Title: Modelling of atmospheric pollutant dispersion in coastal areas

Authors: J. Camps, J. Massons

Addresses: Applied Physics Laboratory, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain. Applied Physics Laboratory, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain

Abstract: Some characteristics of air pollution in Tarragona (Spain) were investigated. Tarragona has an important petrochemical industry in a coastal region with a complex terrain. The study was made numerically in sea breeze conditions with a three-dimensional mesoscale meteorological model. The temporal and spatial variations of the wind fields have been used in the Lagrangian equation for a non-reactive pollutant. The results of this study reveal the complexity of the dispersion patterns due to the combined effects of the sea breeze circulation and the orography. The effects of a strong wind blowing from the north-west on the pollutant dispersion were investigated in some detail. The comparison between modelled results and measured data shows that the model is able to produce realistic wind and pollutant fields within the domain.

Keywords: meteorological model; pollution modelling; sea breeze.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2000.002325

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2000 Vol.13 No.1/2/3/4/5/6, pp.357-370

Published online: 15 Aug 2003 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article