Influence of photochemical processes on traffic-related airborne pollutants in urban street canyon

Abstract

The urban street canyon of Legerova Street is part of the north-south trunk road that passes through the centre of Prague and remains an unresolved environmental issue for the capital of the Czech Republic. As many as one hundred thousand cars move through this region per day, and mortality has increased as a result of dust, NOx and other exhaust pollutants. The spatial distribution of pollutants (i.e., NO2, NO, and O3) during a day was measured by combined DIAL/SODAR techniques and spot analyzers that were appropriately located near the bottom of the street canyon. The measurements were performed under different meteorological conditions (autumn versus summer period). A purely physical approach does not provide a true description of reality due to photochemical processes that take place in the street canyon atmosphere. Sunlight in the summer triggers the production of ozone and thereby influences the concentration of NO2. The formation of an inverse non-diffuse vertical concentration distribution of NO2 in the morning hours was found to be related to the direct emission of O3 in the street and its background concentration. Rapid changes of NO2 concentrations were observed over time and in the vertical profile. An approach using a photochemical reactor to describe processes in a street canyon atmosphere was developed and verified as a useful tool for prediction purposes.