Detailed Assessment of the Effects of Meteorological Conditions on PM10 Concentrations in the Northeastern Part of the Czech Republic

Vladimíra Volná,Daniel Hladký

doi:10.3390/atmos11050497

Vladimíra Volná, Daniel Hladký

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11050497

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Abstract

This article assessed the links between PM10 pollution and meteorological conditions over the Czech-Polish border area at the Třinec-Kosmos and Věřňovice sites often burdened with high air pollution covering the years 2016–2019. For this purpose, the results of the measurements of special systems (ceilometers) that monitor the atmospheric boundary layer were used in the analysis. Meteorological conditions, including the mixing layer height (MLH), undoubtedly influence the air pollution level. Combinations of meteorological conditions and their influence on PM10 concentrations also vary, depending on the pollution sources of a certain area and the geographical conditions of the monitoring site. Gen1erally, the worst dispersion conditions for the PM10 air pollution level occur at low air temperatures, low wind speed, and low height of the mixing layer along with a wind direction from areas with a higher accumulation of pollution sources. The average PM10 concentrations at temperatures below 1 °C reach the highest values on the occurrence of a mixing layer height of up to 400 m at both sites. The influence of a rising height of the mixing layer at temperatures below 1 °C on the average PM10 concentrations at Třinec-Kosmos site is not as significant as in the case of Věřňovice, where a difference of several tens of µg·m−3 in the average PM10 concentrations was observed between levels of up to 200 m and levels of 200–300 m. The average PM10 hourly concentrations at Třinec-Kosmos were the highest at wind speeds of up to 0.5 m·s−1, at MLH levels of up to almost 600 m; at Věřňovice, the influence of wind speeds of up to 2 m·s−1 was detected. Despite the fact that the most frequent PM10 contributions come to the Třinec-Kosmos site from the SE direction, the average maximum concentration contributions come from the W–N sectors at low wind speeds and MLHs of up to 400 m. In Věřňovice, regardless of the prevailing SW wind direction, sources in the NE–E sector from the site have a crucial influence on the air pollution level caused by PM10.

Highlights

PM10 is a problematic pollutant with a wide spectrum of effects on human health, mostly on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of the human body
The detection of dependences of PM10 concentrations on the mixing layer height may point out at possible pollution sources in the area; it would, be necessary to check the exact determination of the source type by other methods used in assessing the field of air quality, e.g., by more detailed air pollutant measurements and by methods for pollution source identification, e.g., Positive Matrix
The influence on the pollution situation in combination with meteorological variables at a given site differs depending on the varied geographical conditions

Summary

Introduction

PM10 is a problematic pollutant with a wide spectrum of effects on human health, mostly on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems of the human body. The hazards of this pollutant lie in its quantity, in high measured concentrations, and in the morphology of the particles and their qualitative composition. As for the areas of concern, the areas in Europe most polluted by suspended particulate matter are the. The southern rim of the area (of Central Europe) occupies the northeastern part of the Czech Republic, and spreads northwards (in terms of area) to the larger territory of Poland [6,7]

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Conclusion