Most European port cities are situated within the Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs), established to mitigate the health and environmental impacts of shipping in coastal areas. Although the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulates fuel sulphur content, this measure alone is proving insufficient to effectively reduce PM emissions (Jeong, 2023) and other gaseous emissions (Bendl, 2024). Recent studies reveal significant differences in emission factors based on fuel type and engine load (Jeong, 2023), highlighting the critical importance of monitoring ship emissions to accurately assess health risks and implement targeted measures.
This study utilized a novel mobile measurement system (Bendl, 2023) to analyse the spatio-temporal variability of PM, identify air pollution sources and hot-spots, and evaluate the personal exposure of residents and tourists in Warnemünde, Germany. Measurements of PM (OPS 3330, TSI) and particle number concentration (PNC; DISCmini, Testo) were conducted in 1s resolution, BC (MA200, AethLabs) every 10s, and ozone (POM, 2BTechnologies) every 3s. Over a 3-week period in August 2023, the identical typical tourist route was repeated at least 3 times per day, covering a total of 280 km in 56 walk measurements. The reference PM monitor (APDA-372, Horiba) and the German Meteorological Service weather station, both located at the start of the route, were used for data interpretation.
Emissions from cruise ships and both large and small ferries had a significant impact on the local micro-environment, characterized by a high spatio-temporal variability of PM and PNC levels, mainly influenced by wind directions. Passing ships often resulted in short-term emission peaks, while moored cruise ships produced constant emissions from engine-generated electricity, despite the availability of an electrical connection in port. Ship emission peaks could be often linked to specific ships and significant differences between them were observed. Notably, the highest personal exposure levels were recorded during cross-channel ferry journeys, attributed to diesel engine without particulate filter and with low exhaust height.
As a mitigation measure, we propose the introduction of a mandatory connection of moored cruise ships to the electrical supply and the electrification of the cross-channel ferry and, as a long-term measure, the tightening of emission standards for ships including regular emission controls similar to vehicular transportation.
The main advantage of using highly time-resolved mobile measurements over stationary ones was to assess the real personal exposures in port areas and to identify critical micro-environments where people are exposed to elevated concentrations over longer periods of time.
Figure 1. Example of one mobile measurement of particle number concentrations in the harbour city of Warnemünde during NW wind, 4. 6. 2023, 16:30-18:30.
This work was funded by dtec.bw – Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr [project LUKAS and MORE]. Dtec.bw is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. This work was also supported by the project PlumeBaSe, supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, 471841824); and by Dr. Helena Osterholz from Leibnitz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) and Dr. Julian Schade1.
Bendl, J., Neukirchen, C., et al., Adam, T. (2023), Atmospheric Environment 308, 1352-2310.
Bendl, J., Saraji-Bozorgzad, M. R., et al., Adam, T. (2024) Science of the Total Environment, under review
Jeong, S., Bendl, J., et al., Adam, T., Zimmermann, R. (2023), This work was funded by dtec.bw – Digitalization and Technology Research Center of the Bundeswehr [project LUKAS and MORE]. Dtec.bw is funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. This work was also supported by the project PlumeBaSe, supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG, 471841824); and by Dr. Helena Osterholz from Leibnitz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) and Dr. Julian Schade.
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