Characteristics of NO2 Pollution in the City of Gothenburg, South-West Sweden—Relation to NO x and O3 Levels, Photochemistry and Monitoring Location

Abstract

Concentrations of NO2, NO, and O3 from a rooftop monitoring station in Gothenburg, Sweden (2002–2006) were analysed to characterise NO2 pollution. [NO2] was shown to correlate strongly and non-linearly with [NO x ] (NO x = NO + NO2), in line with observations in other cities. The [NO2] to [NO x ] fraction fell initially with increasing [NO x ]. At [NO x ] levels >200 ppb, the decline in [NO2]/[NO x ] with increasing [NO x ] levelled out and [NO2]/[NO x ] converged towards approximately 0.15–0.16, independent of [NO x ]. Data from a traffic route site showed the same pattern. This value of [NO2]/[NO x ] at high [NO x ] can be interpreted as the NO2 fraction of the NO x emissions from vehicle exhaust. Situations with high NO x pollution and minimum [NO2]/[NO x ] were always associated with [O3] close to zero. Plotting [Ox] (Ox = NO2 + O3) vs. [NO x ] provided a strong linear correlation for situations dominated by local pollution ([NO]/[NO2]>1). The slope of the regression, a measure of the primary NO2 fraction in NO x emissions, was 0.13 during the day and 0.14 during the night. With stronger winds, the rooftop monitoring station became more similar, in terms of NO2 pollution, to a city street site and a traffic route site, although [NO2] was almost always higher at the street/traffic route locations. The EU standard for the annual average of [NO2] (40 μg m−3) was exceeded, while the hourly standard (200 μg m−3, not to be exceeded more than 18 times per year by 2010) was not exceeded at any of the sites.