Ny-Ålesund and Barentsburg to
determine how NOxemissions in Svalbard affect
local O3production.
•Future summertime field campaign is needed to
assess the effect of emissions from ships on the
local air quality in Longyearbyen.
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
OBSERVATIONAL SET-UP
CONCLUSIONS
FUTURE WORK
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Main aim of the research project “Monitoring of nitrogen oxides at
Svalbard” is to quantify the effect of emissions from snowmobiles,
cars and coal power plant on the background concentration of NOx
in Longyearbyen and around the settlement.
Figure 1 Motorcade of snowmobiles during UNIS fieldwork (photo: Richard Hann)
Figure 3 Chemiluminescence NO/NO2/NOxAnalyzer (photo: Mark
Hermanson)
Figure 5 UNIS automatic weather station in Adventdalen
•The NOxmonitor (Fig. 3) was installed
inside the building, while the inlet of
the sampling hose was secured outside
from the window.
•The sensor was calibrated weekly (Fig.
4), and the data were scaled linearly to
eliminate zero drift.
•The UNIS AWS is located nearby the
UNIS CO2lab (Fig. 5), and the data from
the station are used to assess local
meteorological conditions prevailing
during the fieldwork.
Figure 8 Map of Svalbard with the locations
of Longyearbyen, Barentsburg and Ny-
Ålesund
Figure 7 Average concentrations of NO
and NO2over wind directions
During daytime local wind speed at 2m height
correlates with NO (r =-0.37) and NO2(r = -0.38)
concentrations. During nighttime, there is no
significant correlation with NO, while correlation
with NO2is weak (r = -0.21).
The distribution of average NO and NO2
concentrations over wind directions during
nighttime reveals possible influence of power
plant (Fig. 7).
Elevated NOxconcentrations were observed
during colder days with light winds.
Combination of increased recreational traffic
and mild weather conditions on Easter holiday,
13.04.2017, led to accumulation of NO2
concentration 13 times higher than normal.
Figure 6 Hourly average wind speed, NO and NO2concentrations
Figure 4 Equipment for weekly calibration of NOxmonitor:
a) zero air generator; b) gas cylinder with NO of known
concentration (814 ppb) (photo: Mark Hermanson)
soil and water acidification
nitrates produced from NOxcan act
as fertilizers
formation of tropospheric ozone
NOxare precursors for particle formation
•Possible impacts of NOxemissions:
