PROGRAMME

Session 46(V) - Air pollution

Dr. Giuseppina Oliva

Investigation of BVOC levels in a coastal urban environment: The Piraeus Port in Greece

VR3 Saturday 4 September 09:30 - 09:45

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) constitute organic species of high reactivity, influencing thus the composition of the atmosphere through participation in various reactions leading to the formation of secondary pollutants. Despite their well established origin from vegetation, focus is given recently on the role of the anthropogenic emission sources. Monoterpenes, which are under investigation in the current work, have been measured in environments affected by traffic, shipping, biomass burning and industrial activities. Monitoring of monoterpenes (α-pinene and limonene) during 2019 was implemented at the recently established Atmospheric Pollution Monitoring Station of the Municipality of Keratsini-Drapetsona located close to the Piraeus Port in Greece. An automatic gas chromatograph with flame ionization detector on 30 minutes time resolution was used to measure a wide range of non methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) from 6 to 12 carbon atoms. The seasonal variability of α-pinene and limonene demonstrated slightly higher values during summer and winter respectively. The correlations with other pollutants of anthropogenic origin indicated the impact of non-natural emission sources on their levels. Their potential to form ozone and aerosol was estimated and compared with already published data obtained at the urban background environment of Athens.