Abstract
This paper reports the construction of a method for calculating the structural function within a moving window of the fixed size, based on measuring the vector of current concentrations of arbitrary air pollutants. The use of a moving window makes it possible to reveal the current moments of the emergence of inhomogeneities in the polluted atmosphere. In this case, the time shift of the structural function reveals the corresponding time scale of this heterogeneity. It has been shown that, in contrast to the known method, the proposed method makes it possible to reveal the dynamics of the levels and scales of local inhomogeneities of the polluted air using only the current measurements of concentration for an arbitrary number of pollutants. It is noted that the method does not use information about the current meteorological conditions of the atmosphere and the features of urban infrastructure near a pollution control point. Therefore, the method is universal; it could be applied to arbitrary control points of atmospheric pollution across various territories of states. The efficiency of the proposed method was tested using the example of actual measurements of the concentrations of urban air pollutants involving formaldehyde, ammonia, and nitrogen dioxide. The reported results generally indicate the applicability of the proposed method. It has been experimentally established that the method makes it possible to identify, in real time, the areas of local inhomogeneities characteristic of hazardous air pollution associated with the absence of dispersion and accumulation of pollutants in the air. In addition, the method makes it possible to detect in real time both the levels and the scale of inhomogeneities in the polluted atmosphere. It has been experimentally established that before the occurrence of the tested reliable emergency in a polluted atmosphere, the level of local heterogeneity was 0.015 units at its time scale corresponding to 8 counts. Next, by the time of the emergency, the level of heterogeneity decreased to 0.0025 units at the time scale corresponding to 2 counts. It has been experimentally established that for this case the forecast time of the occurrence of an emergency was 4 counts or 24 hours
Highlights
At present, there is a big enough global evidence base [1] on the impact of air pollution on the health of the population [2], and the deterioration of climate across the entire planet [3]
It is shown that the proposed method makes it possible, in contrast to the known method, to reveal the features in the dynamics of the levels and scales of local inhomogeneities of polluted atmospheric air on the basis of current measurements of the concentration for an arbitrary number of pollutants only
It has been established that the high levels of heterogeneity could be used to predict hazardous air pollution, while the low levels of heterogeneity ‒ to identify them
Summary
There is a big enough global evidence base [1] on the impact of air pollution on the health of the population [2], and the deterioration of climate across the entire planet [3]. According to the World Health Organization, the main global threats to humans in 2019 were ambient air pollution (AAP) and climate change [4]. There are no currently known levels of AAP that would be safe for humans [4]. The non-linear nature of the dose-response curves for most health indicators shows the danger of AAP at lower concentrations of pollutants than their maximum permissible concentrations (MPCs) [8]. The protection of atmospheric air from AAP is becoming one of the main issues at the present stage of the safe development of civilization [9]. Identification of hazardous contaminants should be considered important in the implementation of the strategy for minimizing current AAP, both during the planned activities of enterprises and in the elimination of emergency situations (ES). The methods for detecting dangerous contaminated substances in real time are especially relevant
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