Simulation of O<sub>3</sub> and NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> in São Paulo street urban canyons with VEIN (v0.2.2) and MUNICH (v1.0)
<p>We evaluate the performance of the Model of Urban Network of Intersecting Canyons and Highways (MUNICH) in simulating ozone (O<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>) and nitrogen oxides (NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub>&l...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021-06-01
|
| Series: | Geoscientific Model Development |
| Online Access: | https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/14/3251/2021/gmd-14-3251-2021.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>We evaluate the performance of the Model of Urban Network
of Intersecting Canyons and Highways (MUNICH) in simulating ozone (O<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>)
and nitrogen oxides (NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>x</i></sub></span>) concentrations within the urban street
canyons in the São Paulo metropolitan area (SPMA). The MUNICH simulations
are performed inside the Pinheiros neighborhood (a residential area) and
Paulista Avenue (an economic hub), which are representative urban canyons in
the SPMA. Both zones have air quality stations maintained by the São Paulo
Environmental Agency (CETESB), providing data (both pollutant
concentrations and meteorological) for model evaluation. Meteorological
inputs for MUNICH are produced by a simulation with the Weather Research and
Forecasting model (WRF) over triple-nested domains with the innermost domain
centered over the SPMA at a spatial grid resolution of 1 km. Street
coordinates and emission flux rates are retrieved from the Vehicular
Emission Inventory (VEIN) emission model, representing the real fleet of the
region. The VEIN model has an advantage to spatially represent emissions and
present compatibility with MUNICH. Building height is estimated from the
World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT) local climate zone map
for SPMA. Background concentrations are obtained from the Ibirapuera air
quality station located in an urban park. Finally, volatile organic
compound (VOC) speciation is approximated using information from the São Paulo
air quality forecast emission file and non-methane hydrocarbon
concentration measurements. Results show an overprediction of O<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>
concentrations in both study cases. NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub><i>x</i></sub></span> concentrations are
underpredicted in Pinheiros but are better simulated in Paulista Avenue.
Compared to O<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span>, NO<span class="inline-formula"><sub>2</sub></span> is better simulated in both urban zones. The
O<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> prediction is highly dependent on the background concentration,
which is the main cause for the model O<span class="inline-formula"><sub>3</sub></span> overprediction. The MUNICH
simulations satisfy the performance criteria when emissions are calibrated.
The results show the great potential of MUNICH to represent the
concentrations of pollutants emitted by the fleet close to the streets. The
street-scale air pollutant predictions make it possible in the future to
evaluate the impacts on public health due to human exposure to primary
exhaust gas pollutants emitted by the vehicles.</p> |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1991-959X 1991-9603 |