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An inverse Gaussian plume approach for estimating atmospheric pollutant emissions from multiple point sources
A method is developed for estimating the emission rates of contaminants into
the atmosphere from multiple point sources using measurements of particulate
material deposited at ground level. The approach is based on a Gaussian plume
type solution for the advection-diffusion equation with ground-level deposition
and given emission sources. This solution to the forward problem is
incorporated into an inverse algorithm for estimating the emission rates by
means of a linear least squares approach. The results are validated using
measured deposition and meteorological data from a large lead-zinc smelting
operation in Trail, British Columbia. The algorithm is demonstrated to be
robust and capable of generating reasonably accurate estimates of total
contaminant emissions over the relatively short distances of interest in this
study
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