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Abstract

Ambient concentrations of CO, as well as NOx and O-3, were measured as a part of the PARADE campaign conducted at the Taunus Observatory on the summit of the Kleiner Feldberg between the 8th of August and 9th of September 2011. These measurements were made in an effort to provide insight into the characteristics of the effects of both biogenic and anthropogenic emissions on atmospheric chemistry in the rural south-western German environment. The overall average CO concentration was found to be 100.3 +/- 18.1 ppbv (within the range of 71 to 180 ppbv), determined from 10-min averages during the summer season. The background CO concentration was estimated to be similar to 90 ppbv. CO and NOx showed bimodal diurnal variations with peaks in the late morning (10:00-12:00 UTC) and in the late afternoon (17:00-20:00 UTC). Strong correlations between CO and NOx indicated that vehicular emission was the major contributor to the notable CO plumes observed at the sampling site. Both local meteorology and backward trajectory analyses suggest that CO plumes were associated with anthropogenically polluted air masses transferred by an advection to the site from densely populated city sites. Furthermore, a good linear correlation of R-2 = 0.54 between CO and O-3 (Delta O3/Delta CO=0.560 +/- 0.016 ppbv/ppbv) was observed, in good agreement with previous observations.