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Short And Long Term Variations In The Concentrations Of Gaseous And Particulate Pollutants In Ankara And Assessment Of Traffic Contribution

Spatial and temporal variations and factors affecting these variations in concentrations of measured parameters at two different groups of stations in Ankara are investigated in this study. The first group consists of three curbside stations that are under the direct influence of traffic emissions, on the other hand, the other group is composed of eight residential stations in which domestic heating is the main emission source.
State of air quality in Ankara is determined through comparison with air quality data generated in other countries and available air quality standards. Based on this comparison, although air quality has improved in recent years, it is still not one of the clean cities around the world. Although measured concentrations of pollutants comply with standards in the Turkish Air Quality Regulation, further reduction in concentrations will be necessary, if EU directives become effective in the country.
Relation between measured concentrations and meteorological parameters are also investigated. Wind speed and mixing height are the two parameters that are most closely related to measured concentrations at residential stations. However, at curbside stations concentrations are determined by emissions.
Qualitative comparison of two groups of stations emphasizes the contribution of motor vehicle emissions on residential areas. Seasonal and diurnal variations of measured parameters and lower winter-to-summer ratio of SO2 indicate contribution of diesel vehicle emissions to SO2 levels at curbside stations. Contribution of traffic emissions are also observed in terms of well defined bimodal traffic pattern of SO2 and PM-10 at non-curbside stations.
Seasonal and diurnal pollutant ratios are investigated to apportion different source types that are effective in each group of station. PM-to-SO2, NO-to-NO2, PM-10-to-NOX and SO2-to-NOX ratios are found to be good tracers for qualitative assessment of source groups, namely traffic and domestic heating.
Different statistical methodologies are demonstrated to determine the source regions of pollutants with respect to wind direction. Air quality level of Ankara, instead of air quality level in each station, is determined in terms of daily API. One by one correlation between API and meteorological factors are investigated, maximum wind speed and daily thermic excursion is found to be the highest correlated variables. The relation between API and these variables is analyzed by multiple linear regression method and then air pollution forecast model highly correlated with API and meteorological variables is developed. The assimilative capacity of Ankara is calculated in terms of ventilation coefficient and found to be highest in summer and lowest in winter. In winter poor dispersion conditions favor the poor air quality in the city.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12606517/index.pdf
Date01 September 2005
CreatorsGenc, Derya Deniz
ContributorsTuncel, Gurdal
PublisherMETU
Source SetsMiddle East Technical Univ.
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeM.S. Thesis
Formattext/pdf
RightsTo liberate the content for public access

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