Dispersion of Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Matter Concentrations in Street Canyons and Open Landscape in Urban Mysore

  • Prabhakaran Nataraj Department of Studies in Environmental Science, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3481-0066
  • Azis Kemal Fauzie Department of Studies in Environmental Science, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6173-3679
  • P N Sandhya Rani Department of Studies in Environmental Science, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India
  • G V Venkataramana Department of Studies in Environmental Science, University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore, Karnataka, India
Keywords: Nitrogen dioxide, Street canyon, Particulate matter, Air quality

Abstract

The variation in nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations and meteorological data were analyzed at different types of urban spaces in Mysore consisting of four street canyons and one open landscape sites. The NO2 and PM levels were measured using portable monitoring device and respirable dust sampler, respectively. The maximum NO2 concentration was found at the intersection of both street canyons and open landscape, either in the morning (70-160 µg/m3) or evening (20-60 µg/m3). Result found that concentration of NO2 in street canyons was significantly higher than in open landscape sites (p < 0.001). The ambient NO2 levels were also found lower in the cross roads compared to such in the main roads. The high number of vehicles passing through the roads accounts for the higher NO2 concentration as we found significant positive correlation between traffic volume and NO2, SPM, PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, either in the street canyon and open landscape sites. Furthermore, a negative association has been observed between both SPM and NO2 levels and the wind speed (p = 0.002 and p < 0.05 respectively). The factors affecting the different dispersion characteristics of air pollutants were found to be the wind speed, vehicular traffic, and site landscape where congested with high number of tall buildings.

Published
2020-01-01
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