A070-04
VOC Levels and Variability in the First Semester of 2020 in the Paris Region: Impact of the National Lockdown

Wednesday, 9 December 2020: 07:09
Virtual
Leïla Simon1, Valerie Gros1, Jean-Eudes Petit1, Francois Truong1, Roland Sarda Esteve2, Dominique Baisnee1, Nicolas Bonnaire1, Jean-Charles Dupont3, Martial Haeffelin4 and Olivier Favez5, (1)LSCE Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Gif-Sur-Yvette Cedex, France, (2)Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Gif-Sur-Yvette Cedex, France, (3)Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Palaiseau, France, (4)SIRTA Site Instrumental de Recherche par Télédétection Atmosphérique, Palaiseau, France, (5)INERIS Institut National de l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques, Nancy, France
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
Anthropogenic emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) have a substantial impact on ambient air quality. The Covid19-related lockdown induced a sudden and sharp decrease in some of these activities, especially in densely populated regions such as the Paris megacity in France.

The present study was conducted from January to June 2020, covering the periods before, during and after the lockdown that took place in France from March 17th to May 11th. It was conducted at the SIRTA facility, which is representative of background air quality in the Paris region.

During this period, an experimental set-up composed of four different instruments provided nearly-continuous in-situ measurements of a wide range of VOCs: a Quadrupole and a Time-of-Flight Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass Spectrometers (respectively PTR-Quad-MS and PTR-ToF-MS), as well as C2-C6 and C6-C12 gas chromatography analyzers. Complementary measurements, including other gaseous pollutants (such as NOX) and aerosol physical and chemical properties, as well as meteorological parameters, are also available for this study.

The results obtained from these observations are bringing valuable insights on VOC variability and levels throughout the period. The effect of the significant decrease of traffic on air quality will be estimated by analyzing a selection of VOCs considered as traffic markers, in relation to NOX levels. The impact of the lockdown will also be investigated regarding the contributions of other sources like residential wood burning. Ultimately, this study could lead to a better understanding of the influence of different sources on the concentration of specific VOCs generally considered as markers for these sources.

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