Air Pollution Meteorology

Community Air Pollution EHS 582

Dvonch

Air Quality in the News

Research on Global 'Sun Block' Needed Now, Experts Argue
ScienceDaily (Jan. 28, 2010) Internationally coordinated research and field-testing on 'geoengineering' the planet's atmosphere to limit risk of climate change should begin soon along with building international governance of the technology, say scientists from the University of Calgary and the United States. Solar-radiation management (SRM) would involve releasing megatonnes of light-scattering aerosol particles in the upper atmosphere to reduce Earth's absorption of solar energy, thereby cooling the planet. Another technique would be to release particles of sea salt to make low-altitude clouds reflect more solar energy back into space. Long-established estimates show that SRM could offset this century's predicted global average temperature rise more than 100 times more cheaply than achieving the same cooling by cutting emissions SRM would also cool the planet quickly, whereas even a massive program of carbon dioxide emission cuts will take many decades to slow global warming because the CO2 already accumulated in the atmosphere will take many years to naturally break down. The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, for example, cooled the planet by about 0.5 degrees Celsius in less than a year by injecting sulphur into the stratosphere. But a world cooled by managing sunlight will present risks, the scientists note. The planet would have less precipitation and less evaporation, and monsoon rains and winds might be weakened. Some areas would be more protected from temperature changes than others, creating local 'winners' and losers. "If the world relies solely on SRM to limit (global) warming, these problems will eventually pose risks as large as those from uncontrolled emissions,

Differential Heating of Earth

Incident Solar Radiation

January

July

(Courtesy of NASA)

Earth Albedo

Reflected Solar Radiation Albedo = Incoming Solar Radiation Annual Global Average Albedo = 30 %
Fresh Snow = 90 % Plowed Field = 15 % Water = 10 % (Small zenith )

Energy Balance

Energy Balance as Function of Time of Day

Global Surface Temperatures

Air Pollution Meteorology

Important Terms Inversion Wind speed & direction
stagnation

Stability Vertical motion

Convection

Planetary Boundary Layer

is that part of the atmosphere that is directly impacted by the Earths surface
300 to 3000 meters in depth

Planetary Boundary Layer

Atmospheric Stability (Dry Processes)

Environmental Lapse Rate If the atmosphere cools at a rate less than the DALR, the atmosphere is STABLE and will suppress the parcel motion.

T Dry Adiabatic LR

Atmospheric Stability (Dry Processes)

Environmental Lapse Rate If the atmosphere cools at the same rate as the DALR, the atmosphere is NEUTRAL and will have no impact on the parcel motion.

T Dry Adiabatic LR

Atmospheric Stability (Dry Processes)

If the atmosphere cools at a rate greater than the DALR, the atmosphere is UNSTABLE and parcel will continue to move until it reaches a level where the atmosphere is warmer than the parcel itself.

Environmental Lapse Rate

T Dry Adiabatic LR
EHS 582 Community Air Pollution

Stability in Saturated Air

2.2 2
Altitude (km)

1.8 1.6 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 -2 0

d Absolutely unstable 1

w 2

Conditionally unstable Absolutely 3 stable 4

4 6 8 10 o Temperature ( C)

12

14

Stability in Multiple Layers

3 Saturated neutral 2.5 Altitude (km) Saturated neutral 2 Conditionally unstable 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 5 10 15 20 Temperature (oC) 25 e d w Unsaturated neutral Absolutely stable Absolutely unstable

Environmental Lapse Rate

change air temperature with altitude

T (zhi ) T (zlo ) T e = = zhi zlo z

20o C 15 o C 5o C e = = 2 km 1 km km
15 o C 21 o C 6o C e = =+ 1 km 0 km km

Temperature Inversion
2

1.5 Altitude Altitude (km) Top temp. 1 Base height Strength Base temp. Thickness

Top height

0.5

0 10

12

14 16 18 20 Temperature (oC)

22

Types of Inversions
Large-Scale Subsidence Inversion
H

Radiation Inversion
warm radiated air

warm air from subsidence cool marine air sea land

surface air cooled land

Rising smoke forms a ceiling over the valley due to an inversion

Trapping Pollutants Under an Inversion

3 2.5
Altitude (km)

2 1.5 1 0.5 0 0 5 10 15 20 o Temperature ( C) 25 30

Figure 6.11

AM and PM Temperature Profiles

260 280 300 320 270 290 310
500 Morgan Hill 8/06/90 15:30 PST 600 700 800 900 03:30 PST 1000 260 270 280 290 300 310 320 Temperature (K)

Pressure (mb)

Impact of Changing Mixing Depth

Los Angeles, Dec. 19, 2000

Noon

Late afternoon

Mark Z. Jacobson

The Beach!

Sea Breeze Circulation

H
Mountain chimney effect: injection of pollutants to free troposphere Large-scale sea-breeze cell

H L
Desert (hot)

Elevated pollution layers Basic sea-breeze cell

L
Coast (warm)

H
Ocean (cold)

Elevated Pollution From Sea Breeze (Los Angeles, July 22, 2000)

M. Z. Jacobson

Sea-Breeze Impact on Pollution

Eagle Harbor

Eagle Harbor

Pellston Pellston

Flint Flint Grand Rapids Grand Rapids

Detroit Detroit

Dexter Dexter

Smoke Stack Plumes

What type of plume behavior did you observe in the UM Power Plant this AM? What factors affect the behavior of this plume? Other plumes?

Atmospheric Stability
-Occurs overnight/early morning -Result: Long-range transport
-Occurs during the morning as the lower portion of the boundary layer warms. -Result: Enhanced deposition close to the source. -Occurs during the late morning and early afternoon. Pollutants caught in up/downdrafts. -Result: Deposition close to the surface. -Occurs during the mid-afternoon or under cloudy conditions. -Result: Pollutants spread out fairly evenly. -Occurs during the early evening as surface cools and becomes more stable. -Result: Long range transport with some vertical dispersion.

Air Pollution Modeling

The "standard" algorithm used in plume studies is the Gaussian Plume Model of O.G. Sutton(1932) is as follows:

where:
1. C(x,y,z) is the concentration of the emission (in micrograms per cubic meter) at any point x meters downwind of the source, y meters laterally from the centerline of the plume, and z meters above ground level. 2. Q is the quantity or mass of the emission (in grams) per unit of time (seconds) 3. u is the wind speed (in meters per second) 4. h is the height of the source above ground level (in meters) 5. y and z are the standard deviations of a statistically normal plume in the lateral and vertical dimensions, respectively http://www.shodor.org/os411/courses/_master/tools/calculators/gplume/gplumeinfo.html

Differential Heating of Earth

Convection

Current Weather

Coriolis Effect

At the surface air will flow away from an area of high pressure and move in a clockwise direction.

1012 mb 1016 mb

Similarly, at the surface air will flow toward the center of lower pressure and move in a counter clockwise manner.

Weather

Cold Frontal Boundary

Colder Air

Warmer Air

If the rising air has enough moisture, water vapor will condense to form clouds and precipitation. This type of precipitation is generally short-lived, but relative heavy in nature.

Warm Frontal Boundary

Warmer Air

Colder Air

If the rising air has enough moisture, the water vapor will condense to form clouds and precipitation. This precipitation is typically light and of long duration.

Weather

Weather