507 research outputs found
A large eddy simulation of the dispersion of traffic emissions by moving vehicles at an intersection
Traffic induced flow within urban areas can have a significant effect on pollution dispersion, particularly for traffic emissions. Traffic movement results in increased turbulence within the street and the dispersion of pollutants by vehicles as they move through the street. In order to accurately model urban air quality and perform meaningful exposure analysis at the microscale, these effects cannot be ignored. In this paper we introduce a method to simulate traffic induced dispersion at high resolution. The computational fluid dynamics software, Fluidity, is used to model the moving vehicles through a domain consisting of an idealised intersection. A multi-fluid method is used where vehicles are represented as a second fluid which displaces the air as it moves through the domain. The vehicle model is coupled with an instantaneous emissions model which calculates the emission rate of each vehicle at each time step. A comparison is made with a second Fluidity model which simulates the traffic emissions as a line source and does not include moving vehicles. The method is used to demonstrate how moving vehicles can have a significant effect on street level concentration fields and how large vehicles such as buses can also cause acute high concentration events at the roadside which can contribute significantly to overall exposure
Integrated assessment modelling of future air quality in the UK to 2050, and synergies with net-zero strategies
Integrated assessment modelling (IAM) has been successfully used in the development of international agreements to reduce transboundary pollution in Europe, based on the GAINS model of IIASA. At a national level in the UK, a similar approach has been taken with the UK Integrated Assessment Model, UKIAM, superimposing pollution abatement measures and behavioural change on energy projections designed to meet targets set for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and allowing for natural and imported contributions from other countries and shipping. This paper describes how the UKIAM was used in the development of proposed targets for the reduction of fine particulate PM2.5 in the UK Environment Act, exploring scenarios encompassing different levels of ambition in reducing the emissions of air pollutants up to 2050, with associated health and other environmental benefits. There are two PM2.5 targets, an annual mean concentration target setting a maximum concentration to be reached by a future year, and a population exposure reduction target with benefits for health across the whole population. The work goes further, also demonstrating links to social deprivation. There is a strong connection between climate measures aimed at reducing net GHG emissions to zero by 2050 and future air quality, which may be positive or negative, as illustrated by sectoral studies for road transport where electrification of the fleet needs to match the evolution of energy production, and for domestic heating, where the use of wood for heating is an air quality issue. The UKIAM has been validated against air pollution measurements and other types of modelling, but there are many uncertainties, including future energy projections
Systems thinking for the transition to zero pollution
Systems approaches are vital for coordinating decision-making in the face of complex issues because they provide the whole picture view needed to avoid negative unintended consequences and to generate genuine benefits. This paper explains how systems thinking can be used to address environmental pollution and support decision-makers in finding solutions
Phenomenological description of the gamma* p cross section at low Q2
Low Q2 photon-proton cross sections are analysed using a simple,
QCD-motivated parametrisation ,
which gives a good description of the data. The Q2 dependence of the gamma* p
cross section is discussed in terms of the partonic transverse momenta of the
hadronic state the photon fluctuates into.Comment: 14 pages, revtex, epsfig, 2 figure
Reduced-form and complex Actm modelling for air quality policy development: a model inter-comparison
Simulation models can be valuable tools in supporting development of air pollution policy. However, exploration of future scenarios depends on reliable and robust modelling to provide confidence in outcomes which cannot be tested against measurements. Here we focus on the UK Integrated Assessment Model, a fast reduced-form model with a purpose to support policy development with modelling of multiple alternative future scenarios, and the EMEP4UK model which is a complex Eulerian Atmospheric Chemistry Transport Model requiring significant computing resources. The EMEP4UK model has been used to model selected core scenarios to compare with UKIAM, and to investigate sensitivity studies such as the interannual variability in response to meteorological differences between years. This model intercomparison addresses total PM2.5, primary PM2.5 and Secondary Inorganic Aerosol concentrations for a baseline of 2018 and selected scenarios for projections to 2040. This work has confirmed the robustness of the UK Integrated Assessment Model for assessing alternative futures through a direct comparison with EMEP4UK. Both models have shown good agreement with measurements, and EMEP4UK shows an ability to replicate past trends. These comparisons highlight how a combination of reduced-form modelling (UKIAM) and complex chemical transport modelling (EMEP4UK) can be effectively used in support of air pollution policy development, informing understanding of projected futures in the context of emerging evidence and uncertainties
Soft Contributions to Hard Pion Photoproduction
Hard, or high transverse momentum, pion photoproduction can be a tool for
probing the parton structure of the beam and target. We estimate the soft
contributions to this process, with an eye toward delineating the region where
perturbatively calculable processes dominate. Our soft process estimate is
based on vector meson dominance and data based parameterizations of
semiexclusive hadronic cross sections. We find that soft processes dominate in
single pion photoproduction somewhat past 2 GeV transverse momentum at a few
times 10 GeV incoming energy. The recent polarization asymmetry data is
consistent with the perturbative asymmetry being diluted by polarization
insensitive soft processes. Determining the polarized gluon distribution using
hard pion photoproduction appears feasible with a few hundred GeV incoming
energy (in the target rest frame).Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Modelling chemistry in the nocturnal boundary layer above tropical rainforest and a generalised effective nocturnal ozone deposition velocity for sub-ppbv NOx conditions
Measurements of atmospheric composition have been made over a remote rainforest landscape. A box model has previously been demonstrated to model the observed daytime chemistry well. However the box model is unable to explain the nocturnal measurements of relatively high [NO] and [O3], but relatively low observed [NO2]. It is shown that a one-dimensional (1-D) column model with simple O3 -NOx chemistry and a simple representation of vertical transport is able to explain the observed nocturnal concentrations and predict the likely vertical profiles of these species in the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL). Concentrations of tracers carried over from the end of the night can affect the atmospheric chemistry of the following day. To ascertain the anomaly introduced by using the box model to represent the NBL, vertically-averaged NBL concentrations at the end of the night are compared between the 1-D model and the box model. It is found that, under low to medium [NOx] conditions (NOx <1 ppbv), a simple parametrisation can be used to modify the box model deposition velocity of ozone, in order to achieve good agreement between the box and 1-D models for these end-of-night concentrations of NOx and O3. This parametrisation would could also be used in global climate-chemistry models with limited vertical resolution near the surface. Box-model results for the following day differ significantly if this effective nocturnal deposition velocity for ozone is implemented; for instance, there is a 9% increase in the following day’s peak ozone concentration. However under medium to high [NOx] conditions (NOx > 1 ppbv), the effect on the chemistry due to the vertical distribution of the species means no box model can adequately represent chemistry in the NBL without modifying reaction rate constants
Inclusive production of and mesons in charged current interactions
The inclusive production of the meson resonances ,
and in neutrino-nucleus charged current interactions has been
studied with the NOMAD detector exposed to the wide band neutrino beam
generated by 450 GeV protons at the CERN SPS. For the first time the
meson is observed in neutrino interactions. The statistical
significance of its observation is 6 standard deviations. The presence of
in neutrino interactions is reliably established. The average
multiplicity of these three resonances is measured as a function of several
kinematic variables. The experimental results are compared to the
multiplicities obtained from a simulation based on the Lund model. In addition,
the average multiplicity of in antineutrino - nucleus
interactions is measured.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 8 tables. To appear in Nucl. Phys.
Measurement of the Spin Asymmetry in the Photoproduction of Pairs of High-pT Hadrons at HERMES
We present a measurement of the longitudinal spin asymmetry A_|| in
photoproduction of pairs of hadrons with high transverse momentum p_T. Data
were accumulated by the HERMES experiment using a 27.5 GeV polarized positron
beam and a polarized hydrogen target internal to the HERA storage ring. For
h+h- pairs with p_T^h_1 > 1.5 GeV/c and p_T^h_2 > 1.0 GeV/c, the measured
asymmetry is A_|| = -0.28 +/- 0.12 (stat.) +/- 0.02 (syst.). This negative
value is in contrast to the positive asymmetries typically measured in deep
inelastic scattering from protons, and is interpreted to arise from a positive
gluon polarization.Comment: 5 pages (latex), 4 figures (eps
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