Maarten Krol (Wageningen University) WP4 lead, describes a case study which shows how factory plumes mix with urban pollution.
Within WP4 of CATRINE, we perform high-resolution simulations of chemical active plumes of NO2 from cities and factories, with the aim to aid the monitoring of CO2 emissions.
When an emitting facility is spatially isolated, satellites (e.g. TROPOMI) can clearly identify the corresponding NO2 plume. However, when large cities, roads, and emitting facilities are located nearby, the interpretation of satellite data and the related emission estimation become more complicated.
Model calculations using Large Eddy Simulations may help this interpretation.
In his MSc project, student Jeroen Gregoire (Utrecht University, guided by Wageningen University) performed simulations of the Tata Steel factory, located near NOx emission hot spots Amsterdam and the national airport Schiphol.
These simulations are embedded in ERA5 and CAMS boundary conditions and hence aim to procedure a digital twin of the facility. Figure 1 depicts a snapshot of a full movie that can be viewed here.
Figure 1: Snapshot of an animation of a two-day MicroHH simulation of NO2 columns around Tata Steel Netherlands. During these days, emission hot spots around Amsterdam and Schiphol interfere with the Tata Steel plume. In the simulation, transitions between turbulent (daytime) and stable (nighttime) atmospheric situations are clearly visible. For the model and the chemistry used in the simulation, see Krol et al. (2024). Movie: courtesy Jeroen Gregoire (Utrecht University, the Netherlands).
Reference:
M. Krol, B. van Stratum, I. Anglou, and K. F. Boersma, “Evaluating NOx stack plume emissions using a high-resolution atmospheric chemistry model and satellite-derived NO2 columns,” Atmos Chem Phys, vol. 24, no. 14, pp. 8243–8262, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.5194/ACP-24-8243-2024.