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GEOLINKS International Conference 2020, Book 1

AIR POLLUTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE

NUMERICAL MODELLING OF DUST DISTRIBUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF A CITY WITH COMPLEX RELIEF

DSc. Aleksandre Surmava, DSc. Demuri Demetrasvili, MSc. Vepkhia Kukhalashvili, Dr. Natia Gigauri

ABSTRACT

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Microscale processes of dust distribution in the city of Tbilisi with very complex topography are modeled using a 3D regional model of atmospheric processes and numerical integration of the transport-diffusion equation of the impurity. The Terrain-following coordinate system is used to take into account the influence of a very complex relief on the process of atmospheric pollution. Modeling is carried out using horizontal grid steps of 300 m and 400 m along latitude and longitude, respectively. The cases of the stationary background of eastern and western weak winds are considered. In the model, motor transport is considered as a nonstationary source of pollution from which dust is emitted into the atmosphere.
Modelling of dust micro-scale diffusion process showed that the city air pollution depends on spatial distribution of the main sources of city pollution, i.e. on vehicle traffic intensity, as well as on spatial distribution of highways, and micro-orography of city and surrounding territories. It is shown that the dust pollution level in the surface layer of the atmosphere is minimal at 6 a.m. Ground-level concentration rapidly grows with increase of vehicle traffic intensity and by 12 a.m. reaches maximum allowable concentration (MAC = 0.5 mg/m3) in the vicinity of central city mains. From 12 a.m. to 9 p.m. maximum dust concentration values are within the limits of 0.9-1.2 MAC. In the mentioned time interval formation of the highly dusty zones, and slow growth of their areas and value of ground-level concentrations take place. These zones are located in both central and peripheral parts of the city. Their disposition and area sizes depend on spatial distribution of local wind generated under action of complex terrain, as well as on the processes of turbulent and advective dust transfer. From 9 to 12 p.m. reduction of dust pollution and ground-level concentration takes place. After the midnight city dust pollution process continues quasi-periodically.
As a result of the analysis of the vertical distribution of dust concentration is obtained that a basic dust mass emitted into the atmosphere is located in the 100 m surface layer. The concentration value in the upper part of this layer reaches 0.8 MAC and rapidly decreases with altitude increase.

 

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KEYWORDS

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Numerical modeling, pollution source, diffusion, dust distribution, atmospheric wind.

REFERENCE
GEOLINKS International Conference, Conference Proceedings, ISSN 2603-5472, ISBN 978-619-7495-07-2, NUMERICAL MODELLING OF DUST DISTRIBUTION IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF A CITY WITH COMPLEX RELIEF, 47-54 pp, DOI paper 10.32008/GEOLINKS2020/B1/V2/04
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