Enquiries

Dr Will Drysdale

will.drysdale@york.ac.uk

01904 322178

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Measurement Type

Instruments:

Instrument Support Level


Daily Facility Charge

Not Applicable

Calendar

Calendar 2:
BT Tower Atmospheric Observatory

BT Tower Atmospheric Observatory

The BT Tower is a 190-m-tall telecommunications tower situated in central London, UK (51°31′17.4″N, 0°8′20.04″W).

Mean building height is 8.8 ± 3.0 m within 1−10 km of the tower and 5.6 ± 1.8 m for suburban London beyond this.

The area surrounding the tower is dominated by roads and commercial residential buildings, but also includes some urban parkland and pervious ground.

The footprint of the tower (e.g. the area from which 90% of the air measured is calculated to originate from) is 5-20km depending on weather conditions.

NCAS is not the only organisation making measurements at the BT Tower site. The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) operate a range of instrumentation and the details of the observations they make can be found here.

NCAS make measurements of NOx and O3 concentrations. The NOx concentration measurements are made at high time resolution (5Hz) which, combined with the 3-D ultrasonic anemometer (R3-50, Gill Instruments) operated at the tower by CEH, allows eddy covariance calculations of NOx flux to be carried out. Direct flux measurements can be used to study the temporal dynamics and spatial distributions of pollutant sources and can also provide independent validation of emission budgets estimated by atmospheric emission inventories. Atmospheric emissions inventories are used to construct budgets based on assumed spatial distributions and source strengths of a range of pollutants.

Observatory operational status: instrument by instrument break down of instrument performance.

NOx concentration measurements are made at high time resolution (5Hz) which, combined with the 3-D ultrasonic anemometer (R3-50, Gill Instruments) operated at the tower by CEH, allows eddy covariance calculations of NOx flux to be carried out. Direct flux measurements can be used to study the temporal dynamics and spatial distributions of pollutant sources and can also provide independent validation of emission budgets estimated by atmospheric emission inventories. Atmospheric emissions inventories are used to construct budgets based on assumed spatial distributions and source strengths of a range of pollutants.

The instrumentation at this site measures:

  • NOx concentration
  • O3 concentration

Latitude

  • 51° 31′ 17.4″ N
  • 51.5215°

Longitude

  • -0° 8′ 20.04″ E
  • -0.139° E

Altitude (tower base)

  • 30 m

Tower height (inlet position)

  • 191 m

There is no information available at this time

The site (on floor T35) consists of 2 x floor to ceiling 19-inch racks for instruments, with floor space behind for pumps.

Currently, there is approximately 60cm of spare space in one of the racks for additional instruments.

There is also some limited floor space in front of the racks.

Power is standard UK 230V and the lab is air-conditioned.

There is a ~50m long sample line going to the top of the tower (190m above ground level), from which instruments can sample.

There are also bulkheads through the wall to allow sampling directly from the outside (facing West).

Access to T35 is security controlled by BT so it must be arranged through Prof. James Lee

Reference

  • Lee et al., Env. Sci. Tech. 2015, DOI: 10.1021/es5049072.
    Helfter et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2011, 11 (5), 1913−1928.

There is no information available at this time.

Please contact Dr Will Drysdale to discuss all Health and Safety issues.

Consumables
  • If bringing in additional instrumentation then all consumables and tools for that instrumentation should be provided.
Costs
  • Instrument Insurance
    • The user must have comprehensive insurance for any kit they bring.
  • Public Liability Insurance
    • The AMOF is not liable for any damage or injury arising from the deployment or operation of this instrument when unattended by the instrument scientists.
  • Gas Consumption
    • If BTTAO supplied gases are to be used they will be charged for. Please contact Instrument scientist for more details.
  • Use of AMOF Personnel
    • There will be a cost for this. Please contact Instrument scientist for more details.
Shipping
    • The user is liable for all costs arising from the shipping of any instruments both to and from BTTAO.

Any user organised deliveries will need to be arranged directly with Dr Will Drysdale.

The site is secure and can only be accessed by prior arrangement through Dr Will Drysdale.

Registration of names of visitors with BT (who manage the site) is required in advance.

There are no user configurable instruments at this site.