Modeling the Regional Dynamics of Gaseous Admixtures and Aerosols in the Areas of Lake Baikal (Russia) and Antwerp (Belgium)

Received: November 30, 2011
Revised: May 22, 2012
Accepted: May 22, 2012
Download Citation: RIS|BibTeX|https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2011.11.0225  

Cite this article:
Aloyan, A., Arutyunyan, V., Yermakov, A., Zagaynov, V., Mensink, C., Ridder, K.D., Vel, K.V.d. and Deutsch, F. (2012). Modeling the Regional Dynamics of Gaseous Admixtures and Aerosols in the Areas of Lake Baikal (Russia) and Antwerp (Belgium). Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 12: 707-721. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2011.11.0225

ABSTRACT

A combined mathematical model was developed for the regional-scale dynamics of gaseous admixtures and aerosols in the atmosphere. The model incorporates the following modules: thermo-hydrodynamic equations for meso-scale atmospheric processes in the non-hydrostatic approximation; transport of gaseous admixtures and aerosols, with allowance for photochemical transformation and binary homogeneous nucleation; and kinetic processes of condensation/evaporation and coagulation. Particular emphasis is given to the mechanisms of new-particle formation through binary homogeneous nucleation of drops of sulfuric acid and water vapor. By using this model, numerical experiments were performed to investigate spatio-temporal variations in the concentrations of gaseous admixtures and aerosols, as well as the formation of fine aerosol clusters in the Lake Baikal (Russia) and Antwerp (Belgium) areas due to strong industrial emission sources. The results of the numerical experiments are analyzed.

Keywords: Air pollution; Particulate matter; Regional air quality; Dispersion modeling