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Comparison of NO2 diffusion tube measurement methods and related uncertainties.

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Title: Comparison of NO2 diffusion tube measurement methods and related uncertainties.
Authors: Medland, David1 (AUTHOR) David.Medland@NPL.co.uk, Garcia, Gabriel1 (AUTHOR), Gardiner, Tom1 (AUTHOR), Martin, Nicholas A.1 (AUTHOR), Ferracci, Valerio1 (AUTHOR), Wilkins, Ashley1 (AUTHOR), Fryer, David1 (AUTHOR), Holmes, Tom1 (AUTHOR), Edwards, Pete2 (AUTHOR), Diez, Sebastian2 (AUTHOR), Butterfield, David1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Atmospheric Environment. Jul2025, Vol. 352, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
Subject Terms: *Air quality monitoring, *Air quality management, *Nitrogen dioxide, Diffusion measurements, Wind speed
Abstract: Conventional Palmes Diffusion Tubes (PDTs) are extensively employed by UK Local Authorities for measuring NO 2 in air quality monitoring studies. These devices are known to suffer from biases due to from the effects of wind speed. Modified PDTs with wind protective filters have also been developed for deployment in the UK Urban NO 2 Network (UUNN) with an improved measurement accuracy and repeatability. We report the performance of the two designs and also when enclosed in additional shelters. The comparison was carried out against simultaneous reference measurements and was evaluated through a statistical and modelled uncertainty. The model incorporated the individual components of the measurement uncertainty to provide an estimate of the total measurement uncertainty and identified which elements could be reduced across mean values of multiple measurements. We found that conventional PDTs could be adversely affected by wind speed and that the incorporation of shelters delivered improved repeatability and better accuracy across multiple diffusion tube measurements. The UUNN style diffusive samplers were more accurate than the PDTs and had better repeatability. The additional use of shelters with UUNN style samplers made no discernible difference to the measurements. • Unsheltered, modified tubes perform better than conventional Palmes diffusion tubes. • Palmes diffusion tubes deliver better performance when deployed in shelters. • Palmes diffusion tube uncertainty is dominated by wind speed effects. • Uncertainty assessment identifies key uncertainty sources over different timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Atmospheric Environment is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Comparison of NO2 diffusion tube measurement methods and related uncertainties.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Medland%2C+David%22">Medland, David</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> David.Medland@NPL.co.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Garcia%2C+Gabriel%22">Garcia, Gabriel</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gardiner%2C+Tom%22">Gardiner, Tom</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Martin%2C+Nicholas+A%2E%22">Martin, Nicholas A.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ferracci%2C+Valerio%22">Ferracci, Valerio</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wilkins%2C+Ashley%22">Wilkins, Ashley</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fryer%2C+David%22">Fryer, David</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Holmes%2C+Tom%22">Holmes, Tom</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Edwards%2C+Pete%22">Edwards, Pete</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Diez%2C+Sebastian%22">Diez, Sebastian</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Butterfield%2C+David%22">Butterfield, David</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Atmospheric+Environment%22">Atmospheric Environment</searchLink>. Jul2025, Vol. 352, pN.PAG-N.PAG. 1p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Air+quality+monitoring%22">Air quality monitoring</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Air+quality+management%22">Air quality management</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nitrogen+dioxide%22">Nitrogen dioxide</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Diffusion+measurements%22">Diffusion measurements</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wind+speed%22">Wind speed</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Conventional Palmes Diffusion Tubes (PDTs) are extensively employed by UK Local Authorities for measuring NO 2 in air quality monitoring studies. These devices are known to suffer from biases due to from the effects of wind speed. Modified PDTs with wind protective filters have also been developed for deployment in the UK Urban NO 2 Network (UUNN) with an improved measurement accuracy and repeatability. We report the performance of the two designs and also when enclosed in additional shelters. The comparison was carried out against simultaneous reference measurements and was evaluated through a statistical and modelled uncertainty. The model incorporated the individual components of the measurement uncertainty to provide an estimate of the total measurement uncertainty and identified which elements could be reduced across mean values of multiple measurements. We found that conventional PDTs could be adversely affected by wind speed and that the incorporation of shelters delivered improved repeatability and better accuracy across multiple diffusion tube measurements. The UUNN style diffusive samplers were more accurate than the PDTs and had better repeatability. The additional use of shelters with UUNN style samplers made no discernible difference to the measurements. • Unsheltered, modified tubes perform better than conventional Palmes diffusion tubes. • Palmes diffusion tubes deliver better performance when deployed in shelters. • Palmes diffusion tube uncertainty is dominated by wind speed effects. • Uncertainty assessment identifies key uncertainty sources over different timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Atmospheric Environment is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2025.121219
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 1
        StartPage: N.PAG
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Air quality monitoring
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Air quality management
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nitrogen dioxide
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      – SubjectFull: Diffusion measurements
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      – SubjectFull: Wind speed
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      – TitleFull: Comparison of NO2 diffusion tube measurement methods and related uncertainties.
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            – D: 01
              M: 07
              Text: Jul2025
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