TUTORIAL SHEET Course: PHY3210: Tutor: Dr Ray Ellul tmospheric Physies 1. @)_ Write @ short essay of not more than 500 words explaining the principal mechanisms involved in Global warming. You should base such an essay on the following points: (a) A brief history of formation of the Earth’s atmosphere (b) The earth’s energy absorption and loss cycle (©) Emission/identification of greenhouse gases by mankind (@ The role of CO, CO:, Os, CH, in the atmosphere (e) Evidence of ancient climate changes and species extinctions (® Predictions of future scenarios for the next 100 years 7 marks for each point fully covered and an extra 8 marks for overall quality 2. (a) You wish to design a generating station to provide 100MW of power and you can utilize either coal, fuel oil or natural gas. The energy contents of the fuels are: Coal 15 x10? Joules g* Fuel Oil 24 x10 Joules g* Gas 3.0 x 10° Joules g” What mass flows of each fuel would be needed? (b) Compute the emission of fluxes of CO:, CO, NOx, SO, CHs, HCI for each alternative fuel in (a) using the following table of emission factors: Fuel CO; CO. CH NO, ‘SO, Ct Coal 2.71 0.001 [0.005 [0.010 | 0.031 _| 0.002, Fuel Oi 2.84 0.007 [0.00 0.011 | 0.002 Gas 2.90 0.01 0.004 Values given are in grams of emitted gas per gram of fuel consumed —- indicates negligible quantity is produced. {c) Explain the roles of NO,, SO, and HCI in the atmosphere with particular attention to their ability to affect the concentrations of greenhouse gases such as ozone.(d) The hydroxy! radical (OH) is the crucial cleansing agent in the atmosphere. Explain carefully. What would happen to the Earth’s atmosphere should the concentration of OH decrease morbidly. . Answer all of the following short-answer questions. (@) Which are the two main (abundant) atmospheric absorbers of infrared radiation? (b) Over what range of wavelength (um) are the two absorbers in (a) most effective? (©) What do we mean by the term infrared window? (@) List four atmospheric gases, which are most effective absorbers in the wavelength range defined by the infrared window? (©) What characteristic do the gases referred to in (d) have in common? (0) Explain briefly what we mean by greenhouse effect. (g) Draw a detailed diagram illustrating the energy balance of the Earth, (@) Sketch a graph of atmospheric temperature as a function of altitude for the first 1000 km. (b) Label the graph in (a) to identify the different layers of the atmosphere. (©) Explain the shape of the vertical atmospheric temperature profile within the first two layers from ground, (@) Incident solar irradiance varies with time of year and latitude and so does temperature. Explain. (a) Define the term aerosol. (b) What are the two broad categories of airborne particles? Explain. (©) Explain briefly the physical and chemical importance/role of airborne particles. (4) Define the term aerodynamic diameter of a particle. (©) State the aerodynamic size ranges of nucleation, accumulation and coarse mode particles. Give reasons for the terminology used and examples of sources for each of the three particle modes. (What percentage of globe total, is anthropogenic aerosol. (g) The number distribution of an aerosol sample is as shown in Figure 3.1 (where N is the number of aerosol particles). Sketch the distributions of the aerosol surface and aerosol volume as a function of aerodynamic diameter (D) with reference to the given number distribution? uaa} cos aBRes sev eennenas Aarodyramie Barater, ym) Figure 3.16. (a) Airborne particles are removed from the atmosphere by two main mechanisms, namely dry deposition and wet deposition. Describe and contrast the two removal mechanisms. (b) Consider the two graphs (labelled A and B) in Figure 4.1. [(i) and (ii)]. wet ” z a on Both EN wf i Se g end, ” i oN f font \-/ 3 \j : \ web o 1 AL 1 0.01 Of 1 10 Aerodynamic diameter (mn) Figure 4.1() 10 % 5 Soak g 8 oth 001 of 1 10 ‘Aerodynamic diameter (ym) Figure 4.1 (ii)From these plots what can you deduce regarding the lifetime of airborne particles in the atmosphere (©) Ona particular day, the visual range is 1.2 km. Determine the concentration of airborne particulate matter (1g/m*) in the atmosphere. State any major assumption made. @ Sketch a graph of visibility (km) against airborne particle mass concentration (ug/m’), The term lapse rate normally refers to the gradient of the vertical temperature profile in the lowest layer of the atmosphere. (a) Derive an expression for the adiabatic lapse rate. (b) Air near the Earth’s surface behaves adiabatically only under special conditions. List these conditions (©) List the other four different types of lapse rates and sketch a graph of altitude against temperature to represent all five types (ie. including the adiabatic lapse rate as reference). (@) Sketch a graph of altitude against temperature to explain the diurnal variation of the vertical temperature profile near ground. (©) For each of the following plume characteristics [Figure 5.1 (a)-(f)], sketch graphs of the corresponding vertical temperature profile. In each case use the adiabatic lapse rate as reference. @ &) © @ © Figure 5.18 Acommonly applied model in air pollution dispersion is the Gaussian model. (a) Write down the simplest model equation for Gaussian dispersion. Define clearly all terms used. (b) The Gaussian dispersion model is said to be Eulerian. What do we mean by this? (©) Distinguish between Lagrangian and Eulerian models. (@) A stack of height 20.0 m situated in open terrain emits 0.02 grammes per second of particulate matter whose aerodynamic diameter does not exceed 10 um, The wind speed at 5.0 m height blows at 1.50 m/s when the atmospheric stability class is moderately unstable. Steady-state conditions may be assumed. Using the information below, attempt the following. (Use the Gaussian dispersion model (with ground level reflection) to determine the concentration at a downwind distance from source of 100.0 m, and a height of 22.0 m above ground. (i) The Gaussian dispersion model is normally used with gaseous pollutants. Justify its use in this case. (iii) Mention two ways how the model calculation can be improved if additional data were available. Useful information: Power law wind speed vertical profile: where u(z) u(Zo) P jorizontal wind speed at height 2 = horizontal wind speed at height z, follows. Stabilt Class Gaussian dispersion coefficients: Exponent, 0.15 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.40) 0.60, iimensionless exponent, dependent on stability class (A-F) as ox)=explly + Jpn + K,(Inx)?} and ox(x)=exp[I, + Jelne ++ K.(Inx)*} Stability Class Coefficient | A B c D E FE I =i.104 | =1.634 | -2.058 [2.555 [3.754 | 3.103 Z, 0.9878 1.0350 [1.0231 | 1.0423 [1.0106 | 1.0148 K, =0.0076 | 0.0096 | 0.0076 | 0.0087 | ~0.0064 | ~0.0070, Te 4.679 | 1,999 | -2.341 | 3.186 | -3.783 | 4.490 J: =i7im_| 087392 |_09477_[_1.1737 | _13010_| 14024 Ke 0.2770 | 0.0136 | 0.0020 | 0.0316 | 0.0450] 0.05409. Answer all of the following questions. @ ) © @® 10. (a) ) © @ © 11. @) (b) 12. An What do you understand by primary airborne particles airborne particles. Airborne particles vary in size and shape. What common measure ts. the specification of size of different airborne particles? Explain. Describe two classifications of airborne particles. Define all terms used. List four techniques used in measuring airborne particle concentration (in ug ~ m”*), Describe one of the techniques. Define/explain the terms pressure gradient force and Coriolis force. ‘What is the orientation of the geostrophic wind with respect to the two forces, mentioned in (a)? Illustrate your answer with a diagram. Draw diagrams to illustrate balance of forces resulting in a gradient wind around a high-pressure zone and a low-pressure zone. (Ignore friction effects.) Using balances of forces, explain how the Ekman spiral is formed. Include the necessary diagrams in your explanation, Explain how high- and low-pressure regions give rise to flow in the vertical direction State and explain the assumptions of Box Models used in air pollution modelling. Give a brief explanation of the two (main) different types of Diffusion ‘Models used in air pollution modeling, important urban air pollutant is particulate matter. Particle classification is normally done according to particle size @ ©) © @ © 13. (@) () 14. @ ‘What parameter is used to specify particle size? Define any terms used. Why do you think particle size is important? Explain. What do you understand by the terms PMio and PM2 s?, Briefly describe three methods used for sampling airborne particles, Briefly describe three methods used for measuring airborne particle concentration Explain what you understand by Fixed-Box Models and Diffusion Models in air pollution modelling. The box model of a city has a width, length and (mixing) height of 5.0, 15.0 and 1.0 km respectively. The average wind speed over the city is 3.0 ms along its length. The upwind, or background concentration of carbon monoxide is 5 jug m®, The emission rate per unit area is 4 x 10 gm? s") (What is the concentration of carbon monoxide over the city? ii) The meteorological conditions described above occur 40 % of the time. Fan the wemaining 0 %, the wind Vows wrss ‘ine wittin of ine erty. What is the annual average concentration of carbon monoxide in the city? Write short notes about the three main mechanisms by which airborne particles deposit to surfaces? NOTES: The dominant mechanism for deposition of very small particles (aerodynamic diameter < 0.1 um) should be clearly identified. Theexpression for the deposition velocity of such particles should be stated. The same is expected for relatively large particles (aerodynamic diameter >10qm). (b) Write short notes about 1wo negative environmental effects resulting from particle deposition. 15. Airborne particles have certain health and environmental effects. Write an essay describing these effects. 16. Urban air pollution is characterised by certain pollutants associated with urban sources. Two of these pollutants are carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter (PMe3) (@) Name one low-level urban source that generates both pollutants. (©) How do diesel vehicles compare with petrol vehicles as far as the generation of carbon monoxide and PM3 sare concerned? (c) Describe a technique used in the measurement of PM2; concentration suitable at concentrations normally encountered in urban areas 17. What do you understand by the terms primary pollutant and secondary pollutant? Give examples. 18, Air quality models require certain basic input data. (@) Mention six independent parameters, which are usually required as input to air quality models. (b) How are these parameters used in air quality models? (No mathematical detail is expected.) (©) Explain how model evaluation is done in the case of street canyon air quality models. (The account should cover both the experimental approach and statistical analysis of the data.) 19, Answer the following short-answer questions. (@) How much of the incoming solar radiation is reflected, absorbed by the atmosphere and absorbed by the Earth's surface (b) Surface radiation refers to the radiation emitted by the Earth (at its surface), Discuss the fate of this radiation, (©) It is known that a fraction of the long-wave radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface is returned to it. By which process does this take place? Mention four atmospheric agents responsible for the process. (@) Describe the energy balance for the Earth by drawing a suitable labelled diagram, (©) Explain why radiation originating from the Earth is termed long-wave while that from the sun is termed short-wave. 20. (a) Consider a city in the form of a rectangle with dimensions 1 (width) in m and L (length) in m with its length parallel to the wind direction whose speed is in v(m s“). Atmospheric turbulence produces complete and total mixing of pollutants up to a mixing height H (m). There is no mixing above this height but perfect mixing within the volume of air over the city, giving rise to uniform concentration within the box of dimensions W x L x H. The (background) concentration of pollutant in the air entering the city is constant21. 22. and equal to 6 (ug m™). The air pollutant emission rate of the city is q (mg s' m™). Assuming that removal of pollution from over the city is by advection and that the pollutant in question. is inert, show that the average concentration over the city is given by the expression, 4h (+3) (©) A city has the following description: JV = 5.0 km, L = 15.0 km, H=1.0 km and w= 3 ms (along its length). The upwind, or background, concentration of carbon monoxide is 6 = 5 ag m™®. The emission rate per unit area is g = 4% 10 gs'm™, What is the concentration C of carbon monoxide over the city? (©) For the city in part (b), the meteorological conditions described occur 40 % of the time. For the remaining 60 %, the wind blows at right angles to the direction in (b) (i.e. along its width), at velocity 6 m s“', and the same mixing height. What is the annual average concentration of carbon monoxide in the city? Consider a Gaussian plume emerging from a stack of height H. Write down the formula for ground level, centre-line concentration. Hence, show that if the ratio of the dispersion covtticients(%/f ) is constant, independent of downwind distance x, then the maximum ground-level concentration will occur at a downwind distance x for which o, = /-. Derive the following relations for the adiabatic atmosphere: fe B where the subscripts 1 and 2 can stand for any two locations in the atmosphere. All symbols have their usual meaning as defined in thermodynamics. Show that, pape tel) Gr where is the ratio of the specific heat capacities. The above two equations are often written with this substitution,