ALBERT

Description: It is recognised that Western Sydney experiences poorer air quality compared to the eastern suburbs due to the topography of the Sydney basin resulting in pollution produced in eastern Sydney being transported by the easterly sea breeze to Western Sydney, where it pools against the mountain range. As part of the Western Air-Shed and Particulate Study for Western Sydney (WASPSS), targeted air quality measurement campaigns were conducted in Western Sydney with the aim to identify hot spots for poor air quality and understand the variability in air quality in western Sydney, in particular how well the existing air quality monitoring network represents the air quality where people live. The measurement campaigns were operated in collaboration with the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), supplementing the information available from the ongoing OEH measurement network. The Auburn Air Quality measurement site was established on the roof a 2 story building at 2 Percy St, on the edge of the Auburn CBD in Western Sydney, and operated between 25 May 2016 and 9 September 2017. The site is adjacent to major rail line, used for heavy diesel freight, and major road networks. To the east is light industry, to the north and west is the Auburn CBD, with residential areas to the west. The site included a portable air monitoring station (OEH), containing instrumentation comparable to the OEH monitoring stations, an extended open path Fourier transform infrared (OP-FTIR) spectrometer, measuring atmospheric CO2, CO, N2O, CH4 and NH3 and an open path ultra-violet visible (UV-visible) Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometer (DOAS) measuring O3, SO2, NO2, HCHO & HONO. The two open path instruments operated with parallel measurement paths of ~ 400m, with the measurement paths terminated by mirror arrays located on the roof of a 3 story building within the Auburn CBD, on a small hill above the Percy St building. The open path FTIR and DOAS operated from October 2016 to March 2017, and May 2017 to September 2017. In August 2017 an in-situ FTIR tracer gas analyser (CO, CO2, N2O, CH4 and 13C in CO2) was installed with an air intake adjacent to the OEH monitoring station intake, and operated until September 2017. Meteorological data supplied by a 3D sonic anemometer from July 2017 to September 2017 complimented the weather station data from the portable monitoring station. Location: Roof of 2 storey building at 2 Percy St, Auburn NSW 2144, Australia, -33.85472, 151.0374; Height: roof top above sea level 20.6 m; height rooftop above street level 6.72m Site operational Dates: 28-October-2016 13:00 to 18-September-2017 13:00 Time zone: Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10 hours