Research

The Urban Environmental Sustainability Group (UESG) is actively engaged in research on the field of the urban environment. During its research effort it:

  • Has created the FEI-GREGAA, the only mapped database of anthropogenic emissions at national and local level for Greece.
  • Has developed a small network of IoTsensors of PM2.5 within the urban environment of Athens.
  • Performs air quality forecasts having the FEI-GREGAA emissions inventory as input.
  • Carries out applied studies of sustainable mobility, personal exposure to pollutants, promotion of applications for monitoring chemicals in products.
  • Raises public awareness on health and environmental issues disseminating the research results and encouraging the active participation of the citizens.

The Urban Environmental Sustainability Group (UESG) has developed the Flexible Emission Inventory for Greece and the Greater Athens Area (FEI-GREGAA), a database of anthropogenic emissions mapped at national and local level for Greece.

  • FEI-GREGAA has been created in a Geographic Information System according to the methodology proposed by the European Environment Agency, following bottom-up / top-down approaches depending on the type of source and using data from official sources (Ministries, Hellenic Statistical Authority, Eurostat).
  • Covers the period 2006 – 2019 and is updated on a continuous basis.
  • Provides the hourly emissions of gaseous pollutants, particles, heavy metals, PAHs and greenhouse gases GHGs from anthropogenic activities in a 2x2km2grid for Greece and 1x1km2 grid for the Region of Attica.

Monthly emissions data, spatially aggregated on a 6×6 km2 grid, are freely available to the public for the following pollutants and particles CO, NH3, NMVOCs, NOx, PM10 και PM2.5. Please contact Dr. Fameli Kyriaki – Maria (kmfameli@noa.gr) and Dr. Vasiliki Assimakopoulos (vasiliki@noa.gr) for the provision of data.

Numerical simulations for the short-term air quality forecast in Greece are implemented with the WRF/CAMx modelling system in collaboration with the METEO unit. Air quality forecasts for Greek cities and areas of interest are presented to the public daily on the website https://meteo.gr/ in the section POLLUTANTS (https://meteo.gr/cf-aqi.cfm?city_id=86).

A network of stations for continuous monitoring of particulate pollution has been created in the urban area of Athens, which achieves:

  • Real-time monitoring of the air pollution (PM5) in the urban environment of Athens.
  • Development of a time series data in order to study the role of the meteorology, the emissions and the local flows on the configuration of the obtained pollution levels.
  • Study of the population exposure and its connection with anthropogenic activities that are directly related to everyday life.
  • FEI-GREGAA update and comparison of results from the numerical applications performed with the photochemical / meteorological modelling system WRF/CAMx.

The network of sensors is presented on the website https://air-quality.gr/, which has been developed within the framework of EY PANACEA. The UES Group is responsible for the operation of six sensors installed in the Attica basin.