Abstract

VENEGAS, Laura E.  and  MAZZEO, Nicolás A.. Evaluation of the performance of atmospheric dispersion models applied to urban street canyons. Meteorologica [online]. 2012, vol.37, n.1, pp.3-13. ISSN 1850-468X.

Air pollutant concentrations inside street canyons are usually several times background concentrations in urban areas. In this paper, carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations observed in a street canyon are compared with estimated values obtained using four atmospheric dispersion models: STREET, STREET-BOX, OSPM and AEOLIUS. Results for leeward, windward and intermediate wind directions are analyzed. Data used in the model evaluation include one year of hourly CO concentrations measured inside a street canyon of Göttinger Strässe (Hannover, Germany) and at the roof of a nearby building, wind speed and direction data registered at the roof of the nearby building and traffic flow in the street. Each model performance was evaluated for leeward, windward and intermediate wind directions. Results obtained with the STREET model considering the empirical constant k=7 (default value), underestimated observed concentrations. A better performance of the STREET model was obtained with k= 12.1. The STREET-BOX model gave acceptable results for leeward and intermediate wind directions. The results of this model showed great differences with observed windward concentration values. In general, the concentrations estimated by OSPM and AEOLIUS showed the best agreement with observed values.

Keywords : Air quality; Urban street canyon; Atmospheric dispersion models.

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