High-detailed tropospheric transport of NOx from ground sources: comparison of model data and satellite imagery

Recently, there has been a significant increase in the anthropogenic impact on the environment, including on the atmosphere. Therefore, it is very important to understand the mechanisms of transport of pollutants and to have reliable estimates of the impact of various factors on the transport of atmospheric impurities. Ground-based measuring stations allow local continuous observations, characterized by high accuracy. The main disadvantage of ground-based measurements is the low density of measuring stations, which does not allow reproducing the concentration fields of pollutants. Remote methods include, in particular, satellite observations, the main advantage of which is the ability to cover a large area, but, as a rule, they have rather low spatial resolution. In contrast, this work utilizes new satellite technology providing data with high space resolution. However, for a more detailed description, it is necessary to supplement the measurement data with mathematical modeling of various degrees of complexity. This work is devoted to the construction of a model of NOx transport from local ground sources with high spatial resolution which take into account chemical transformations. To achieve a high spatial resolution, the model uses a numerical solution of a system of three-dimensional reaction-diffusion-advection equations that takes into account the kinetic equations describing chemical reactions. Information on wind speed, temperature and pressure fields are obtained using the HYSPLIT model. The turbulent transport is described using a first-order closure model, where the turbulent diffusion coefficient parameterization is based on data on the friction velocity and the boundary layer height. Validation of the model was carried out by comparing the results of calculations with high-detailed spatial NO2 distributions obtained using measurements of the GSA instrument onboard the Resurs-P satellite.