Assessing the impact of synoptic weather systems on air quality in Sydney using Radon 222

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCrawford, Jen_AU
dc.contributor.authorChambers, SDen_AU
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, AGen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-11T06:34:13Zen_AU
dc.date.available2025-03-11T06:34:13Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2023-02-15en_AU
dc.date.statistics2025-02-05en_AU
dc.description.abstractThe state of the atmosphere can affect the degree of dilution of emitted pollutants, and similar local and diurnal meteorological conditions can be grouped according to prevailing synoptic scale weather systems. Traditionally, various methods have been used to classify atmospheric conditions. Here we investigate the use of Radon-222 (radon) for the classification of weather systems and determine the degree of dilution under different synoptic conditions. Air quality data was analyzed in Richmond Australia over a 13-year period. Radon was used to determine 5 nocturnal stability categories numbered 0 to 4, with 0 capturing times of fast-changing fetch influences, and 1–4 representing increasing conditions of nocturnal stability (1: near neutral, to 4: strongly stable). These categories were then related to prevailing synoptic weather systems. It was found that increasing radon-derived stability categories were associated with reducing intensity of frontal systems traversing southern Australia and extending into the Southern Ocean, with stability category 4 associated with blocking high pressure systems located to the east of the site. The median nocturnal wind speeds and mixing layer heights decreased as we moved from stability category 0 to 4, indicating that the mixing volumes for pollutants released into the atmosphere from surface sources was progressively getting smaller. This decreasing dilution from stability category 0 to 4 resulted in strongly increasing median pollutant concentrations. However, on diurnal and seasonal time scales, differences were observed which could be attributed to changes in emission rates. Our results show that when investigating the impact of air quality mitigation strategies, any variations in meteorological conditions during the comparison periods needs to be considered in addition to changes in pollution emission rates, and that near-surface radon observations and the ventilation coefficient are a convenient and effective tool for this purpose. © 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.en_AU
dc.identifier.articlenumber119537en_AU
dc.identifier.citationCrawford, J., Chambers, S. D., & Williams, A. G. (2023). Assessing the impact of synoptic weather systems on air quality in Sydney using Radon 222. Atmospheric Environment, 295, 119537. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119537en_AU
dc.identifier.issn1352-2310en_AU
dc.identifier.issn1878-2844en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleAtmospheric Environmenten_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2022.119537en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/handle/10238/16043en_AU
dc.identifier.volume295en_AU
dc.languageEnglishen_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherElsevieren_AU
dc.subjectWeatheren_AU
dc.subjectAir qualityen_AU
dc.subjectAustraliaen_AU
dc.subjectUrban areasen_AU
dc.subjectRadon 222en_AU
dc.subjectPollutantsen_AU
dc.subjectAtmosphericsen_AU
dc.titleAssessing the impact of synoptic weather systems on air quality in Sydney using Radon 222en_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
Files
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.66 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Journal Articles