Contribution of in-port shipping emissions to gaseous pollutants and particulate matter of differente sizes in an Adriatic port-city

Shipping is one of the transport sectors less regulated, although more than 80% of world trade is transported by ships [1] and its share of total anthropogenic emissions is significant, with effects on climate, human health and air quality, especially in coastal areas. Recent studies [2] demonstrated the effectiveness of implementation of the 2005/33/EC European Directive in reducing the impact of ship traffic on aerosol concentrations at local scale, however, the effect on climate is more uncertain. Detailed information regarding the size distribution of the impacts to particles and their correlation with gaseous emissions is needed to investigate the complex air quality-climate interaction of this source. Much of the literature studies focus on NO X , SO 2 , and particulate matter (PM) emissions while there is a gap of knowledge about the size distribution of emitted particles, especially in coarse fraction. This study was done in the framework of POSEIDON (POllution monitoring of Ship Emission: an IntegrateD approach fOr harbour of the Adriatic basiN) project (MED 2007-2013). The aim was to estimate the contribution of in-port ship emissions to gaseous atmospheric pollutants and to PM of different sizes in a port-city in South-Eastern Italy (Adriatic Sea), after the enforcement of the low-sulphur fuel EU-Directive. Measurements were taken at high temporal resolution at the Terminal Passeggeri site in the harbour area of Brindisi (40° 38? 43.32? N-17° 57? 36.39? E). Data collected by a Mobile Laboratory, were gaseous pollutants (NO 2 , NO, O 3 , SO 2 ; 5 min resolution), particle number concentrations (PNC; 1 min resolution), particle size distribution in the range 0.25-32 ?m (1 min resolution) and NO 2 and SO 2 flow-rate emissions with a DOAS (Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) remote-sensing system. The Avvisatore Marittimo provided data of ship traffic in the harbour and a night & day video camera was used to synchronize all measurements and visually estimate number of vehicles (cars, trucks) passing on the framed docks, during phases of loading/unloading of ships at berth. Characterization of ship plumes in aspect of particle size, gaseous concentrations, duration, ratio NO/NO 2 , was performed. The impact analysis [3] was applied separating manoeuvring (arrival/departure of ships) and hotelling (loading/unloading activities) phases. Results showed that the primary contribution to PM 1 and PM 2.5 was significantly lower with respect to those to PNC for both phases, confirming that the majority of the particles emitted were in the ultrafine size range. Manoeuvring phase was characterized by higher impacts to SO 2 , NO, and NO 2 than those to PNC, PM 1 and PM 2.5 . Hotelling phase represented a significant share of the impact for NO, NO 2 , PNC but gave a low contribution to SO 2 impact (due to low-sulphur fuel). Ultrafine particles (D p <0.25 µm) represented 99% of the absolute contribution to PNC in number concentrations but only 18% of the contribution to mass concentrations. The two phases had significant impacts to ultrafine and coarse (D p >1) fraction while accumulation mode particles (0.25<D p <1 µm) were mainly influenced by manoeuvring. The availability of data for 2012 [4] and 2014 allowed to analyse trends in terms of shipping emissions and relative contributions to particle concentrations. Comparison of NO 2 and SO 2 emissions estimated through the emission inventory with those measured with the DOAS system showed a good agreement suggesting that DOAS could be a useful tool for investigating this pollution source. [1] European Commission and Entec UK Limited (2005). Service Contract on Ship Emissions: Assignment, Abatement and Market-based Instruments Task 2b and C- NO X and SO 2 Abatement. [2] Contini D., Gambaro A., Belosi F., De Pieri S., Cairns W., Donateo A., Zanotto E., Citron M. (2011). Direct influence of ship traffic on atmospheric PM2.5, PM10 and PAHs in Venice. Journal of Environmental Management 92, 2119-2129. [3] Contini D., Gambaro A., Donateo A., Cescon P., Cesari D., Merico E., Belosi F., Citron M. (2015). Inter-annual trend of the primary contribution of ship emissions to PM2.5 concentrations in Venice (Italy): Efficiency of emissions mitigation strategies. Atmospheric Environment 102, 183-190. [4] Donateo A., Gregoris E., Gambaro A., Merico E., Giua R., Nocioni A., Contini D. (2014). Contribution of harbour activities and ship traffic to PM2.5, particle number concentrations and PAHs in a port city of the Mediterranean Sea (Italy). Environmental Science and Pollution Research 21, 9415-9429.