Identifying persistent temperature inversion events in a subalpine basin using radon-222
-
Published:2019-08-21
Issue:8
Volume:12
Page:4455-4477
-
ISSN:1867-8548
-
Container-title:Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
-
language:en
-
Short-container-title:Atmos. Meas. Tech.
Author:
Kikaj Dafina, Vaupotič Janja, Chambers Scott D.ORCID
Abstract
Abstract. One year of meteorological and atmospheric radon
observations in a topographically complex subalpine basin are used to
identify persistent temperature inversion (PTI) events. PTI events play a
key role in public health due to the accumulation of urban pollutants that
they cause. Two techniques are compared: a new radon-based method (RBM),
based on single-height 222Rn measurements from a single
centrally located station, and an existing pseudo-vertical temperature
gradient method (TGM) based on observations from eight weather stations
around the subalpine basin. The RBM identified six PTI events (four in winter, two
in autumn), a subset of the 17 events identified by the TGM. The RBM was
more consistent in its identification of PTI events for all seasons and
more selective of persistent strongly stable conditions. The comparatively
poor performance of the TGM was attributed to seasonal inconsistencies in
the validity of the method's key assumptions (influenced by mesoscale
processes, such as local drainage flows, nocturnal jets, and intermittent
turbulence influence) and a lack of snow cover in the basin for the
2016–2017 winter period. Corresponding meteorological quantities for RBM
PTI events (constituting 27 % of the autumn–winter cold season) were
well characterized. PTI wind speeds in the basin were consistently low over
the whole diurnal cycle (typically 0.2–0.6 m s−1). Suitability of the
two techniques for air quality assessment was compared using hourly
PM10 observations. Peak PM10 concentrations for winter (autumn)
PTI events were underestimated by 13 µg m−3 (11 µg m−3) by the TGM compared with the RBM. Only the RBM indicated that
nocturnal hourly mean PM10 values in winter PTI events can exceed 100 µg m−3, the upper threshold of low-level short-term PM10
exposure according to World Health Organization guidelines. The efficacy,
simplicity, and cost effectiveness of the RBM for identifying PTI events has
the potential to make it a powerful tool for urban air quality management in
complex terrain regions, for which it adds an additional dimension to
contemporary atmospheric stability classification tools. Furthermore, the
long-term consistency of the radon source function will enable the RBM to be
used in the same way in future studies, enabling the relative magnitude of
PTI events to be gauged, which is expected to assist with the assessment of
public health risks.
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Subject
Atmospheric Science
Reference84 articles.
1. Allegrini, I., Febo, A., Pasini, A., and Schiarini, S.: Monitoring of the
nocturnal mixed layer by means of particulate radon progeny measurement, J.
Geophys. Res., 99, 18765–18777, 1994. 2. ARSO: Slovenian Environment Agency (Slovenian: Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje), Climate Characteristics of Ljubljana – Wind Rose for the City of Ljubljana, 2017. 3. Avino, P. and Manigrasso, M.: Ten-year measurements of gaseous pollutants in
urban air by an open-path analyzer, Atmos. Environ., 42, 4138–4148,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.01.024, 2008. 4. Baasandorj, M., Hoch, S. W., Bares, R., Lin, J. C., Brown, S. S., Millet, D.
B., Martin, R., Kelly, K., Zarzana, K. J., Whiteman, C. D., Dube, W. P.,
Tonnesen, G., Jaramillo, I. C., and Sohl, J.: Coupling between chemical and
meteorological processes under persistent cold-air pool conditions:
evolution of wintertime PM2.5 pollution events and N2O5
observations in Utah's Salt Lake Valley, Environ. Sci. Technol., 51,
5941–5950, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b06603, 2017. 5. Beeston, M., Grgić, I., van Elteren, J. T., Iskra, I., Kapun, G., and
Močnik, G.: Chemical and morphological characterization of aerosol
particles at Mt. Krvavec, Slovenia, during the Eyjafjallajökull
Icelandic volcanic eruption, Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., 19, 235–243,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0563-8, 2011.
Cited by
16 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
|
|