e-Article
Understanding the atmospheric characteristics of high polluted events in a tropical megacity/Caracteristicas atmosféricas de eventos de alta contaminacion en una megaciudad del tropico
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Source
Revista Facultad de Ingenieria. Universidad de Antioquia. April-June, 2023, Issue 107, p53, 13 p.
Subject
Language
Spanish; Castilian
ISSN
0120-6230
Abstract
Se identifican señales que estan relacionadas con altas concentraciones de P[M.sub.2.5]: la rapidez horizontal del viento y la TKE presentan magnitudes significativamente mas bajas que el promedio durante el dia, [...]
About 20% of the atmospheric pollution variations are linked to local meteorology. This relationship may be more important in places with dense populations, such as Latin American cities since the topography and fast multiscale changes are part of the tropical climate. Even so, this possibility has not been addressed in previous studies. This research aims to characterize the relationship between tropical meteorological variables and P[M.sub.2.5] levels during high pollution events. The relationship between wind field, Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE), radiation, temperature, relative humidity, boundary layer height, and atmospheric stability with P[M.sub.2.5] concentration was investigated. Statistical correlations and the parcel method were used to analyze the relationship between vertical motions and P[M.sub.2.5]. Obtained results show that the stability and vertical velocity do not significantly affect pollution levels. We identified some signals that are strongly related to P[M.sub.2.5] high concentrations: weaker than average horizontal wind speed and TKE throughout the day, easterly winds in the morning (associated with the transport of ashes from wildfires produced on the Eastern plains), combined with a higher-than-average radiation peak. These results lead to a better understanding of the P[M.sub.2.5] variations, which can be applied for the improvement of air quality models and have the potential to be part of a novel policy to manage air quality risk. Las variaciones de la contaminacion atmosférica estan relacionadas con la meteorologia local en un 20%. Esta relacion es importante en ciudades latinoamericanas, pues la topografia produce cambios en el comportamiento local del viento. Sin embargo, estos comportamientos no han sido abordados en estudios previos. Esta investigacion tiene como objetivo caracterizar la relacion entre las variables meteorologicas y los niveles de P[M.sub.2.5] durante eventos de alta contaminacion. Se investigo la relacion entre el viento, la energia cinética turbulenta (TKE), la radiacion, la temperatura, la humedad relativa, la altura de la capa limite y la estabilidad atmosférica con la concentracion de P[M.sub.2.5] Para ello, se utilizaron correlaciones estadisticas y el método de la parcela. Los resultados muestran que la estabilidad, la velocidad vertical y la altura de la capa limite no afectan significativamente los niveles de contaminacion. KEYWORDS: Particulate matter; atmospheric stability; Turbulent Kinetic Energy; tropical city; pollution variation Material particulado; estabilidad atmosférica; energia cinética de turbulencia; ciudad tropical; variacion de polucion
About 20% of the atmospheric pollution variations are linked to local meteorology. This relationship may be more important in places with dense populations, such as Latin American cities since the topography and fast multiscale changes are part of the tropical climate. Even so, this possibility has not been addressed in previous studies. This research aims to characterize the relationship between tropical meteorological variables and P[M.sub.2.5] levels during high pollution events. The relationship between wind field, Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE), radiation, temperature, relative humidity, boundary layer height, and atmospheric stability with P[M.sub.2.5] concentration was investigated. Statistical correlations and the parcel method were used to analyze the relationship between vertical motions and P[M.sub.2.5]. Obtained results show that the stability and vertical velocity do not significantly affect pollution levels. We identified some signals that are strongly related to P[M.sub.2.5] high concentrations: weaker than average horizontal wind speed and TKE throughout the day, easterly winds in the morning (associated with the transport of ashes from wildfires produced on the Eastern plains), combined with a higher-than-average radiation peak. These results lead to a better understanding of the P[M.sub.2.5] variations, which can be applied for the improvement of air quality models and have the potential to be part of a novel policy to manage air quality risk. Las variaciones de la contaminacion atmosférica estan relacionadas con la meteorologia local en un 20%. Esta relacion es importante en ciudades latinoamericanas, pues la topografia produce cambios en el comportamiento local del viento. Sin embargo, estos comportamientos no han sido abordados en estudios previos. Esta investigacion tiene como objetivo caracterizar la relacion entre las variables meteorologicas y los niveles de P[M.sub.2.5] durante eventos de alta contaminacion. Se investigo la relacion entre el viento, la energia cinética turbulenta (TKE), la radiacion, la temperatura, la humedad relativa, la altura de la capa limite y la estabilidad atmosférica con la concentracion de P[M.sub.2.5] Para ello, se utilizaron correlaciones estadisticas y el método de la parcela. Los resultados muestran que la estabilidad, la velocidad vertical y la altura de la capa limite no afectan significativamente los niveles de contaminacion. KEYWORDS: Particulate matter; atmospheric stability; Turbulent Kinetic Energy; tropical city; pollution variation Material particulado; estabilidad atmosférica; energia cinética de turbulencia; ciudad tropical; variacion de polucion