Mapping the spatial distribution of NO2 with in situ and remote sensing instruments during the Munich NO2 imaging campaign

Abstract. We present results from the Munich NO2 imaging campaign (MuNIC) where nitrogen dioxide (NO2) near-surface concentrations (NSC) and vertical column densities (VCD) were measured with stationary, mobile and airborne in situ and remote sensing instruments. The most intensive day of the campaign was 7 July 2016, when the NO2 VCD field was mapped with the Airborne Prism Experiment (APEX) imaging spectrometer. The spatial distribution of APEX VCDs was rather smooth with a horizontal gradient between lower values upwind and higher values downwind of the city center. The NO2 map had no pronounced source signatures except for the plumes of two combined heat and power plants (CHP). The APEX VCDs agree well with mobile MAX-DOAS observations from two vehicles conducted in the same afternoon (r = 0.55). In contrast to the VCDs, mobile NSC measurements revealed high spatial and temporal variability along the roads with highest values in congested areas and tunnels. The NOx emissions of the two CHP plants were estimated from the APEX observations using a mass-balance approach. The estimates are higher than reported emissions, but uncertainties are high because the campaign day was unstable and convective, resulting in low and highly variable wind speeds. The NOx emission estimates are consistent with CO2 emissions determined from two ground-based FTIR instruments operated near one CHP plant. We conclude that airborne imaging spectrometers are well suited to map the spatial distribution of NO2 VCDs over large areas. The emission plumes of point sources can be detected in the APEX observations, but accurate flow fields are essential to estimate emissions with sufficient accuracy. The application of airborne imaging spectrometers for studying NSCs, for example as input for epidemiological studies, is less straight forward and requires to account for the non-trivial relationship between VCDs and NSCs.