ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF WIND SPEED AND MIXING-LAYER HEIGHT ON AIR QUALITY IN KRAKOW (POLAND) IN THE YEARS 2014-2015

What is it about?

The paper discusses the role of wind speed and mixing-layer height in shaping the levels of pollutant concentrations in the air of Krakow (Southern Poland). The hourly averaged measurements of concentrations of selected air pollutants and wind speed values from the period of 2014-2015, recorded at two of the air quality monitoring stations within Krakow (both industrial and urban background) were used for this purpose. Temporal variability of mixing-layer height in the area of the monitoring stations was determined using numerical modelling with the CALMET model and the measurements derived from, i.a., two upper air stations. It was found that wind speed and mixing-layer height are in at least moderate agreement with the concentration values for some pollutants. For PM10, PM2.5, NO2, NOx, CO and C6H6 correlation coefficient is of negative value, which indicates that the low wind speed and low mixing-layer height may be the dominant reason for elevated concentrations of these substances in the air, especially in the winter months. Moderate but positive correlation was found between O3 concentrations and analysed meteorological parameters, proving that the availability of appropriate precursors and their inflow from the neighbouring areas have an important role in the formation of tropospheric ozone. On the other hand, in case of SO2, a weak both positive and negative correlation coefficient was obtained, depending on the period and location of the station concerned.

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