Development and validation of tools for the implementation of european air quality policy in Germany (Project VALIUM)
In the framework of the German Atmospheric Research Program AFO-2000 a system of consistent coupled numerical models has been developed. The purpose of the model system is to serve as a tool for the execution of European urban air quality regulations. A consortium with the acronym VALIUM was formed, which consisted of German research institutes, environmental consultancies and an environmental agency. A substantial part of the VALIUM program was devoted to the generation of a set of high quality data for the validation of the numerical model system. The validation data are based on a combination of field studies, tracer experiments and corresponding wind tunnel experiments. The field experiments were carried out inside and around a street canyon in a city district of Hanover/Germany. After a brief introduction to the VALIUM project a summary of the main results will be given.
The model SIRANE for atmospheric urban pollutant dispersion; PART II, validation of the model on a real case study
Abstract We analyse the performance of the model SIRANE by comparing its outputs to field data measured within an urban district. SIRANE is the first urban dispersion model based on the concept of street network, and contains specific parametrical law to explicitly simulate the main transfer mechanisms within the urban canopy. The model validation is performed by means of field data collected during a 15 days measurement campaign in an urban district in Lyon, France. The campaign provided information on traffic fluxes and cars emissions, meteorological conditions, background pollution levels and pollutant concentration in different location within the district. This data set, together with complementary modelling tools needed to estimate the spatial distribution of traffic fluxes, allowed us to estimate the input data required by the model. The data set provide also the information essential to evaluate the accuracy of the model outputs. Comparison between model predictions and field measurements was performed in two ways. By evaluate the reliability of the model in simulating the spatial distribution of the pollutant and of their time variability. The study includes a sensitivity analysis to identify the key input parameters influencing the performance of the model, namely the emissions rates and the wind velocity. The analysis focuses only on the influence of varying input parameters in the modelling chain in the model predictions and complements the analyses provided by wind tunnel studies focussing on the parameterisation implemented in the model. The study also elucidates the critical role of background concentrations that represent a significant contribution to local pollution levels. The overall model performance, measured using the Chang and Hanna (2004) criteria can be considered as ‘good’ except for NO and some of BTX species. The results suggest that improvements of the performances on NO require testing new photochemical models, whereas the improvement on BTX could be achieved by correcting their vehicular emissions factors.
Climatology of the cusp-related thermospheric mass density anomaly, as derived from CHAMP observations
We report on the thermospheric mass density anomaly in the vicinity of the ionospheric cusp. A systematic survey of the anomalies is presented, based on a statistical analysis of 4 years of data (2002–2005) obtained by the accelerometer onboard CHAMP. The anomalies are detected during all years and seasons in both hemispheres but with stronger signatures in the Northern Hemisphere. For the same geophysical conditions, solar flux and geomagnetic activity the anomalies in the north are larger by a factor of about 1.35. Over the course of the survey period the amplitude decreases by more than a factor of 5 while the level of solar flux reduces by a factor of 2. The anomaly strength also depends on the solar wind input. The merging electric field, E merg , is generally enhanced for about an hour before the anomaly detection. There is a quadratic response of the anomaly amplitude to E merg . For geophysical conditions of P10.7 E merg E merg , where the weight of E merg , in mV/m, is by about 50 times higher than that of the solar flux level. The solar zenith angle and the influence of particle precipitation are found to play a minor role as a controlling parameter of seasonal variation. The well-known annual variation of the thermospheric density with a minimum around June also influences the formation of the cusp anomalies. This leads to a clear hemispheric asymmetry with very weak anomalies in the south during June solstice, which is supposed to be a combined effect of the minimum in annual variation and the seasonal decrease of solar insolation in this region.