UK Eutrophying and Acidifying Pollutant (UKEAP) Networks

The purpose of UKEAP is to measure the composition of the atmosphere (air quality) across a range of rural and semi-rural environments in the UK. Air pollution can have wide-ranging effects on the environment, with impacts on biodiversity, water quality and people's health and wellbeing. UKEAP particularly focuses on nitrogen compounds that, in excess, provide too many nutrients (eutrophication) and on chemicals that acidify water and soil ('acid rain'). UKEAP provides long-term data on airborne chemical and particulate matter levels to inform: (a) scientific understanding of non-urban pollution sources and how they transport to contribute to poor air quality at urban, national and international scales; and (b) air quality policy and regulation.
Category
Instrumented sites
Capabilities
UKEAP is coordinated by UKCEH with sites distributed across different rural land use and habitat types throughout the UK. Sites are equipped to automatically sample and measure atmospheric chemistry at high- and low-frequency, and supported by intensive measurement campaigns. UKEAP integrates four component monitoring networks that measure airborne acidifying and eutrophying chemicals:
• National Ammonia Monitoring Network (NAMN: 85 sites): monthly ammonia concentrations.
• Acid Gas and Aerosol Network (AGA-Net: 30 sites): monthly gas phase SO2, HNO3, HCl; major particulate phase inorganic anions and cations.
• Precipitation Network (Precip-Net: 39 sites): fortnightly inorganic anion and cation concentrations in precipitation.
• NO2Net (24 sites): four-weekly triplicate NO2 concentrations.
UKEAP also operates two EMEP network 'supersites' in the UK (EMEP = European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme for long-range transmission of air pollutants): Auchencorth Moss Atmospheric Observatory (Scotland, upland peat moor - listed elsewhere in this catalogue) and Chilbolton Observatory (Hampshire, lowland arable site).
Lifecycle
UKEAP components were established as follows: Precip-Net 1985 (led by Ricardo); NO2Net 1994 (led by Ricardo); National Ammonia Monitoring Network 1996 (led by UKCEH); AGA-Net 1999 (led by UKCEH); Auchencorth Moss 2006.
Uniqueness
UKEAP is the only pan-UK monitoring network for eutrophying and acidifying pollutants. UKEAP networks are unique in terms of their temporal and spatial coverage.
Access
Data from the UKEAP sites are available on the Defra UK Air portal: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/ Researchers wishing to access UKEAP facilities should contact the network manager, Christine Braban at UKCEH Edinburgh.
Location
UKEAP operates air quality monitoring networks across the UK: NAMN (85 sites); AGA-NET (30 sites); Precip-Net (39 sites) and NO2Net (24 sites).
Funding sources
UKEAP is funded by Defra and NERC National Capability LTSS: UK-SCaPE programme.
Users
Outputs from UKEAP air quality monitoring are used by Government policy and regulation teams; air quality and climate change researchers.
Scale
UK
Last updated
28 October 2022 09:08
Contact
Christine Braban UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology enquiries@ceh.ac.uk
Link
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