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Atmosphere
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Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain
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Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality and Human Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (23 December 2021) | Viewed by 14858

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Silvia Trini Castelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Research Council, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC) Torino Branch, 10133 Torino, Italy
Interests: Atmospheric dispersion modelling; Boundary-layer meteorology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

“Complex terrain” defines a region characterized by heterogeneous topography (mountains, hill-chains, coastlines) and extends to landuse variability. The dispersion of pollutants in complex terrain is characterized by the interaction of atmospheric processes at different space and time scales. Local-scale circulations are originated by mechanical and thermal orographic forcing and interplay with the mesoscale flow and the synoptic circulation. Air stagnation, separation of the flow, slope and valley circulations, and sea-land breeze affect the pollutant dispersion and make its description and evaluation indeed more complicated than in homogeneous and flat terrain. This Special Issue is devoted to theoretical, observational, and modelling perspectives for studying the atmospheric pollutant dispersion in complex terrain, at all scales, from the long-range to the local scale. Topics of interest of this Special Issue thus include theoretical study and parameterization of all processes determining the pollutant dispersion in complex terrain, their experimental investigation in field campaigns, and their numerical or physical modelling.

Dr. Silvia Trini Castelli
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • complex terrain
  • heterogeneous landuse
  • atmospheric pollutant dispersion
  • open issues

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 7230 KiB  
Article
Comparison between Puff and Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Models at a Complex and Coastal Site
by Alessandro Nanni, Gianni Tinarelli, Carlo Solisio and Cristina Pozzi
Atmosphere 2022, 13(4), 508; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13040508 - 23 Mar 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2952
Abstract
A comparison between a puff atmospheric dispersion model (hereafter: PuM) and a Lagrangian particle model (hereafter: LPM) was conducted for a real case of emissions from an industrial plant, in the context of a complex and coastal site. The PuM’s approach is well-known [...] Read more.
A comparison between a puff atmospheric dispersion model (hereafter: PuM) and a Lagrangian particle model (hereafter: LPM) was conducted for a real case of emissions from an industrial plant, in the context of a complex and coastal site. The PuM’s approach is well-known and widely adopted worldwide, thanks to the authoritative suggestions by the US-EPA for regulatory use as, according to the definitions included in its guidelines, an “alternative” to “preferred” models; LPMs are more advanced models and have gained reliability over the last two decades. Therefore, it is of interest to provide insights into the decision to adopt or recommend, in the field of atmospheric impact assessment, a more advanced, but more knowledge- and resource-intensive, modeling tool, rather than an established albeit less accurate one. An inter-comparison of the two approaches is proposed based on the use of various statistical and comparative parameters with the goal of studying their differences in reproducing maps of ground-level ambient concentration statistics for assessment purposes (annual means, hourly peaks). The models were tested under a year-long simulation. The dispersion from both a point and a volume source, belonging to an existing industrial plant, was analyzed separately. The inter-comparison was performed through the analysis of 2D ground concentration maps, scatterplots, and three classical indices from the 2D maps of annual concentration statistics. To correlate the differences among models with site characteristics, the statistics were analyzed not only globally, but also according to distance from the source, the elevation, and the land-use classification. The analysis shows that around-its-axis plume dispersion in LPM is lower than in PuM over all the land-use types except water surfaces, in agreement with the theoretical basis provided by the models. Because of its more advanced theoretical formulation, e.g., in the interaction of the plume with the complex terrain and the three-dimensional wind field, an LPM used as a comparison term allowed us to highlight the weaknesses of a more traditional approach, such as PuM, in reproducing effects such as plume up-sloping, deflection, channeling, confinement, and wind shear diffusion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain)
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16 pages, 3587 KiB  
Article
Emission of Fine Dust from Open Storage of Industrial Materials Exposed to Wind Erosion
by Valentina Dentoni, Battista Grosso, Francesco Pinna, Alessio Lai and Ouiza Bouarour
Atmosphere 2022, 13(2), 320; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13020320 - 14 Feb 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1968
Abstract
A physical-mathematical model has been designed to estimate the emission of dust from the surface of granular materials exposed to wind erosion. The emission model implements the Monte Carlo probabilistic approach, which for a given wind velocity (i.e., shear stress velocity) ascribes the [...] Read more.
A physical-mathematical model has been designed to estimate the emission of dust from the surface of granular materials exposed to wind erosion. The emission model implements the Monte Carlo probabilistic approach, which for a given wind velocity (i.e., shear stress velocity) ascribes the probability of saltation to the particle aggregates composing the erodible surface and calculates the emission of dust aerosol based on the main laws governing the physics of wind-blown particles. The article discusses the application of the emission code to the surfaces of two metal sulphides (PbS and ZnS), which are typically stored in stockpiles in the open yards of industrial plants that operate in the commodity sector, to be used as raw materials for the production of lead and zinc (non-ferrous metals). The results of the simulation were found to be in agreement with the indication provided by the technical literature about the emission potential of the two metal sulphides. The emission model hereby proposed intends to provide an analytical integration to the experimental and empirical Emission Factors (EF) already suggested by the technical and scientific literature about industrial wind erosion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain)
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20 pages, 6384 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity of Pollutant Concentrations to the Turbulence Schemes of a Dispersion Modelling Chain over Complex Orography
by Annachiara Bellini, Alessio Golzio, Tiziana Magri, Silvia Ferrarese, Giordano Pession and Massimiliano Manfrin
Atmosphere 2022, 13(2), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13020167 - 20 Jan 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1926
Abstract
Atmospheric circulation over mountainous regions is more complex than over flat terrain due to the interaction of flows on various scales: synoptic-scale flows, thermally-driven mesoscale winds and turbulent fluxes. In order to faithfully reconstruct the circulation affecting the dispersion and deposition of pollutants [...] Read more.
Atmospheric circulation over mountainous regions is more complex than over flat terrain due to the interaction of flows on various scales: synoptic-scale flows, thermally-driven mesoscale winds and turbulent fluxes. In order to faithfully reconstruct the circulation affecting the dispersion and deposition of pollutants in mountainous areas, meteorological models should have a sub-kilometer grid spacing, where turbulent motions are partially resolved and the parametrizations of the sub-grid scale fluxes need to be evaluated. In this study, a modelling chain based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and the chemical transport model Flexible Air Quality Regional Model (FARM) is applied to estimate the pollutant concentrations at a 0.5 km horizontal resolution over the Aosta Valley, a mountainous region of the northwestern Alps. Two pollution episodes that occurred in this region are reconstructed: one summer episode dominated by thermally-driven winds, and one winter episode dominated by synoptic-scale flows. Three WRF configurations with specific planetary boundary layer and surface layer schemes are tested, and the numerical results are compared with the surface measurements of meteorological variables at twenty-four stations. For each WRF configuration, two different FARM runs are performed, with turbulence-related quantities provided by the SURface-atmosphere interFace PROcessor or directly by WRF. The chemical concentrations resulting from the different FARM runs are compared with the surface measurements of particulate matter of less than 10 µm in diameter and nitrogen dioxide taken at five air quality stations. Furthermore, these results are compared with the outputs of the modelling chain employed routinely by the Aosta Valley Environmental Protection Agency, based on FARM driven by COSMO-I2 (COnsortium for Small-scale MOdelling) at 2.8 km horizontal grid spacing. The pollution events are underestimated by the modelling chain, but the bias between simulated and measured surface concentrations is reduced using the configuration based on WRF turbulence parametrizations, which imply a reduced dispersion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain)
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15 pages, 4602 KiB  
Article
The Effects of the Width of an Isolated Valley on Near-Surface Turbulence
by Sylvio Freitas, Frank Harms and Bernd Leitl
Atmosphere 2021, 12(10), 1330; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12101330 - 12 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1378
Abstract
With the aim of ascertaining the effects of the widths (A) of valleys on near-surface turbulence, flows over an isolated symmetric three-dimensional valley of constant depth (H) and slopes are characterized in a large-boundary-layer wind tunnel. Starting at A [...] Read more.
With the aim of ascertaining the effects of the widths (A) of valleys on near-surface turbulence, flows over an isolated symmetric three-dimensional valley of constant depth (H) and slopes are characterized in a large-boundary-layer wind tunnel. Starting at A = 4H, valley widths were systematically varied to A = 12H with constant increments of 2H. High-resolution laser-Doppler velocimetry measurements were made at several equivalent locations above each of the resulting valley geometries and compared with data from undisturbed flows over flat terrain. Flow separation caused by the first ridges generated inner-valley recirculation bubbles with lengths dependent on the valley widths. Secondary recirculation zones were also observed downstream from the crests of the second ridges. Results show that the width modifications exert the strongest effects on turbulence within the valleys and the vicinities of the second ridges. Above these locations, maximal magnitudes of turbulence are generally found for the larger width geometries. Furthermore, lateral turbulence overpowers the longitudinal counterparts nearest to the surface, with maximal gains occurring for the smaller widths. Our data indicate that valley widths are impactful on near-surface flows and should be considered together with other more established geometric parameters of influence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain)
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27 pages, 23816 KiB  
Article
Integrated Mobile Laboratory for Air Pollution Assessment: Literature Review and cc-TrAIRer Design
by Chiara Boanini, Domenico Mecca, Federica Pognant, Matteo Bo and Marina Clerico
Atmosphere 2021, 12(8), 1004; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12081004 - 4 Aug 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3595
Abstract
To promote research studies on air pollution and climate change, the mobile laboratory cc-TrAIRer (Climate Change—TRailer for AIR and Environmental Research) was designed and built. It consists of a trailer which affords particles, gas, meteorological and noise measurements. Thanks to its structure and [...] Read more.
To promote research studies on air pollution and climate change, the mobile laboratory cc-TrAIRer (Climate Change—TRailer for AIR and Environmental Research) was designed and built. It consists of a trailer which affords particles, gas, meteorological and noise measurements. Thanks to its structure and its versatility, it can easily conduct field campaigns in remote areas. The literature review presented in this paper shows the main characteristics of the existing mobile laboratories. The cc-TrAIRer was built by evaluating technical aspects, instrumentations and auxiliary systems that emerged from previous studies in the literature. Some of the studies conducted in heterogeneous topography areas, such as the Po Valley and the Alps, using instruments that were chosen to be located on the mobile laboratory are here reported. The preliminary results highlight the future applications of the trailer and the importance of high temporal resolution data acquisition for the characterization of pollution phenomena. The potential applications of the cc-TrAIRer concern different fields, such as complex terrain, emergency situations, worksite and local source impacts and temporal and spatial distributions of atmospheric compounds. The integrated use of gas and particle analysers, a weather station and environment monitoring systems in a single easily transportable vehicle will contribute to research studies on global aspects of climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain)
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Graphical abstract

18 pages, 12360 KiB  
Article
Development of the Mesoscale Model GRAMM-SCI: Evaluation of Simulated Highly-Resolved Flow Fields in an Alpine and Pre-Alpine Region
by Dietmar Oettl
Atmosphere 2021, 12(3), 298; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12030298 - 25 Feb 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1690
Abstract
In this study, new developments implemented in the mesoscale model GRAMM-SCI are presented. GRAMM-SCI has been specifically developed for providing flow fields in the sub-kilometer range. A comprehensive model evaluation using wind, temperature, radiation, as well as soil moisture and soil temperature observations [...] Read more.
In this study, new developments implemented in the mesoscale model GRAMM-SCI are presented. GRAMM-SCI has been specifically developed for providing flow fields in the sub-kilometer range. A comprehensive model evaluation using wind, temperature, radiation, as well as soil moisture and soil temperature observations in an alpine valley and in a hilly pre-alpine region in Styria (Austria) is presented. Three one-way nested model domains were used, whereby the coarse model run (5000 m horizontal resolution) was initialized and forced using ERA5 reanalysis data. The grid sizes for the two inner domains were set to 1000 m and 200 m, respectively. Comparisons were carried out for a five-day period in October 2017 which was dominated by clear-sky conditions. Though, the observations reveal quite complex flow structures governed by interactions between synoptic flow and thermally-driven local flows, GRAMM-SCI was able to reproduce the main features satisfactorily. In addition, the new version of GRAMM-SCI shows significant improvement with regard to simulated air temperature compared with the previous one. Finally, microscale flow-field simulations were carried out for some monitoring sites that are apparently influenced by nearby buildings or vegetation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pollutant Dispersion over Complex Terrain)
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