Regarding the urban air quality assessment, it can be concluded that this was
addressed at an advanced complexity level. The Eulerian OFIS urban scale dispersion model (Moussiopoulos and Sahm 2000) was used for the spatial assessment
of pollutant levels in the study area and for the development of maps allowing the
identification of heavily polluted areas within the study domain. OFIS simulates
concentration changes due to the advection of species and chemical reactions in
each cell of the computational domain. In order to account for the contribution from
local emission sources, the OSPM combined plume and box model (Berkowicz
et al. 2008) was used for simulations of air pollution from traffic in urban streets.
The influence of meteorological patterns on PM10 concentrations was analyzed,
particularly in regard to long-range PM10 transport from other areas (e.g. the
Saharan desert). The contribution of natural sources was assessed using a combined
methodology of satellite images, LIDAR measurements, measurements from the
national monitoring network and modelling results using the SKIRON/Eta transport
and deposition model (Kallos et al. 1997)
Concentrations of pollutants were assessed using a chain of models adapted to
different scales from the regional to the local scale. The Eulerian model OFIS takes
into account regional background pollutant levels to evaluate the transfer of pollutants towards and away from the urban area. Furthermore, all main chemical
transformation mechanisms are represented in the OFIS model, which is a
pre-requisite for studying reactive pollutants such as ozone and particles.
The OSPM street scale model accounts for increased concentrations at the local
(hot-spot) scale due to local emissions. Both models have an appropriate spatial and
temporal resolution to realistically describe pollutant dispersion at the scales of
interest. Furthermore, both a sensitivity analysis in terms of emissions was conducted (emission reduction scenarios and sensitivity to natural background contributions) as well as an operational model validation against measurement data
from the monitoring network. In conclusion: an advanced (Level 3) complexity
level was used for concentration assessment.
Impact
The impact of the assessed pollutant concentration levels on health was not
specifically addressed in the development of this AQP. This parameter was only
indirectly considered, on the basis of exceedances of limit values for the protection
of human health, according to the EU Directive.
Response
The simulations were performed for the urban scale as well as for the street scale
model for several emission scenarios, for the years 2005, 2008 and 2010, in order to
examine compliance with standards.
The results indicated that natural emission sources play a very important role in
the calculation of PM concentrations and that their contribution leads to significant
increase in the number of current and future exceedances. This could suggest that
stricter policies regarding the anthropogenic part of PM emission need to be applied.
A source apportionment study was conducted for PM10. The spatial and temporal distribution of PM10 in the Greater Athens Area was assessed with the use of
3 Current European AQ Planning at Regional …
61
addressed at an advanced complexity level. The Eulerian OFIS urban scale dispersion model (Moussiopoulos and Sahm 2000) was used for the spatial assessment
of pollutant levels in the study area and for the development of maps allowing the
identification of heavily polluted areas within the study domain. OFIS simulates
concentration changes due to the advection of species and chemical reactions in
each cell of the computational domain. In order to account for the contribution from
local emission sources, the OSPM combined plume and box model (Berkowicz
et al. 2008) was used for simulations of air pollution from traffic in urban streets.
The influence of meteorological patterns on PM10 concentrations was analyzed,
particularly in regard to long-range PM10 transport from other areas (e.g. the
Saharan desert). The contribution of natural sources was assessed using a combined
methodology of satellite images, LIDAR measurements, measurements from the
national monitoring network and modelling results using the SKIRON/Eta transport
and deposition model (Kallos et al. 1997)
Concentrations of pollutants were assessed using a chain of models adapted to
different scales from the regional to the local scale. The Eulerian model OFIS takes
into account regional background pollutant levels to evaluate the transfer of pollutants towards and away from the urban area. Furthermore, all main chemical
transformation mechanisms are represented in the OFIS model, which is a
pre-requisite for studying reactive pollutants such as ozone and particles.
The OSPM street scale model accounts for increased concentrations at the local
(hot-spot) scale due to local emissions. Both models have an appropriate spatial and
temporal resolution to realistically describe pollutant dispersion at the scales of
interest. Furthermore, both a sensitivity analysis in terms of emissions was conducted (emission reduction scenarios and sensitivity to natural background contributions) as well as an operational model validation against measurement data
from the monitoring network. In conclusion: an advanced (Level 3) complexity
level was used for concentration assessment.
Impact
The impact of the assessed pollutant concentration levels on health was not
specifically addressed in the development of this AQP. This parameter was only
indirectly considered, on the basis of exceedances of limit values for the protection
of human health, according to the EU Directive.
Response
The simulations were performed for the urban scale as well as for the street scale
model for several emission scenarios, for the years 2005, 2008 and 2010, in order to
examine compliance with standards.
The results indicated that natural emission sources play a very important role in
the calculation of PM concentrations and that their contribution leads to significant
increase in the number of current and future exceedances. This could suggest that
stricter policies regarding the anthropogenic part of PM emission need to be applied.
A source apportionment study was conducted for PM10. The spatial and temporal distribution of PM10 in the Greater Athens Area was assessed with the use of
3 Current European AQ Planning at Regional …
61