Lagrangian dynamics of contaminant particles released from a point source in New York City

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the transport of contaminants in the southern tip of Manhattan, New York City, under prevailing wind conditions. We considered a hypothetical contaminant particle release on the East side of the New York Stock Exchange at 50 m above the ground level. The transport of individual particles due to the wind flow in the city was simulated by coupling large-eddy simulations (Eulerian) with a Lagrangian model. The simulation results of our coupled Eulerian and Lagrangian approach showed that immediately after the contaminant particles are released, they propagate downwind and expand in the spanwise direction by ∼0.5 km. Specifically, approximately 15 min after the release, the contaminant particles reach the end of the 2.5-km-long study area with a mean velocity of 1.8 m/s, which is approximately 50% of the dominant wind velocity. With the cessation of the particle release, the contaminant particles start to recede from the urban area, mainly owing to their outflux from the study area and the settling of some particles on solid surfaces in the metropolitan area. More specifically, the study area becomes clear of particles in approximately 48.5 min. It was observed that some particles propagate with a mean velocity of 0.6 m/s, i.e., ∼17% of the dominant wind velocity. We also conducted a detailed investigation of the nature of particle transport patterns using finite-time Lyapunov exponents, which showed that dynamically rich Lagrangian coherent structures are formed around the buildings and off the tops of the skyscrapers.