Further development and operation of an information system for current meteorological advice for the purpose of supporting the root cause analysis of air pollution, in particular by particulate matter (PM10/2.5) and partly ozone

 

Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment

 

Summary

In the calendar year 2014, more than 35 days with PM10 fine dust concentrations (daily mean values) exceeding 50 µg/m³ were again measured at several traffic monitoring stations in Berlin. At the traffic-dominated measuring points, the limit value according to § 4 para. 1 of the 39th BImSchV was thus again exceeded.

In 2015, there were also exceedances at a traffic measuring station (Frankfurter Allee, 36 days). In the following years (2016-2020), however, the exceedances have always remained below the limit of 35 days (see also: https://luftdaten.berlin.de).

A precise knowledge of the causes of PM10 concentrations serves to assess PM10 pollution and possible mitigation potentials, especially in case of episodes of high concentrations. In particular, the contribution of long-range transport plays a significant role in elevated pollutant concentrations and needs to be quantified for cause-related and proportionate action planning. Meteorological influences are of crucial importance for long-range transport.

For the assessment of long-range transport, continuous observation of the meteorological situation by means of tracking the air masses is necessary to identify possible source regions. According to §29 of the 39th BImSchV, in the case of transboundary air pollution, joint steps must be taken with the affected member states of the European Union in order to eliminate exceedances of the pollutant limit values by means of suitable, appropriate measures. To this end, proof must be provided on the basis of meteorological and chemical analyses that the polluters are to be sought in neighboring countries. In addition to stationary measurements, model calculations can also be carried out in order to obtain adequate information on the spatial distribution of air pollutant concentrations. This spatial information is necessary to estimate the potential of urban measures to reduce pollutant loads and thus allow a proportionate and polluter-oriented planning of measures.

Project Objective:

The aim of the project is the provision of meteorological and air-chemical data bases for the cause analysis of fine particulate matter PM10 and in the future also of PM2.5. For this purpose, three-dimensional trajectories for the Berlin measuring stations of the BLUME measuring network are to be made available via the Internet. Furthermore, the share of non-German emissions on Berlin pollutant loads will be calculated and made available once a year with the help of a chemical transport model. The resolution of the three-dimensional grid model should not be less than 25x25 km² in the horizontal.