UEN002 – Energy and Environment

• 3 Credits
• 30 Marks – MST
• 50 Marks – End Sem.
• 20 Marks – Sessional
(Quizzes/assignments/group presentations)
Meteorology and Air Pollution
• Atmosphere

The meteorological elements have the most direct and significant

effects on the distribution/dispersion of the air pollutants in the
atmosphere
• Scales of air motion
• Microscale (air circulation less than 5 km across) – heat islands,
windward precipitation, etc.
• Mesoscale (5-500 km) – topographical features, sea/land
breezes, coastal fogs, mountain/valley breezes, etc.
• Synoptic Scale (500-3000 km) – monsoons, dust storms, etc
• Global Scale (3000 km or more) – distribution of temperature
and pressure on earth’s surface
 DISPERSION
• Atmospheric conditions have profound influence on the dispersion of
air pollutants
• Meteorology is concerned with the description of the transport of
pollutants from source to receptor
• Pollutants released into the atmosphere are subjected to phenomenon
of transportation, dilution, modification and removal
• Transport and dilution causes the dispersion of pollutants into the
atmosphere, thereby reducing the background concentration of
pollutants
• Dispersion depends upon the climatic conditions like temperature,
pressure, prevailing winds, humidity, etc.
• The atmosphere can be highly turbulent with violent eddies or
otherwise it can be calm with molecular movement only.
• It is important to discuss the turbulence level of atmosphere.
 Dispersion = Advection (Transport) + Dilution (Diffusion)

Transport
Source Receptor

Re-entrainment

Fick’s law of diffusion J = - D * dC/dx

Where, J= Mass Flux; D = Diffusivity coefficient,; dC/dx = Concentration gradient

Diffusion of pollutants occur due to turbulence, which further depends upon many factors:
a. Ambient temperature
b. Temperature of emissions
c. Roughness factors
d. Wind velocity
e. Wind direction
f. Humidity
g. Stability
Air Pollutant Cycle
 Meteorological Parameters (M.P.)
• Primary M.P. The meteorological elements that have the most direct
and significant effects on the turbulence level of atmosphere which
ultimately impact the distribution/dispersion of the air pollutants in
the atmosphere e.g. wind speed, wind direction, temperature,
atmospheric stability and mixing height
• Secondary M.P. Effects on primary parameters e.g. Humidity, solar
radiations, Precipitation, Atmospheric Pressure, Topography, etc.
Turbulence
• The irregular air motion is known as turbulence, which may be either
mechanical or thermal in nature.
• At the surface, turbulence is commonly identified in terms of eddies,
whirls, and gusts.
• Wind blowing over the ground will cause air to become gusty and help
spread pollutants by allowing them to mix more easily with the
surrounding unpolluted air, called as Mechanical Turbulence
• Mixing also happens when the air is heated to greater than that of the
air above (temperature gradient) known as Thermal turbulence
• This causes bubbles of warm air (thermal turbulence) rise.
• These cause eddies which often take pollutants higher into the
atmosphere.
• Type & magnitude of turbulence decides the size and velocity of eddies
 Mechanical Turbulence
• Surface friction produces mechanical turbulence in the airflow. The
effect of friction is least over smooth water and greatest over
mountainous topography.
• The flow of stable air near the surface is similar to the flow of water
in a creek bed.
• At low speeds the currents of air tend to follow the general contours
of the landscape. But when the speed increases--as when a creek
rises--the current "tumbles" over and around hills and ridges,
structures, trees, and other obstacles, and sets up eddies in all
directions.
• Mechanical turbulence increases with both wind speed and
the roughness of the surface (topography).
• Mechanical Turbulence in a particular area is responsible for
horizontal dispersion of pollutants and is denoted through wind
roses
 MEASURING WIND
WIND ROSES
• A wind rose is a graphic tool used by meteorologists to give a brief view of
how wind speed and direction are typically distributed at a particular location.
• The directions of the rose with the longest spoke show the wind direction with the
greatest frequency. Presented in a circular format, the modern wind rose shows the
frequency of winds .
• The length of each "spoke" around the circle is related to the frequency that the
wind blows from a particular direction per unit time.
• Each concentric circle represents a different frequency, emanating from zero at the
centre to increasing frequencies at the outer circles.
• A wind rose plot may contain additional information, in that each spoke is broken
down into color-coded bands that show wind speed ranges.
• Wind roses typically use 16 cardinal directions, such as north (N), NNE, NE, etc.,
although they may be subdivided into as many as 32 directions.
 Wind Rose
• Wind speed determines the travel time of a pollutant from its
source to a receptor and accounts for amount of pollutant dispersion
• Wind direction determines the direction of the pollutant movement
and the which receptor is affected at what time
• Both parameters defined by Windrose This is a graphical
display of wind in a
given location during a
defined period.

It statistically defines
the frequency,
direction and speed.

Limitations include
lack of precision and
vertical representation,
and is location specific
 Thermal Turbulence
• Thermal turbulence is associated with instability and convective activity.

• It is similar to mechanical turbulence in its effects on surface winds, but

extends higher in the atmosphere.

• Since it is the result of surface heating, thermal turbulence increases with

the intensity of surface heating and the degree of instability indicated by
the temperature lapse rate. It therefore shows diurnal changes, and is most
pronounced in the early afternoon when surface heating is at a maximum
and the air is unstable in the lower layers.

• It is at a minimum during the night and early morning when the air is
more stable. Mechanical and thermal turbulence frequently occur together,
each magnifying the effects of the other.
Mechanical turbulence Thermal turbulence
 Thermal Turbulence
Lapse rate: rate of decrease of temperature with altitude
• This is an important concept when describing the vertical movement of air.
• Essentially it is the description of how quickly air cools as a response to an
increase in elevation, or vice versa.
There are three lapse rates to consider.
• The environmental lapse rate (ELR) is the actual measured decrease in air
temperature with an increase in altitude. It is usually around 6.5O C / 1000 m.
• The dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) is the theoretical rate of cooling of air with
no moisture in it over an increase in altitude. This rate is 9.8O C / 1000 m.
• The wet adiabatic lapse rate (WALR) is a theoretical reduction in temperature
with elevation in saturated air. It is much less than the DALR, and can range
between 9 and 4O K / 1000 m, and is usually around 5.6O C / 1000 m.
• Process L.R. (PLR) is the rate at which temperature of pollutant mass (puff) is
decreasing with altitude due to expansion of flue gases and its magnitude is
somewhat between DALR and WALR since puff of pollutants are neither
completely dry nor completely saturated.
Why WALR is less than DALR?

Reason: As pollutants rise, temperature decreases due to

expansion and partial pressure becomes equal to atmospheric
pressure which causes condensation due to saturation.
Condensation leads to liberation of heat equivalent to latent heat of
condensation, hence the rate of decrease of temperature will be less
so WALR is less than DALR.
Stability of atmosphere
• The stability of the atmosphere is dependant on the ELR compared to
the PLR/ALR.
• Three conditions can occur viz. Stable, Unstable and neutral conditions
• Unstable atmospheric
conditions occur when
ELR>PLR. Absolute instability
occurs when the ELR is of greater
magnitude than the DALR. For
example: ELR is 12O C/1000 m,
DALR is 10O C/1000 m. A parcel of
air with an initial temperature of
20O C will cool to 10O C at 1000 m,
but the surrounding air is at 8O C.
Therefore the parcel will continue
to rise.
Stable conditions: When ELR < PLR, pollutants will tend to sink.
• Absolute stability occurs when ELR is of lesser magnitude than WALR.
• E.g. ELR is 6.5OC/Km, PLR is 8OC/Km. If initial temperature of puff and
ambient air is 20oC, then at 1000 m altitude, the parcel would be 12 O C,
but the surrounding air is 13.5O C. So pollutants will be suppressed and
it is undesirable state as far as dispersion is concerned.
Neutral conditions
• Neutral stability occurs when the ELR is the same as PLR.
• Conditional instability is a existence of both stable and unstable
atmospheres within the stability zones
• Atmosphere neither helps nor suppress the dispersion of pollutants
 Inversions
• Temperature inversion-condition in which the
temperature of the atmosphere increases with
altitude in contrast to the normal decrease with
altitude.
• Temperature inversion caused by solar radiation is
known as Radiation inversion and it occurs at low
altitudes.
• When temperature inversion occurs, cold air
underlies warmer air at higher altitudes.
• During a temperature inversion, air pollution
released into the atmosphere's lowest layer is
trapped there and can be removed only by strong
horizontal winds.
• Inversion due to pressure gradient is referred to as
Subsidence Inversion. Because high-pressure
systems often combine temperature inversion
conditions and low wind speeds, their long
residency over an industrial area usually results in
episodes of severe smog.
• There are several mechanisms by which inversions are formed. Radiation
inversions, Frontal inversions and Subsidence inversions are the most
common.
 STABILITY

• The stability is generally divided into three categories: absolute stability,

conditional stability and absolute instability.
• Absolute stability exits when the ELR is less than the WALR.
• Conditional stability exists when the measured lapse rate is between the
WALR and DALR.
• Absolute instability exist if the ELR is greater than the DALR
 Cumulative effect of Atmospheric Conditions on Plume Behaviour
• The manner in which stack emissions diffuse (plumes behave),
is primarily a function of the stability of the atmosphere in
addition to wind speed and direction. Changes in the vertical
temperature distribution significantly influence the behaviour of
plumes. Solid line is ELR

Looping
Looping occurs when large thermal up and down-draughts are developed in
the unstable air and plumes may be brought to the ground for short time
intervals. Looping may cause relatively high concentrations of pollution to
occur intermittently at varying distances from the chimney.
The conditions causing looping occur only with light winds and strong
solar heating.
Coning
When the temperature change with height is small, slight instability
along with wind-generated turbulence results in both horizontal and
vertical mixing (but not as intense as in the looping situation). The
plume tends to be cone shaped. The plume reaches the ground at
greater distances than with looping.
Coning is prevalent on cloudy or windy days when solar heating is
not as strong or during the night.
Fanning
If the temperature increases with height the air is stable and vertical
movement is suppressed (i.e. an inversion). Horizontal mixing is not as
great as in coning but still occurs. The plume will therefore spread
horizontally but little if any vertical spread will occur. Since the winds are
usually light, the plume will also meander in the horizontal.
Clear skies with light winds during the night are favorable conditions
for fanning.
Lofting
Lofting occurs when there is a surface inversion (i.e. colder near the
ground). The elevated plume does not mix into the inversion layer, but
can rise above the inversion. Gases will not reach the surface but large
particles will drop through the inversion. Lofting is generally a transition
situation and as the inversion deepens is replaced by fanning.
Near sunset on a clear evening in open country is most favorable for
lofting.
Fumigating
Solar heating of the air near the ground creates a turbulent layer near
the surface. When the layer is deep enough to reach the fanning plume,
thermal turbulence will bring high pollutant concentrations from the
plume to the ground.
Another type of fumigating may occur in the early evening over cities.
Heat sources and mechanical turbulence due to surface roughness
cause instability in the lower layers of the stable air moving into the city
from non-urban areas where radiation inversions are already forming.
This is favoured by clear skies and light winds and is apt to occur
more frequently in summer due to increased heating.
THANKS