This book brings together the methods, models and formulae used for estimating air pollution concentrations in urban areas. From the ForewordThe visible effects of pollution in most cities in the developed countries have been reduced dramatically in the past thirty years. This has been achieved to a large extent by the replacement of most of the low-level sources, which burnt raw coal, by more modern appliances using gas, electricity or low-sulphur oil. The killer smog of 1952 could not be repeated unless there were to be a massive return to old-fashioned heating methods, due, for example, to excessive environmental constraints being applied to the more modern energy sources. It is important, therefore, to judge the impact of a new source in terms of its effect on the pattern of existing sources. One should also consider the environmental consequences of rejecting the new installation and examine the alternatives--that its product may either be denied to the community at large, produced elsewhere or produced using existing facilities. These facilities are probably less efficient and may therefore produce more pollution per unit of product than the new plant would. An objective, quantitative, urban-air-pollution model is clearly an essential component in such a decision-making process. Dr. Benarie has produced a distillation of existing modelling techniques which will, I hope, become the launching pad for many future models. As each city is unique, it will need its own tailor-made model, drawing on the best and the most appropriate techniques developed previously. Agreement with observations is the only real test of validity, because the physics and chemistry are so complicated that theoretical arguments are reduced to the role of assisting in the best formulation of the problem. Numerical precision must always rely on measurement. This is the approach that Dr. Benarie has adopted.--David J. Moore, Central Electricity Research Laboratires, Leatherhead, Surrey, UK.

This contributed volume is primarily intended for graduate and professional audiences. The book provides a basic understanding of urban air quality issues, root causes for local and urban air pollution, monitoring and modelling techniques, assessment, and control options to manage air quality at local and urban scale. The book also offers useful information on indoor air quality and smart sensors, which are gaining much importance in current times.

Proceedings of the Twenty-Second NATO/CCMS International Technical Meeting held in Clermont-Ferrand, France, June 2-6, 1997

Urban Transportation and Air Pollution synthesizes state-of-the-art methods on estimating near-road concentrations of roadway emissions. The book provides the information needed to make estimates using methods based on a minimal set of model inputs that can be applied by a wide range of users in many situations. Discussions include methods to estimate traffic emission under numerous urban driving conditions, the uncertainty of emission models, and the effects of road configurations, such as near-road solid barriers. Final sections present dispersion models that link traffic emissions with near road concentrations in urban environments. Addressing transportation-related environmental issues is extremely important as urban areas are constantly searching for ways to mitigate impacts from transportation sources. This book helps to explain dispersion models, a critical tool for estimating the impact of roadway emissions in cities. Compiles and synthesizes the state-of-the-science methods for estimating roadway emissions Demonstrates, with clear examples, how modeling methods reduce uncertainties in real-world problems Emphasizes how local-scale, semi-empirical, steady-state modeling can be applied using only a small set of inputs Offers an overview of the meteorology that governs air pollution dispersion in cities

This book collates the written contributions of the Second Conference on Air Pollution Modelling and Simulation (APMS 2001). A wide range of current topics is covered, focusing on three challenging issues: (1) the modelling issue of complex, multiphase, atmospheric chemistry; (2) the numerical issue associated with comprehensive three-dimensional chemistry-transport models; and (3) the key issues of data assimilation and inverse modelling. State-of-the art research is presented with many operational procedures applied at either forecast agencies or companies.

Urban areas are major sources of air pollution. Pollutant emissions affecting air quality in cities are considered to have adverse consequences for human health. Public and government concern about environmental issues arising from urban air pollution has increased over the last decades. The urban air pollution problem is widespread throughout the world and it is important to find ways of eliminating or at least reducing the risks for human health. The fundamentals of the physical and chemical processes occurring during air pollutant transport in the atmosphere are nowadays understood to a large extent. In particular, modelling of such processes has experienced a remarkable growth in the last decades. Monitoring capabilities have also improved markedly in the most urban areas around the world. However, neither modelling nor monitoring can solve urban air pollution problems, as they are only a first step in improving useful information for future regulations. The defining of efficient control strategies can not be achieved without a clear knowledge of the complete pollution process, i.e. emission, atmospheric transport and transformation, and deposition at the receptor. Improving our ability to establish valid urban scale source-receptor relation ships has been the objective of SA TURN, one of the 14 subprojects of EURO TRAC-2. Similar to the other subprojects of this co-ordinated environmental pro ject within the EUREKA initiative, SA TURN brought together international groups of scientists to work on problems directly related to atmospheric chemistry and physics. The present volume summarises the scientific results of SATURN.