Regional dispersion and deposition of atmospheric pollutants with particular application to sulfur pollution over Western Europe

Abstract

The basic transfer equation interrelating sources and sinks for atmospheric pollutants through the turbulent processes in the atmosphere is reformulated in a statistical manner, which assumes in some regards a statistical independence of the physical and chemical processes being considered. Since on the regional scale the synoptic disturbances are the essential turbulent elements, their statistics is considered in some detail using geostrophic trajectory computations. The various scales of atmospheric turbulence are analyzed with regard to their importance for vertical transfer. The sink mechanisms of rain-out and wash-out (interior sinks) and direct deposition at the lower boundary (boundary transfer) are also described statistically. The sceleton of a regional dispersion model is developed and its advantages and limitations are discussed. As an example a simplified study of the emission, dispersion and removal of atmospheric sulfur is presented.