A dataset of tracer concentrations and meteorological observations from the Bolzano Tracer EXperiment (BTEX) to characterize pollutant dispersion processes in an Alpine valley

Marco Falocchi,Werner Tirler,Gianluca Antonacci,Lorenzo Giovannini,Elena Tomasi,Dino Zardi

doi:10.5194/essd-12-277-2020

Marco Falocchi, Werner Tirler + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-277-2020

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Journal: Earth System Science Data	Publication Date: Feb 10, 2020
Citations: 8	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Trento

Abstract

Abstract. The paper describes the dataset of concentrations and related meteorological measurements collected during the field campaign of the Bolzano Tracer Experiment (BTEX). The experiment was performed to characterize the dispersion of pollutants emitted from a waste incinerator in the basin of the city of Bolzano, in the Italian Alps. As part of the experiment, two controlled releases of a passive gas tracer (sulfur hexafluoride, SF6) were performed through the stack of the incinerator on 14 February 2017 for two different time lags, starting, respectively, at 07:00 and 12:45 LST. Samples of ambient air were collected at target sites with vacuum-filled glass bottles and polyvinyl fluoride bags, and they were later analyzed by means of a mass spectrometer (detectability limit 30 pptv). Meteorological conditions were monitored by a network of 15 surface weather stations, 1 microwave temperature profiler, 1 sodar and 1 Doppler wind lidar. The dataset represents one of the few examples available in the literature concerning dispersion processes in a typical mountain valley environment, and it provides a useful benchmark for testing atmospheric dispersion models in complex terrain. The dataset described in this paper is available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.898761 (Falocchi et al., 2019).

Highlights

Pollutant transport modeling is an essential tool for our understanding of factors controlling air quality and affecting the environment and human health
The evolution of the synoptic conditions from 13 February 00:00 UTC to 15 February 00:00 UTC is reported in Fig. 5, in terms of maps of geopotential height at 500 hPa as simulated by the reanalyses of the Climate Forecast System (CFS) model
On 13 February, the weakening of a low-pressure system above the Iberian Peninsula induced southwestern synoptic winds blowing over the study area, which channeled into the valleys

Summary

Introduction

Pollutant transport modeling is an essential tool for our understanding of factors controlling air quality and affecting the environment and human health. Nowadays, increasing computational capabilities allow us to simulate with unprecedented detail many atmospheric processes even at local scale. Models still need careful calibration and validation against field observations, especially over complex mountainous terrain, where the interaction between local atmospheric processes and the orography (see Zardi and Whiteman, 2013; Serafin et al, 2018) affects both mean flow and turbulence properties (see Rotach and Zardi, 2007; Giovannini et al, 2020) and further complicates the advection and dispersion of pollutants (e.g., De Wekker et al, 2018; Tomasi et al, 2018). Falocchi et al.: The Bolzano Tracer EXperiment (BTEX) – concentrations and meteorological observations

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