Using a source–receptor approach to characterise VOC behaviour in a French urban area influenced by industrial emissions Part I: Study area description, data set acquisition and qualitative data analysis of the data set

The global objective of this two part study was (1) to conduct VOC measurements in order to further understand VOC behaviour in an urban area influenced by industrial emissions and (2) to evaluate the role of these specific sources relative to urban sources. In this first paper a thorough descriptive and qualitative analysis is performed. A second article will be devoted to the quantitative analysis using Chemical Mass Balance (CMB) modelling.In the Dunkerque (France) area most industrial sources are situated in the north and the west of the receptor site whereas urban and traffic sources are located in the south and the east. A data set constituted of nearly 330,000 VOC data has been developed from the hourly measurements of 53 VOCs for 1 year from September 2002 to August 2003. It also contains meteorological parameters such as temperature, wind direction and wind speed.In the Dunkerque (France) area most industrial sources are situated in the north and the west of the receptor site whereas urban and traffic sources are located in the south and the east. A data set constituted of nearly 330,000 VOC data has been developed from the hourly measurements of 53 VOCs for 1 year from September 2002 to August 2003. It also contains meteorological parameters such as temperature, wind direction and wind speed.