Traffic pollution modelling in a complex urban street

This study explores for the first time, the applicability of the Danish Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM) in the city of Buenos Aires where street canyons are very irregular. The model is applied in an irregular and asymmetric street canyon of a five-lane avenue near a street intersection. Urban background concentrations estimated by the DAUMOD model are considered. Meteorological information registered at the domestic airport located in the city is used in calculations. Three months of hourly NOx, NO 2 and CO estimated concentrations are compared with measurements inside the street canyon. Statistical evaluation of model results shows that OSPM performance is quite good.Fil: Venegas, Laura Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; ArgentinaFil: Mazzeo, Nicolas Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; Argentin

Intercomparison of atmospheric dispersion models applied to an urban street canyon of irregular geometry

The NOx concentrations measured at the sampling site of Cordoba Avenue, Buenos Aires City, characterised by an irregular geometry on both sides of the street, are used to intercompare results of five urban street canyon dispersion models, STREET, OSPM, AEOLIUSF, STREET-BOX and SEUS. Three different wind directions with respect to the street axis are considered, i.e., leeward, windward and parallel. Additionally, two wind speed classes are considered, above and below 2 m s–1. In order to evaluate the models performance, observed and calculated concentrations are compared using different statistical measures, i.e., mean values, bias, mean square error and fractional error. In general, all models estimate better leeward conditions and wind speeds above 2 m s–1, with SEUS providing the overall best result.Fil: Dezzutti, Mariana Clara. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Observatorio Astronómico de La Plata - Sede Central; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Berri, Guillermo Jorge. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísicas. Observatorio Astronómico de La Plata - Sede Central; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Venegas, Laura Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Avellaneda; Argentin

Air pollution in a street canyon estimated considering different parameterisations of vehicle-induced turbulence

Leeward air pollutant concentrations (C) are estimated by incorporating four parameterisations of traffic-produced turbulence (TPT) into the scaling of C inside a street canyon. Three parameterisations consider expressions previously introduced by other authors, based on a theoretical formulation of TPT and a semi-empirical approach already incorporated in an operational street model. The fourth scheme introduces an empirical expression of TPT derived from four full-scale street canyon datasets. Hourly NOx concentrations are calculated for an asymmetric street canyon in Buenos Aires, using meteorological observations at local airport and modelled background concentrations. Statistical indicators show that the performance of the four schemes is satisfactory.Fil: Mazzeo, Nicolas Antonio. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Avellaneda. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Venegas, Laura Esperanza. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Avellaneda. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Dezzutti, Mariana Clara. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Avellaneda. Departamento de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

High PM10 concentrations in the city of Buenos Aires and their relationship with meteorological conditions

In this work, the first long-term (eight years) record of hourly concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter with diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) from three sites in the city of Buenos Aires is analysed. Considering the short-term guidelines suggested by the WHO, the daily mean PM10 concentrations present a relatively large number of exceedances at the three sites. Different statistical techniques are combined to study the relationship between these relatively high PM10 concentrations and relevant surface meteorological variables. For all pollutants and sites, wind speed shows the largest differences between the lowest and highest concentration quartiles. To further explore its role on daily mean PM10 concentration, a k-means algorithm is applied, grouping days with similar surface 1h-wind sequences. Five wind sequence clusters are found, presenting distinctive air quality data features. Two clusters (1 and 2) show that PM10 exceedances occurring with winds entering the city from the river represent between 10 and 21% of total events at the three sites. The frequency of exceedance under these conditions decreases with the distance to the coast. For cluster 1, the hourly PM10 concentration profile and its associated daily wind sequence suggest an important contribution to exceedance events from the city's southernmost power plant. Two clusters (3 and 4), exhibiting continental winds, account for 49–59% of the exceedances and co-occur with relatively drier air conditions. The correlation between CO and PM10 for days belonging to cluster 3 supports the hypothesis of a potential remote or distributed source contribution with SW winds. For cluster 4, differences among sites in the number of events under NNW winds suggest an important contribution from the city's widest avenue to the PM10 levels at the most coastal site. A large contribution coming from urban sources is also indicated for these winds. Finally, cluster 5, exhibiting low wind speed sequences, accounts for 23–33% of the exceedances at the three sites. The average PM10 concentration increases with persistence of this cluster, which could be a driver for exceedances. These results contribute to show the importance of simple methods such as clustering analysis to obtain insights into air quality features such as exceedances and their potential drivers. They also suggest that further efforts in monitoring, modelling and emission estimates may help to better understand local, urban and regional source contributions to these events in the city of Buenos Aires.Fil: Pineda Rojas, Andrea Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; ArgentinaFil: Borge, Rafael. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Mazzeo, Nicolás A.. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Avellaneda; ArgentinaFil: Saurral, Ramiro Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Centro de Investigaciones del Mar y la Atmósfera; ArgentinaFil: Matarazzo, Bruno Nicolas. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias de la Atmósfera y los Océanos; ArgentinaFil: Cordero, Jose M.. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; EspañaFil: Kropff, Emilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires. Fundación Instituto Leloir. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Buenos Aires; Argentin

Particulate matter concentrations originating from industrial and urban sources: Validation of atmospheric dispersion modeling results

This study presents the analysis of the emission, transport, dispersion, and concentration of particulate matter emitted from a large industrial complex dedicated to the manufacture of cement in the town of Malagueño, province of Córdoba (Argentina), using the USEPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) AERMOD model. The model was applied for 224 industrial and background emission sources (8 stacks, 3 limestone quarries, 13 material storage piles, 18 agricultural fields and 182 paved and unpaved segment roads). The application of the model was validated with Total Suspended Particulate matter (TSP) measured at two monitoring sites, where samples were collected for 62 consecutive days in winter. The maximum TSP values obtained at both monitoring sites (748 and 1100 μg m−3) were well above the suggested WHO guidelines. The results obtained showed the impact of this industrial activity on local particulate matter concentrations, from which unpaved industrial roads and stockpiles were the most influential emission sources, directly affecting two of the closest neighborhoods in the area. Future studies will include the accumulation of heavy metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in TSP samples, the environmental risk assessment for exposure of the Malagueño population and the source apportionment of these pollutants.Fil: Abril, Gabriela Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Diez, Sebastián Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Pignata, Maria Luisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Britch, Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional Córdoba; Argentin

Assessment of the conservation status of natural and semi-natural patches associated with urban areas through habitat suitability indices

Urban environments rely on the surrounding natural ecosystems remnants as providers of ecosystem functions, therefore these areas not only support a unique biodiversity but also have a social value for maintaining public health and wellbeing. For this reason, urbanization is considered to be one the biggest threats to ecosystems, leading to native biodiversity simplification and, thus, to a detriment of the provided ecosystem services. Moreover, this change in land use results in high levels of landscape fragmentation and modification in areas surrounding the habitat remnants which, in consequence, become inadequate for many native species. In this context, it is important that urban planners have the information to assess the possible consequences of future changes in land use in order to increase the landscape chances of supporting both, native biodiversity and the needs of a growing human population. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the ecological integrity of natural and semi-natural vegetation patches immersed in an urban area in order to generate a conceptual framework for landscape assessment that allows urban planners to envision the best choice for city development at a given place. To do so, we developed a quantitative integral environmental evaluation index that includes ecological characterization, geological characterization, and environmental characterization (presence of anthropic disturbance) of the assessed area. We conclude that the index we have generated in this work is suitable to be used as a management tool to allow an unbiased valuation and to identify managing situations that require a short term response.Fil: Natale, Evangelina Sandra. Fundación Conservación y Desarrollo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Villalba, G.. Fundación Conservación y Desarrollo; ArgentinaFil: Junquera, J. E.. Fundación Conservación y Desarrollo; ArgentinaFil: Zalba, Sergio Martín. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Grupo de Estudios en Conservación y Manejo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Hourly NOXconcentrations and wind direction in the vicinity of a street intersection

This study relates NOxconcentrations and wind (speed and direction) measured inside an asymmetric street canyon, with ambient wind. The monitoring site is located near a street intersection. The wind measured at the domestic airport located in the city, near the coast, has been considered as ambient wind. Wind direction at the monitoring site inside the canyon is mainly from the E, NE, W and NW for any ambient direction. In general, the behaviour of horizontal airflow at the monitoring site for different ambient wind directions seems to be quite similar to those observed at other street intersections reported in the literature.Fil: Mazzeo, Nicolas Antonio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; ArgentinaFil: Venegas, Laura Esperanza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional; Argentin