 Factors affecting behavior and fate of air pollution

1. characteristic of source

2. concentration of pollutant

3. reaction with other pollutants

4. moisture content

5. evaporation rate/precipitation rate

6. wind speed+ direction-dispersion and direction of air pollutant

7. reactivity with air

8. presence of free radicals and oxidizing substance in the air

9. temperature

10. micro-metereological conditions

11. green belt and vegetation

12. height at which air pollutants are released

13. photochemistry

14. sedimentation and aggromalation

15. PM: morphology- size, surface and charge

 Fate of air pollution

1. entering into a living creature

2. persisting in environment

3. settlement on surface

4. precipitation and washout

5. reaches stratosphere

6. conversion into 2nd pollutant and can became a new variety of pollution: can be more/less
harmful

 'Behavior and fate of individual particulate matter'-table formation HW

August 16, 2023

METEROLOGY AND AIR POLLUTION
 1. Meteorological factors influencing air pollution:

Affects the dispersion, dilution, accumulation, and chemical reaction

‘Wind direction dependent’

Key meteorological factors influencing air pollution can be classified-

PRIMARY PARAMETERS SECONDARY PARAMETERS

Mainly related to primary pollutants Mainly related to secondary

pollutants. Also depends upon the
Wind speed and direction, primary parameter
temperature, atmospheric stability,
mixing height or topography Precipitation, humidity, solar
radiations and visibility

A. Wind speed and Wind direction: wind is generated when we have a difference in pressure at two
locations.

Low pressure and high pressure zone are created due to- rate of heating and cooling (sea and land breeze)

Types of air circulation:- 1. Global air circulation:-

a. One cell

b. Accepted- three cell: the Hadley Cell, the Ferrel Cell and the Polar Cell

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Ffigure%2FThree-
cell-atmospheric-circulation-model-From-Aguado-and-Burt-
2014_fig2_323414614&psig=AOvVaw1EYEnZx-
V20k9dCD8NXGgm&ust=1696410655926000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBEQj
RxqFwoTCJiXjKXE2YEDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

2. Local air circulation:-

3. Regional air circulation:-

B. Temperature

C. Atmosphere- stable condition low vertical mixing- traps pollutant near surface, exacerbation air
quality.

Unstable condition high vertical mixing-

D. Temperature and Atmospheric Stability-

Lapse Rate: As said, the lapse rate is the rate of change in temperature observed while moving upward
through the earth's atmosphere. It is positive when the temperature decrease with elevation, zero when the
temperature is constant with elevation, and negative when the temperature increase with elevation.
Adiabatic lapse rate: An adiabatic condition is a condition where no heat exchange occurs between the
given system and its surroundings. As said, the adiabatic lapse rate is the rate at which the temperature of
an air parcel changes in response to the compression or expansion associated with elevation change under
adiabatic conditions. Before getting into detail about the adiabatic lapse rate, it is important to know about
the air parcel.

Air Parcels:

As we know, mixing is a result of random motions of individual molecules. But at atmospheric levels,
this molecular mixing is important only for a few metres near the surface and beyond turbopause. In
intermediate levels, mixing is achieved by the exchange of air parcels or air bubbles. These parcels can
vary in size from a few mm to several km, but there are certain assumptions to be considered regarding
air parcels.

Assumptions for an Air Parcel

 An air parcel is thermally insulated from the surroundings

 Air parcel is at the same pressure as the environmental air at the same level

The kinetic energy of the process is a negligible fraction of its total energy. This implies that the parcel
moves very slowly.

Now that we know about air parcels, let's get back to the adiabatic lapse rate discussion. There are two
adiabatic lapse rates, namely,

1. Dry adiabatic lapse rate

2. Moist adiabatic lapse rate

1. Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate

The dry adiabatic lapse rate for air depends only on the specific heat capacity of air at constant pressure
and the acceleration due to gravity. The dry adiabatic lapse rate for the Earth’s atmosphere equals 9.8°C
per kilometre. Thus, the temperature of an air parcel that ascends or descends 2 km would fall or rise 19.6
°C respectively.

2. Moist Adiabatic Lapse Rate

When an air parcel that is saturated with water vapour rises, some of the vapour will condense and release
latent heat. This process causes the parcel to cool more slowly than it would if it were not saturated.
Latent heat of evaporation. Therefore, this rate would be lesser than the dry adiabatic lapse rate (6.5°C per
kilometre).

The moist adiabatic lapse rate varies considerably because the amount of water vapour in the air is highly
variable. The greater the amount of vapour, the smaller the adiabatic lapse rate. As an air parcel rises and
cools, it may eventually lose its moisture through condensation; its lapse rate then increases and
approaches the dry adiabatic value.
Enviromental lapse rate: The environmental lapse rate also called normal lapse rate, is the lapse rate of
non-rising air. It is highly variable. It is affected by radiation, convection, and condensation. Its value is
approximately equal to 6.5°C per kilometre in the lower atmosphere. It is location specific, existing
condition at particular time at particular place.

This is of three types:

STRONG LAPSE RATE- lapse rate >9.8ºC/km; unstable

WEAK LAPSE RATE- lapse rate <9.8ºC/km; stable

Relation Between ELR and ALR

Case 1: ELR > ALR (Super adiabatic condition)

 An air parcel going up will continue to go up as the air parcel becomes warmer.

 An air parcel going down will continue to go down as the parcel becomes colder than the
surrounding air.

 The air parcel is highly unstable.

This condition can be compared with a ‘ball on the concave down surface’. The ball on the surface tends
to move in either direction.

Case 2: ELR < ALR (Sub adiabatic condition)

It can be inferred from the plot that the ALR is steeper than the ELR. So,

 If the parcel of air rises up, it becomes colder than the surrounding air. Hence, comes down to the
original position.

 If the parcel of air goes down, it becomes warmer than the surrounding air. Hence, rises up to the
original position.

 The air parcel is highly stable under this condition.

This condition can be compared with a ‘ball on the concave upward surface’. The ball on the surface
tends to come back to the central original position.

Let us assume the ELR has a negative sign(temperature increases with elevation). It happens rarely in the
atmosphere, so-called an extreme case. This is also called the case of temperature inversion, which we
already have seen. The air parcel undergoing this condition is extremely stable.

Case 3: ALR = ELR (Neutral condition)

As the environmental air has the same temperature as the air parcel, the parcel does not go up or down.
This is a neutral condition.

Atmospheric stability

The term stability comes up frequently in meteorological conversations. Stability and instability are the
two terms to concentrate on. The term stability explains the temperature profile that isn't helpful for storm
formation. At the point when bundles of air rise, they experience a climate that makes the air decelerate,
stop and sink down before storm convection can form. Instances of stable layers are inversions and
covering layers. Instability is just the opposite and refers to a troposphere that is helpful for
rainstorm/thunderstorm formation. Unstable layers can be created by solar hitting the ground surface,
cooling up high.

TEMPERATURE INVERSION- temperature is increasing with altitude. temperature inversion, also

called thermal inversion, a reversal of the normal behaviour of temperature in the troposphere (the region
of the atmosphere nearest Earth’s surface), in which a layer of cool air at the surface is overlain by a layer
of warmer air. (Under normal conditions air temperature usually decreases with height.)

Inversions play an important role in determining cloud forms, precipitation, and visibility. An inversion
acts as a cap on the upward movement of air from the layers below. As a result, convection produced by
the heating of air from below is limited to levels below the inversion. Diffusion of dust, smoke, and other
air pollutants is likewise limited. In regions where a pronounced low-level inversion is present,
convective clouds cannot grow high enough to produce showers and, at the same time, visibility may be
greatly reduced below the inversion, even in the absence of clouds, by the accumulation of dust and
smoke particles. Because air near the base of an inversion tends to be cool, fog is frequently present there.

Inversions also affect diurnal variations in air temperature. The principal heating of air during the day is
produced by its contact with a land surface that has been heated by the Sun’s radiation. Heat from the
ground is communicated to the air by conduction and convection. Since an inversion will usually control
the upper level to which heat is carried by convection, only a shallow layer of air will be heated if the
inversion is low and large, and the rise in temperature will be great.

There are four kinds of inversions: ground, turbulence, subsidence, and frontal.

A ground/ radiation inversion develops when air is cooled by contact with a colder surface until it
becomes cooler than the overlying atmosphere; this occurs most often on clear nights, when the ground
cools off rapidly by radiation. If the temperature of surface air drops below its dew point, fog may result.
Topography greatly affects the magnitude of ground inversions. If the land is rolling or hilly, the cold air
formed on the higher land surfaces tends to drain into the hollows, producing a larger and thicker
inversion above low ground and little or none above higher elevations.

A turbulence/advection inversion often forms when quiescent air overlies turbulent air. Within the
turbulent layer, vertical mixing carries heat downward and cools the upper part of the layer. The unmixed
air above is not cooled and eventually is warmer than the air below; an inversion then exists.

A subsidence inversion develops when a widespread layer of air descends. The layer is compressed and
heated by the resulting increase in atmospheric pressure, and, as a result, the lapse rate of temperature is
reduced. If the air mass sinks low enough, the air at higher altitudes becomes warmer than at lower
altitudes, producing a temperature inversion. Subsidence inversions are common over the northern
continents in winter and over the subtropical oceans; these regions generally have subsiding air because
they are located under large high-pressure centres. It can prevail for several days and sometimes weeks.
A frontal inversion occurs when a cold air mass undercuts a warm air mass and lifts it aloft; the front
between the two air masses then has warm air above and cold air below. This kind of inversion has a
considerable slope, whereas other inversions are nearly horizontal. In addition, humidity may be high, and
clouds may be present immediately above it.

Topography:

2. Meteorological data for measurement :

1. Wind direction recorders

a. Pilot balloons:

b. Kite balloons:

c. Radio and Radar:

d. Smoke trails:

2. ADVANCED WEATHER STATION

I. Thermometer for measuring air and sea surface temperature

II. Barometer for measuring atmospheric pressure

III. Hygrometer for measuring humidity

IV. Anemometer for measuring wind speed

V. Pyranometer for measuring solar radiation

VI. Rain gauge for measuring liquid precipitation over a set period of time

VII. Wind sock for measuring general wind speed and wind direction

VIII. Wind vane (also called a weather vane or a weathercock) for showing the wind direction

IX. Present Weather/Precipitation Identification Sensor for identifying falling precipitation

X. Disdrometer for measuring drop size distribution

XI. Transmissometer for measuring visibility

XII. Ceilometer for measuring cloud ceiling

XIII. Sialometer for measuring sial materials like dew

3. Plume behavior:

A. Looping plume: It takes place when the atmosphere is very unstable, wind speed is greater than
10 ms-1, has super-adiabatic lapse rate and is accompanied with solar heating. It follows a wave
like pattern and provides high degree of mixing at lower levels, sometimes reaching the ground.

B. Fumigation: It occurs when plume reaches the ground level along the length of the plume and is
caused by a super-adiabatic lapse rate beneath an inversion. The super-adiabatic lapse rate at the
ground level occurs due to the solar heating and is quite undesirable since the pollutants remain at
ground level. This condition is favoured by clear skies and light winds.

C. Coning plume: It results when the vertical air temperature gradient occurs between dry adiabatic
and isothermal, the air being slightly unstable with some horizontal and vertical mixing occurring.
Coning is most likely to occur during cloudy or windy periods. After a distance, high ground level
concentration.

E. Fanning plume: They spread out horizontally but do not mix vertically. Fanning plumes take
place when inversion condition exists in atmosphere, that is, the air temperature increases with
altitude. The plume rarely reaches the grounds level unless the inversion is broken by surface
heating or a topographical barrier such as a hill. At night, with light winds and clear skies,
fanning plumes are quite common.

E. Lofting plume: It diffuses upward but not downwards and occurs when there is a super-adiabatic
layer above a surface inversion. A lofting plume will generally not reach the ground surface, so there
is less pollution at ground level.

F. Trapping: This condition is accompanied by weak lapse below inversion aloft

4. Single and multiple stack source pollution

5. Wind rose

6. Stack effluent dispersion theories

METHODS FOR MEASUREMENT OF METEROLOGICAL VARIABLE: