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CHARACTERIZATION OF NEAR-ROAD POLLUTANT GRADIENTS USING PATH-INTEGRATED OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING
Citation:
THOMA, E. D., R. C. SHORES, V. ISAKOV, AND R. W. BALDAUF. CHARACTERIZATION OF NEAR-ROAD POLLUTANT GRADIENTS USING PATH-INTEGRATED OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING. JOURNAL OF AIR AND WASTE MANAGEMENT. Air & Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA, 58(7):879-890, (2008).
Impact/Purpose:
Journal article
Description:
Understanding motor vehicle emissions, near roadway pollutant dispersion, and their potential impact to near roadway populations is an area of growing interest. A field study was conducted near 1-440 in Raleigh NC in July and August of 2006. This paper presents a subset of measurements from the study focusing on nitric oxide (NO) concentrations near the roadway. Results indicate that NO is a preferred tracer compound compared to nitrogen dioxide for investigations of mobile source emissions and initial dispersion in near-road studies. Measurements of NO in this study were facilitated by the use of a novel path-integrated optical remote sensing technique called deep ultraviolet differential optical absorption spectroscopy. This paper reviews the development and application of this measurement system. Time-resolved near road NO concentrations are analyzed in conjunction with wind and traffic data to provide a picture of emissions and near-road dispersion for the study. The enhanced source capture performance of the open-path configuration allowed for robust comparisons of measured concentrations with traffic and wind transport as well as investigations on the influence of wind direction on NO dilution near the roadway.
