Using dispersion models at microscale to assess long-term air pollution in urban hot spots: A FAIRMODE joint intercomparison exercise for a case study in Antwerp
F. Martín
Ákos Kovács
V. Rodrigues
Bence Liszkai
J. Bartzis
I. Sakellaris
Zoltán Horváth
X. Jurado
N. Reiminger
P. Thunis
C. Cuvelier
S. Janssen
J. Sousa
E. Rivas
M. G. Villani
J. L. Santiago
F. Russo
J. Stocker
R. Jackson
G. Tinarelli
L. Környei
R. San José
J. L. Pérez-Camanyo
G. Sousa Santos
D. Barbero
Publication Name: Science of the Total Environment
Publication Date: 2024-05-15
Volume: 925
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
In the framework of the Forum for Air Quality Modelling in Europe (FAIRMODE), a modelling intercomparison exercise for computing NO2 long-term average concentrations in urban districts with a very high spatial resolution was carried out. This exercise was undertaken for a district of Antwerp (Belgium). Air quality data includes data recorded in air quality monitoring stations and 73 passive samplers deployed during one-month period in 2016. The modelling domain was 800 × 800 m2. Nine modelling teams participated in this exercise providing results from fifteen different modelling applications based on different kinds of model approaches (CFD – Computational Fluid Dynamics-, Lagrangian, Gaussian, and Artificial Intelligence). Some approaches consisted of models running the complete one-month period on an hourly basis, but most others used a scenario approach, which relies on simulations of scenarios representative of wind conditions combined with post-processing to retrieve a one-month average of NO2 concentrations. The objective of this study is to evaluate what type of modelling system is better suited to get a good estimate of long-term averages in complex urban districts. This is very important for air quality assessment under the European ambient air quality directives. The time evolution of NO2 hourly concentrations during a day of relative high pollution was rather well estimated by all models. Relative to high resolution spatial distribution of one-month NO2 averaged concentrations, Gaussian models were not able to give detailed information, unless they include building data and street-canyon parameterizations. The models that account for complex urban geometries (i.e. CFD, Lagrangian, and AI models) appear to provide better estimates of the spatial distribution of one-month NO2 averages concentrations in the urban canopy. Approaches based on steady CFD-RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes) model simulations of meteorological scenarios seem to provide good results with similar quality to those obtained with an unsteady one-month period CFD-RANS simulations.
Open Access: Yes
Authors - 25
F. Martín
57204283749
Ákos Kovács
58289620000
V. Rodrigues
35520025600
Bence Liszkai
57202118725
J. Bartzis
7003787083
I. Sakellaris
56545711400
Zoltán Horváth
7102083557
X. Jurado
57211641719
N. Reiminger
57211637668
P. Thunis
55894188500
C. Cuvelier
56269722300
S. Janssen
23993800000
J. Sousa
58815011900
E. Rivas
56201846100
M. G. Villani
56594523300
J. L. Santiago
35386879300
F. Russo
7202577029
J. Stocker
7006150217
R. Jackson
57795570800
G. Tinarelli
7004062052
L. Környei
25625214100
R. San José
7003862871
J. L. Pérez-Camanyo
57316020900
G. Sousa Santos
55208239500
D. Barbero
57232105900