AICE SURVEY OF USSR AIR POLLUTION LITERATURE.
VOLUME IV. METEOROLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL
ASPECTS OF AIR POLUUTIOJN; PROPAGATION AND DIS-
PERSAL OF AIR POLLUTANTS'lN "A NUMBER OF AREAS
IN THE SOVIET UNION
M. Y . Nuttonson
American Institute of Crop Ecology
Silver Spring, Maryland
December 1969
NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE
Distributed .., 'to foster, serve
and promote the nation's
economic development
and technological
advancement.'
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BIBLIOGRAPHIC BAT A
SHBiT
1. Report No.
APTD-0638
3. Recipient's Accession No.
S. Report Date
: January 1970
4. title and subtitle AICE Survey of USSR A1r Pollution Literature
Volume IV - Meteorological and Chemical Aspects of A1r Pollutlor
Propagation and Dispersal of Air Pollutants 1n a Number of Areas
in the Soviet Union
6.
7. Authors)
M. Y.
Nuttonson
8- Performing Organization Kept.
No.
Performing Organization Name and Address
American Institute of Crop Ecology
809 Dale Drive
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
10. Project/Task/Work Unit No.
11. Contract/Grant No.
AP00786-01
2, Sponsoring Organization Name and Address
EPA, Air Pollution Control Office
Technical Center
Research Triangle Park, N. C. 27709
13. Type of Report & Period
Covered
14.
15. Supplementary Notes
. Abstracts
A collection of reports of investigations conducted in various industrial regions
of the USSR, dealing with atmospheric diffusion and air pollution. The majority
of these reports deal with; meteorological conditions and relief as factors in
propagation and dispersal of air pollutants in a number of areas in the Soviet Union,
chemical composition of air pollution and methods for determination of some toxic
impurities ,of the air.
17. Key Words and Document Analysis. 17a. Descriptors
Air Pollution
Diffusion
Climatology
Atmospheric diffusion
Toxicology
Identifiers/Open-Ended Terms
Dispersion
17e. COSATI Field/Group
4/B, 13/B
18. Availability Statement
Unlimited
19.. Security Class (This
Report)
UNCLASSIFIEt
m
20. Security Class (This
Page
UNCLASSIFIED
21. No. of Pages
itf-
!. Pric
22. Price
FORM NTIB-SB « 10-70)
-------
This report was furnished to the
Air Pollution Control Office by
the American Institute of Crop
Ecology in fulfillment of Contract
-------
AICE* SURVEY OF USSR AIR POLLUTION LITERATURE
Volume IV
METEOROLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF AIR POLLUTION;
PROPAGATION AND DISPERSAL OF AIR POLLUTANTS IN A NUMBER OF AREAS IN
THE SOVIET UNION
Edited By
M. Y. Nuttonson
The material presented here is part of a survey of
USSR literature on air pollution
conducted by the Air Pollution Section
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CROP ECOLOGY
This survey is being conducted under GRANT 1 RO1 AP00786-01 APC
THE NATIONAL AIR POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
*AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF CROP ECOLOGY
809 DALE DRIVE
SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND 20910
-------
TABLE OF'CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE v
ORIENTATION MAP OF THE USSR viil
MAP OF CLIMATIC ZONES AND REGIONS OF THE USSR ix
MAP OF THE MAJOR INDUSTRIAL CENTERS OF THE USSR x
MAP OF THE MAIN MINING CENTERS OF THE USSR xi
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN RELATION TO THE FORMATION OF
PERIODS OF HEAVY AIR POLLUTION IN CITIES
L. R. Son'kin and T. P. Denisova 1
ATMOSPHERIC DIFFUSION OF IMPURITIES DURING A CALM
M. Ye. Berlyand and 0. I. Kurenbln 11
PATTERNS OF VARIATION OF THE TEMPERATURE GRADIENT IN THE
GROUND LAYER OF AIR ON THE TERRITORY OF THE USSR
N. A. Kas'yan, T. A. Ogneva, and K. M. Terekhova ........ 24
EXPEDITIONARY STUDY OF THE POLLUTION OF THE AIR RESERVOIR
OF INDUSTRIAL CITIES;
N. S. Burenln, B. B. Goroshko, and B. N. P'yantsev 40
ORGANIZATION OF EXPERIMENTS FOR STUDYING THE PROPAGATION OF
NOXIOUS IMPURITIES FROM LARGE SOURCES
B. B. Goroshko 50
DETERMINATION OF THE AIR POLLUTION POTENTIAL
E. Yu. Bezuglaya 58
SOME GENERALIZED CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING THE EXPERIENCE OF
OBSERVATION POSTS IN REFERENCE TO THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
OF THE ATMOSPHERE OF CITIES
I. A. Yankovskiy 71
DISTRIBUTION AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF NATURAL AEROSOLS
OVER VARIOUS REGIONS OF THE EUROPEAN TERRITORY OF
THE USSR;,
Ye. S. Selezneva, 0. P. Petrenchuk, and P. F. Svistov ... 81
-------
Page
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CLOUD WATER IN REGIONS OF
WESTERN SIBERIA
0. P. Petrenchuk , 87
COULOMETRIC METHOD OF DETERMINATION OF SULFUR-CONTAINING
COMPOUNDS IN AIR
N. Sh. Vol'berg 94
-------
PREFACE
Much of the background material presented in the prefaces to the pre-
ceeding volumes of this series is repeated here in view of its relevance
to the present volume.
Contamination of the natural environment constitutes a major problem
in all industrial regions of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
The country's industry and transport are continually bringing about mass-
ive qualitative changes in the habitat of man and vegetation through an
ever increasing pollution of air, soil, and streams. In recent years
there has been a greater awareness of the immense problems of air and water
pollution on the part of the urban and rural administrative agencies as well
as on the part of various research institutes of the USSR. There is a
mounting demand there to maintain a high quality physical environment. Pro-
tective measures against the pollution threat are gradually taking shape.
Much relevant air pollution research data are being developed and are appar-
ently put to good use in some parts of this vast and diverse country.
The behavior of atmospheric contaminants, notably gases and fine par-
ticles discharged into the air, is similar to that of the air masses near
the surface of the earth — the distribution of the contaminants being in-
fluenced by atmospheric stability, wind, precipitation, and topographic
features of a given area or region. The most outstanding and dominant char-
acteristic of the atmosphere is its unceasing change, a change resulting
from variations of temperature, wind, and precipitation. These meteorolog-
ical conditions vary widely as a function of latitude, season, and topogra-
phy. Seasonal as well as diurnal temperature gradients, horizontal and
vertical, affect the speed of the wind flow. Generally, the greater the
wind velocity the more rapid is the dispersion of pollutants in the atmos-
phere. In continental areas the temperature gradients and the consequent
wind flow increase during the winter season and during the daytime periods,
the latter being usually subject to more turbulent winds of higher velocity
than those that prevail during night hours that are typically characterized
by low-level stability with a minimum dispersal and dilution of the pollu-
tants.
Studies of atmospheric diffusion and air pollution constitute a rapidly
developing area of meteorological sciences in the USSR. Determination and
analysis of the complex set of meteorological factors causing the processes
of atmospheric diffusion are being extensively developed there in conjunc-
tion with theoretical and experimental studies of the pattern of propagation
of contaminants in the atmosphere.
Most of the reports of investigations brought together in this volume
deal with meteorological conditions and relief as factors in propagation
and dispersal of air pollutants in a number of areas in the Soviet Union.
A number of the papers of this volume deal also with the chemical composi-
-------
of the air. A considerable number of these investigations have been con-
ducted in various industrial regions of the USSR, regions that are geo-
graphically far apart from each other and subject to distinctly different
natural and man-made environmental conditions.
Some of the material presented here deals with various noxious
pollutants emitted to the atmosphere in high concentration at or near
ground level and with the exposure of these pollutants to the continuous
mixing, diffusion, stirring, and dilution that take place between regions
of the atmosphere as a result of air turbulence. A number of papers deal
with the intensity and structure of air turbulence in relation to temper-
ature and wind, which form the background of atmospheric diffusion and
stirring. Other papers deal with the direction frequencies and intensi-
ties of wind, which differ markedly for stable and unstable conditions of
atmosphere; with the extremely slow diffusion through an inversion; and
with the general climatology of atmospheric turbulence, diffusion, and
the dispersions of air pollutants in different parts of the country and
during different seasons of the year. The effect of rain on air pollution
levels is also discussed.
It must be borne in mind that the data presented in this volume re-
late to many diverse environments in a vast land area; that the USSR ex-
tends for about 7,000 miles from west to east and 3,000 miles from north
to south; and that the country covers a wide range of climatic and relief
conditions throughout much of its north-south and west-east extent. In
this connection, a brief outline of the very general natural features of
the USSR may be desirable. Lowlands and plains dominate the landscape of
the major portion of the country. Its landscape can be roughly described
as one consisting of broad latitudinal climatic belts of the lowlands and
plains and of narrow, vertical climate zones of the highlands and moun-
tains. Each of the broad latitudinal belts is distinct from the other in
the major features of its climate, vegetation, and soils, though within
each latitudinal belt there is a decrease in the annual precipitation as
one proceeds from west to east. The latitudinal belts include the nearly
barren and treeless tundra In the extreme north, where the winters are
severe, the summers, short and cool, and where precipitation is very lim-
ited. There follow the belts of the taiga or coniferous forests, mixed
forests, woodlands, forest prairie or forest steppe, the steppe, and the
semi-desert. Finally in the extreme south, east of Caspian Sea, there
are the dry deserts, hot In summer and cold in winter, and, along the
southern reaches of the Black Sea in Transcaucasia, there is a relatively
limited area, humid and more or less subtropical, which is subject to mild
winters, hot summers, and heavy precipitation.
It is hoped that the papers selected for presentation in this volume
will permit an assessment of some of the USSR studies of the meteorological,
chemical, and topographic aspects of air pollution. As the editor of this
-------
volume I wish to thank my co-workers in the Air Pollution Section of the
Institute for their valuable assistance. Special thanks are due to
Adam Peiperl who, as one of the principal translators, carried much of the
load of this project.
M. Y. Nuttonson
Silver Spring, Maryland
September 1970
-------
U.S.S.R.
ORIENTATION MAP
P%^^x\ Vi™
W^>r%>^3x
-------
CLIMATIC ZONES AND REGIONS* OF THE USSR
OF OKHOTSK
Zones: I-arctic, II-subarctic, Ill-temperate, IV-subtroplcal
Regions: 1-polar, 2-Atlantic, 3-East Siberian, 4-Pacific, 5-Atlantic,
6-Siberian, 7-Pacific, 8-Atlantic-arctic, 9-Atlantic-continental forests,
10-continental forests West Siberian, 11-continental forests East Siberian,
12-monsoon forests, 13-Pacific forests, U-Atlantic-continental steppe,
15-continental steppe West Siberian, 16-mountainous Altay and Sayan,
17-mountainous Northern Caucasus, 18-continental desert Central Asian,
19-mountainous Tyan-Shari, 20-western Transcaucasian, 21-eastern Transcau-
casian, 22-mountainous Transcaucasian highlands, 23-desert south-Turanian
24-mountainous Pamir-Alay '
* After B. P. Alisov
-------
THE MAJOR INDUSTRIAL CENTERS OF THE USSR
*t.* a
• Main centres o( ferrous metallurgy
• " " " non-ferrous metallurgy
O Centre* ol chemical industry
-------
THE MAIN MINING CENTERS OF THE USSR
-------
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN RELATION TO THE FORMATION OF
PERIODS OF HEAVY AIR POLLUTION IN CITIES
L. R. Son*kin and T. P. Denisova
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. im. A. I. Voeykova, No. 238
p. 33-41, (1969)
Analysis of observational data on air pollution in a number of cities of
the Soviet Union has shown that on certain days, a simultaneous rise in the
impurity concentration is observed in different parts of a city. This effect
has been discussed in general terms in our earlier studies [9-12] and also
in some articles of other authors [15-171.
It is obvious that periods of simultaneous increase in air pollution
above a considerable portion of a city are most dangerous from the standpoint
of the influence on the health of the population, vegetation, materials, etc.
Under such conditions, higher impurity concentrations are observed simultan-
eously over a large area. They are relatively stable in time. The level of
the pollution of air with various impurities is raised. Thus, a combined
action of a number of ingredients takes place, so that the danger is sub-
stantially increased. Obviously, an increase in the content of noxious
impurities in air at most stationary points simultaneously may be explained
chiefly by the influence of weather conditions. The study of periods of
general heavy air pollution in a city is therefore of major importance in
connection with meteorological measures designed to insure the purity of the
atmosphere. The adoption of additional steps in the early prediction of
such periods may lead to a lowering of the concentrations of noxious impurities
in air in these cases and to a general decrease in the level of pollution of a
city's air reservoir.
An objective method can be proposed for the identification of such periods,
It consists in the fact that on the basis of data for a comparatively long
period of time (a month, a season, half a year, etc.) a certain number of the
highest concentrations is taken at each stationary point for each impurity be-
ing measured. As the criterion for referring a given measurement to the above-
indicated cases, the condition q>1.5 qav is postulated, where q is any con-
centration, and q is the average concentration for the entire period con-
sidered. If in the course of one or several days m is the number of observa-
tions with q>1.5 qav and n is the total number of observations, the quantity
P = ^ characterizes the degree of total air pollution for the city as a whole.
Obviously, p varies from zero to 1. The values of p may be calculated both for
individual impurities and for all the measured impurities taken together.
We have examined data on air pollution for January and July 1967 and
also for the cold six months of the year (October 1967 - March 1968) for a
number of cities. The values of p were calculated for all the cities for each
-------
day. On the average, for different cities pj^O.2. Thus, at p> 0.2, the air
pollution for the city as a whole may be considered high. On some days,
values of p >0.5 were observed, when the accumulation of noxious impurities in
the city air was most substantial.
Preliminary analysis has shown that cases with p >0.5 are usually observ-
ed under stagnant air conditions. In January 1967, a general heavy air pollu-
tion was noted in the course of several days almost simultaneously in
Sverdlovsk and Magnitogorsk. On those days, both cities were located in a
slow-moving crest of high pressure. Cases where p>0.5 are observed relatively
seldom. Most frequently, periods of heavy air pollution in cities are
characterized by the values p * 0.3-0.4
It can be shown that the clustering of high values of impurity concen-
trations in the periods we have selected is not accidental. We are consider-
ing a purely binomial situation: each observed concentration is recorded only
from the standpoint of whether it exceeds 1.5 average values for the entire
period. For each period of time one can calculate the probability of random
deviation from the average value of p. This is done most simply by assuming
a normal probability distribution. In our case this is possible when the
total number of observations n in the course of a period with heavy air pol-
lution is no less than 60 [8]. Such a number of observations in the course
of a day was carried out in Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and Sverdlovsk. If,
however, the period of heavy air pollution lasts two or three days in a row
or longer, n >60 occurs in almost all of the cities considered. The calcu-
lations performed indicate that the probability of random formation of the
observed periods is considerably below the 5% taken as the criterion [8]. In
particular, at n « 100 and pav « 0.2, the probability that p - 0.3 nonrandomly
amounts to 99% and that p » 0.4 to practically 100%.
Having calculated the parameter p for each day, we not only obtain the
characteristics of air pollution for the city as a whole, but also substan-
tially decrease the element of randomness present in single measurements as
a result of the high variability of the concentration and a still inadequate
quality of the observations.
A considerable portion of high impurity concentrations in city air noted
in the month considered were observed in the course of a few days.
If in the course of the five days with the heaviest air pollution in
January 1967 additional measures had been taken to reduce the noxious dis-
charges, the amount of high impurity concentrations in the course of the
month would be decreased by the following amounts: in Magnitogorsk,
Leningrad, and Zaporozh'ye by a factor of 3-4; in Chita, Dnepropetrovsk,
and Sverdlovsk by 2-2.5; and in the remaining cities considered by 1.5-2.
It is evident that in a large city, the simultaneous increase of air
pollution by various impurities at different points is chiefly determined by
the meteorological conditions. The present paper analyzes the weather con-
ditions during periods with heavy air pollution of the city as a whole,
-------
characterized by high values of the parameter p. The most general relation-
ships are considered at first, then an attempt is made to refine them and de-
fine them concretely in order to apply them further to the prediction of air
pollution.
Statistical relationships between the concentrations of noxious impurities
in city air and meteorological factors are to a great extent well-known [1, 9,
10, 11, 12, 14, 18]. It is of interest to consider how these relationships
are manifested in various cities differing in their character and total
amount of discharges, location of the sources, etc. On the basis of data
from nine cities for January and July 1967, the average values of meteoro-
logical parameters on days with heavy, and for comparison, with light air
pollution were calculated. For this purpose, based on data for each city,
five days per month were selected with the highest and five with the lowest
values of p. The results for January are listed in Table 1.
Average Values of Certain
and Light Air Pollution
Table 1
Meteorological Parameters During Periods of Heavy
in January 1967.
City
Leningrad
Sverdlovsk
Novosibirsk
Chita
Alma-Ata
Krivoy Rog
Irkutsk
Zaporozhye
Dnepropetrovsk
State of
Air
Pollution
Heavy
Light
Heavy
Light
Heavy
Light
Heavy
Light
Heavy
Ligh
-------
boundary of elevated inversions, R - frequency of days with precipitation.
It is apparent from Table 1 that in winter, in all of the cities under
consideration, during periods of heavy air pollution as compared with periods
of light pollution, the wind velocity at the earth's surface and at the height
of 500 ra is substantially lower, the stratification of the boundary layer of
the atmosphere is more stable, and the frequency of ground inversions and
their average thickness and intensity are higher. This corresponds to the
'results obtained earlier, and also to the physical representations of the
mechanism of general air pollution in cities. The conclusion drawn earlier
concerning the effective purification of air due to the removal of impurities
by precipitation was not confirmed. In many cases, heavy air pollution in
the city as a whole was observed on days with precipitation. This is
apparently due to the fact that in past studies [9, 11], we mainly considered
the dust content of air, whereas in the present study consideration was given
to the pollution of air with gaseous impurities, while only very few obser-
vations were made on the dust concentration.
The data of Table 1 indicate a stability of the known statistical rela-
tionships for the different cities. This confirms once again that the select-
ed period of heavy air pollution in cities are nonrandom and that they are
largely brought about by the weather conditions.
It thus appears possible to use the data of the study for a more precise
and concrete definition of the relationship between the pollution of city air
and the meteorological factors.
For the indicated cases, the weather conditions during periods of heavy
air pollution of different intensities were examined. It was found useful to
divide all the cases of heavy air pollution selected earlier (five days per
month with the highest values of p for each city) into two types. The value
p *» 0.5 was found to be convenient as the criterion. For the first type of
periods pj> 0.5. In this case, the air pollution over the entire city is
particularly heavy. The second type of periods is characterized by the
value 0.5>p>0.3. As was noted earlier, these periods are statistically
nonrandom. Also considered was a third type of periods which included all
the cases of low p values selected earlier.
Because the statistical relationships were qualitatively identical for
all the cities considered (see Table 1) and we are dealing with relative
characteristics of air pollution, a combined consideration of data on the
different cities is permissible as a first approximation. Thus, in studying
the weather conditions of the total heavy pollution of city air of various
intensities, the average values of the meteorological elements during the
given periods were calculated together for all the cities considered. The
results are given in Table 2. It is apparent from the Table that in the case
where p £0.5 as compared to 0.5>p>'0.3, a further decrease of the wind and
increase of the stability of the atmosphere are observed. In addition, it
is characteristic that the parameters of the boundary layer in the two indi-
cated types of heavy pollution differ on the average, only slightly, whereas
the wind velocity at the earth's surface decreases sharply, practically
approaching zero, when the air pollution is markedly heavy (p>0.5).
-------
Table 2
Average Characteristics of Certain Meteorological Parameters for
different States of Air Pollution in Cities
State of
Air Pollution
Markedly Heavy
(p ^0.5)
Heavy
(0.5 >p >,0.3)
Light
January 196?
vo.
m/sec
0,5.
.2,3
•3.9
V500t
m/sec
5,4
0,2
11,8
Cloudi-
nesp,
points
3,5
6.8-
7.1
AT°
-3,8
-3,2..
+0.9
July
m)8lo
—
2.7
3.1
mi
~
5,8
6.5
1967
Cloudi-
ness,
points
—
7,5 .
7,1
AT°
—
•.:4-4
8.8
No cases of heavy air pollution above the city as a whole (p$O.5) were
noticeable in the summertime, despite the fact that on the average, in many
cities the concentrations of noxious impurities in air in summer were higher
than in winter [5, 10]. During the warm part of the year, the same general
relationships prevail as during the cold part, although they are less pro-
nounced; at the same time, it is most apparent that a heavy air pollution
for the city as a whole takes place when during daytime hours the atmosphere
is comparatively stable.
In the course of work on the refinement and concrete definition of the
derived statistical relationships it was decided to narrow down the problem:
subsequently, data on air pollution will be analyzed only for the cold part
of the year.
Because of the necessity of having a large number of p values for indi-
vidual cities, we are analyzing data on air pollution for cities where these
values were calculated for half a year (Leningrad, Sverdlovsk, Chita and
partly Novosibirsk, Omsk, Irkutsk). As noted above, the meteorological
factors, which on the average determine the heavy air pollution, are known
to some extent. In other words, while there are some considerable exceptions,
we are generally aware of the meteorological conditions under which a danger-
ous accumulation of impurities in the air is observed with relative frequency,
and under which such an accumulation occurs relatively seldom. The exceptions
noted above may be due first of all, to the fact that the meteorological con-
ditions variously affect the spreading of discharges of different types [2,
3, 4]. Secondly, the studies made earlier obviously have not permitted the
consideration of all the factors determining such a complex process as the
pollution of a city air reservoir. The present study offers an analysis of
cases representing exceptions from the standpoint of known statistical re-
lationships. An attempt is made to pass from general statistical relationships
to spe,ci£ic ones between air pollution and meteorological conditions which
would be manifested in individual cases.
If is well-known that a dangerous accumulation of impurities in the grckund
-------
in the presence of a stable transport of air, no heavy air pollution above
the city as a whole usually takes place. It is of interest to examine the
manifestation of this relationship as a function of the nature of the temper-
ature profiles of the lowest atmospheric layer. This was done on the basis
of data for Leningrad (no such detailed analysis could be made for Sverdlovsk
and Chita, since in these cities periods of calm were almost always associated
with ground inversions). Days were considered when, during all the periods,
the wind velocity did not exceed 1 m/sec. From these days, 17 cases with
heavy air pollution (p >0.25) and 24 days with light air pollution (p <0.20)
were selected. Simultaneously, from the group of cases where the average wind
velocity was no less than 2 m/sec. 14 cases with heavy and 24 cases with light
air pollution were selected. For each selection, the frequency of types of
temperature profiles was calculated (Table 3).
It is evident from the table that heavy air pollution at a wind velocity
of 0-1 m/sec is associated with ground inversions, whereas high impurity con-
centrations at a wind velocity of 2 m/sec and higher are characterized by
elevated inversions. With light air pollution and a wind velocity of 0-1 m/
sec., in the majority of cases elevated inversions ate observed.
Similar results were obtained by E. Yu. Bezuglaya [1], who examined the
relationship between air pollution and wind velocity in ground and elevated
inversions. In ground inversions, the principal concentration maximum was
found at a wind velocity of 0-1 m/sec, and in elevated ones, at 5-6 m/sec,
as a result of heated discharges from large-capacity sources [3, 4].
Table 3
Frequency (%") of Types of Temperature Profiles for HMvy and Light Air Pollution
in Leningrad During the Cold Part of the Y«ar as a Function of the. Wind
Velocity.
State of
Heavy
Light
Air Pollution
(p>0.5)
(p<0.25)
Gradations
of Wind
Velocity,
m/seo
0-1
>2
0-1
>2
Temperature Profiles
Ground
Inversions
73
7
29
13
Elevated
Inversions
H<1000 •
23
. 64
58
47
Below 1000 •
No Inver-
sions
Observed
0
29
13
40
This effect corresponds to the existing physical interpretation, i.e.,
elevated inversions are most unfavorable at a dangerous wind velocity [2, 3],
which for sources located in cities ranges from 1 to 6-7 m/sec. The pres-
ence of low concentration in the region of a State Regional Electric Power
Plant (SREPP) in the case where an elevated inversion is associated with a
weak wind is indicated in the paper of B. B. Goroshko [7],
In a city where a substantial contribution to the air pollution is made
by low discharges, a dangerous combination is that of a very slight wind and
a ground inversion. However, even for such a combination, which we shall
-------
arbitrarily refer to as air stagnation, a heavy pollution of the atmosphere
is not always observed. We have given special attention to air pollution
under stagnation conditions in several cities. Table 4 indicates the fre-
quency of high impurity concentrations in the air under these conditions. By
heavy air pollution for a city as a whole we shall mean cases where p is
greater than the average, i. e., p> 0.2.
Table 4
Frequency of Days with Heavy Air Pollution Under Stagnation Conditions.
City
Novosibirsk t
Irkutsk
Chita
Total •
Number o
With
Stagnation
19
13
10
23
27
92
f Days
Of Ihesa,
with p> 0*2
13
. 5
4
19
26
67
Frequency 00
of Days with
p>0.2
68
38
40
83
96
73
As is evident from Table 4, the frequency of heavy air pollution under
stagnation conditions is different in different cities. In Chita and Irkutsk,
the combination of wind with a velocity less than 1 m/sec arid a ground inver-
sion may be regarded as a prognostic sign for predicting a heavy accumulation
of impurities near the ground. Apparently, the data listed in Table 4 reflect
the fact that the nature of the air pollution during stagnation periods de-
pends on the characteristics of the discharges in the city. It is well known
that the danger of stagnation conditions is greater when the contribution of
low discharges is large. Indeed, in accordance with the data obtained, the
contribution of high discharges to the total air pollution in Sverdlovsk and
Novosibirsk is substantially greater than in Chita and Irkutsk.
Table 5
Freguency (#) of Winds of Different Directions for Heavy end Light
Air Pollution in Cities as a Whole.
City
State of
Air
Pollution
Leningrad Heavy
Light
Sverdlovsk Heavy
Light
Wind Direction
NG
.'14
18
0
7
E
11
0
.0
7
SE
36
0
26
0
S
8
14
30
14
SW
25
14
11
14
W
3
27
24
41
NW
0
27
9
3
N
3
0
0
14
Number
of
Cases
36
22
46
29
In the study of weather conditions during periods of heavy air pollution
in a city as a whole, an important factor determining the distribution of
noxious impurities is the wind direction. The character of the influence of
the wind direction may be related to at least two factors: the predominance
of the main sources of discharges in a region and the dependence of the
-------
direction of movement of air on the general meteorological situation (type of
air mass, advection of heat and cold, etc.)*
Table 5 lists data on the frequency of certain wind directions in the
case of heavy and light air pollution in Leningrad and Sverdlovsk in December,
January and February. The most distinct relationship between the magnitude
and direction of the wind was found in an analysis of the three middle winter
nonths.
It is evident from the table that in both cities, a high air pollution is
associated with winds of southern directions, the most dangerous being the
southeastern wind. As an indication of a high impurity content in air, one
can take the following: in Leningrad, eastern, southeastern, southern and
southwestern winds, in Sverdlovsk, southeastern and southern winds. We
selected cases when winds of these directions were observed for 24 hours. In
Leningrad, out of 29 cases, a heavy air pollution (p> 0.2) was observed 20
times (69%), and in Sverdlovsk, out of 18 cases, 13 times (72%). Exceptions
were found to be associated with higher wind velocities.
In Leningrad, for the same wind directions and a velocity not more than
2 m/sec, a heavy air pollution was observed 16 times (89%), out of 18 cases,
and in Sverdlovsk, in 5 cases out of 5.
The general air pollution in a city as a whole is also determined by a
lag factor. Whereas at an individual point the concentrations of impurities
may increase very rapidly, the value of p characterizing the accumulation of
noxious impurities in the air of the city as a whole increases gradually.
This is manifested particularly under conditions of air stagnation (Fig. 1).
It is evident from Fig. 1 that under stagnation conditions a close relation-
ship exists oetween the previous (pn_i) and current (p) air pollution in the
city. This conclusion is of great prognostic importance.
When the lag is taken into account, the reliability of the statistical
relationships increases substantially, particularly under stagnation con-
ditions. From data for Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and Chita, 35 cases were se-
lected in which the wind velocity at the earth's surface was less than
1 m/sec and at the height of 500 m less than 10 m/sec, a ground inversion
took place, and p for the previous day (pn_i) was greater than 0.15. Of
these, heavy air pollution (p>0.2) was observed 34 times (97%)
Thus, data on air stagnation, taking into account the existing level
and lag, make it possible to predict with substantial confidence a heavy air
pollution during the cold time of the year. .
As indicated earlier, in the absence of stagnation, a marked pollution
of the atmosphere is associated with certain directions of wind of low
velocities and with an increase in air temperature. It is characteristic
that under these conditions, the role of the lag is less substantial than in
stagnation conditions: in a number of cases, heavy air pollution arose after
low impurity concentrations in the city during the previous day (pn«i < 0.15).
-------
Pn-
0,8
0,6
0.4
0.2
i
o
- • ( o
x2 e
oj 0
o «o e
• 8* 8 o
•« e
oc oo o
"• * - f.
- * x •
«
"* . 1 . I
0,2 0,< 0.6 p
Thus, the precision of statistical relation-
ships and the identification of some new
effects of the influence of meteorological
'conditions on the content of noxious irapuri-
jties in cities, as well as the introduction
of a new characterization of air pollution for
a city as a whole (p), in which the element of
randomness has been markedly reduced, have
permitted the formulation of certain prognos-
tic indicators of great accuracy. These
initial results of investigations in this
direction show that they should be continued
in order to work out a method for predicting
air pollution in cities.
Fig. 1, Correlation between air .
pollution under stagnation.conditions
"[p; and the value or p during the
previous day C^.^J.
1 - Leningrad, 2 - Sverdlovsk, 3 - Chita
LITERATURE CITED
t. Eeayi'Jias 3. JO. K otipcAc.ieiniio noTcimitaJia 3arpn3nciuia Boaayxa. Tp. fTO,
sun. 234, 1068.
2. 5cpJiHH A M. E., roiiKXOBHi E. JI., 0 Hii Ky Ji P. H. 0 paciere aarpjuiicima
aTuocipcpu DbiCpocoMii H3 AbuiODUx tpyfi sjicKTpocTaii'uiiH. Tp. (TO, oun. 158, 19G4.
' ' 3. B c p j\ a n A M. E. [ti Ap.)- MHCACIIIIOC iicoicAonaime CTMOC(J)cpiiDi'i Ai"Hy3HH npjj
nopMa.'ibiiux H aiio.Majibiibix yc/iooiifix cTpaTHtyiiKamin, Tp. PT9. pun. 158, 1901,
-1. |j c p .1 :i n A M. E. O0> OIKICIII.IX yc.'ioiniiix 3;irp,;i3ucnu>i ;ITMOCI[)C|».I n|)fiMuiii.ic!i:iN-
MII iii.iupotJiMii. Tp. 1TO, in.ni. 185, 1%6. i
5. [i o |) .1 )i H A M. 1-. K.'lliMUTiMiccKiic aciicKTi.i iic'c.iCjioniiiiiin jai'pii.niciiiiii ;rrMO<:i u r. IIoaociiOupCKc. Tp. I1MHAK (llonocuCiip-
CKiia i])ii.-ina.i), 111,111. 'IB. 1067. '
7. TopouiKO G, 13. ItcKOTOpuc OCOOCIIIIOCTII pacnpocipaiiciiiin opcAiiux npiiMCccA
OT UlilCOKIIX IICTO'IIIIIKOI) U .saoilCltMOCTII OT CIIIIOIITIIKO-MCTCOnOJIOril'ICCKIIX' (liaKTOpOH.' Tl).
[TO. iti.ui. 207. 1'JGS. . • i
8. ii a u o n c K u ft F. A., R p a ii c p P. B. CraTJICTIIMCCKIIC MCTOAU n MCIc«i)6.aorii«J,
I'ii;ipoMCTCOii3AaT, JI., 1967. t
9. Co Mb K u ii JI. P., P a iOcr acua IZ. A., T'cpcxoua K. M. K noiipocy o MC-
TCOpo^ioni'iccKoft o6yc^ou.iciui6cTii 3arpn3iiciuni nosAyxa naA ropoAawii, Tp. PrO, nun. 183,
19G6. • .
-------
IF-
LITERATURE CITED (Cont'd)
10. Con UK 11 u Jl. P. HcKOTOpue pcay^bTaru cniionTiiKO-ioiii.MaTO.ioni'iccKoro ana-
3arpH3iiemin BOSAyxa o'ropo.iax. Tp. ITO, BUII. 207, 1968.
H. CoiibKiiii Ji. P., Ma.iiiKoo Jl. B. 06 o6pa6ojK
-------
ATMOSPHERIC DIFFUSION OF IMPURITIES DURING A CALM
M. Ye. Berlyand and 0. I. Kurenbin
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. im. A. I. Voeykova, No. 238,
p. 3-13, (1969)
It is well-known that when the wind velocity dies down to a calm, high
concentrations of impurities originating from sources can build up in the
ground layer of air. And yet, the formulas for the calculation of impurity
dispersal in the atmosphere used at the present time pertain to conditions
in which the wind velocity is substantially different from zero.
As a basis for the derivation of such formulas, the solution of the
equation of turbulent diffusion
is widely employed with suitable boundary conditions specifying the presence
of a source, the nature of the interaction of the impurity with the underlying
surface, and a decrease of the concentration at a sufficiently large distance
from the source.
Here q is the impurity concentration, u the wind velocity, w the vertical
displacement velocity of the impurity, and kz and ky the vertical and hori-
zontal components of the exchange coefficient. Axis x is directed along the
mean wind, axis y is perpendicular to it in the horizontal plane, and axis z
is directed along the vertical.
The form of equation (1) and the parabolic character of its solution are
substantially determined by the fact that it contains the advective term u!^
In particular, it follows from solution (1) that in the presence of a high ^x
source at some distance from it along the mean direction of the wind, a maxi-
mum of the ground concentration is reached. On the basis of a numerical
solution of (1) it was found in [3, 4, etc.] that for a sufficiently general
form of the coefficients in (1), characteristic of the real atmosphere,
«!'
Here H is the height of the source, u^ is the wind velocity in the ground
layer of air at a fixed height z^ (usually z, « 1 m), and a and 8 are some
positive constants whose values are given in the indicated papers. The co-
efficient aj depends on the capacity of the source and the turbulent charac-
teristics of the atmosphere.
-------
Formulas of type (2) for certain values of a and 0 are also given in
other papers, where a solution of the equation of atmospheric diffusion was
obtained for certain special expressions for the coefficients of this equation.
From the formulas for the calculation of the impurity concentration, which are
based mainly on statistical considerations, including the familiar Sutton form-
ulas [15], there also follows a particular form of formula (2) for qm:
a -
1m •" U
It should be noted, however, that in this case the problem of the level
above the underlying surface to which the velocity u should be referred re-
mains unsolved.
It follows from expressions (2) and (3) that qm is inversely proportional
to the wind velocity and formally should increase indefinitely as the latter
falls of to zero. This makes it impossible to apply the working formulas to
calm conditions.
An original attempt to extend the Sutton formula to the case of absence
of wind was made by Fortak [17], who used the relationship between the com-
ponents of the exchange coefficient and dispersion and also the general form
of the solution of the equation of impurity diffusion. In deriving the
steady-state concentration as a result of integration of the solution for an
instantaneous source, Fortak postulated that the exchange coefficient and
dispersion are functions of time alone and independent of the coordinates.
On the basis of general considerations, Fortak assumed that the maximum
of the ground concentration from a high source is reached directly under the
source, and he obtained an approximate formula for estimating this maximum.
However, the formula obtained was not investigated, and no numerical calcu-
lations were made with it in Fortak 's paper. It is thus difficult to gauge
the actual potential of the applications of his results.
Of some interest in this connection is the paper of Nester [18], which
discussed Fortak 's results and gave examples of comparison of calculations
of maximum concentration using Fortak "s and Sutton' s formulas for two special
cases. In a physical sense, however, these examples do not give clear cut
results.
A somewhat similar study was made by D. Yordanov [12], except for the
fact that he assigned a value to the vertical component of the exchange co-
efficient.
The unlimited increase of the concentrations as the velocity decreases to
zero causes difficulties in the solution of a number of problems. In this
connection, the question of setting up norms for discharges into the atmos-
phere requires a special treatment. Thus, when planning and running enter-
prises and other facilities whose operation is associated with the expulsion
of noxious substances into the atmosphere, it is necessary to determine the
-------
amount of the discharges, their height, and other parameters so that the im-
purity concentrations do not exceed the maximum permissible values under any
meteorological conditions. For a fixed source height, this problem may appear
insoluble if qm -MO when u1 + 0, and it follows further that the most unsafe
conditions should always exist during a calm. However, in considering indus-
trial discharges, the situation changes because the stack gases usually have
an initial vertical escape velocity and are frequently overheated relative to
the surrounding atmosphere. Consequently, one must introduce some initial
ascent /\H» ancl thus the effective level of the discharge turns out to be
higher than the actual height of the source. It is significant that AH depends
on the wind velocity, and since as u decreases it increases, and so does qm,
according to (2), there exists a so-called "dangerous wind velocity" ujj, at
which qm reaches its highest value. According to the calculations made in
[4, 7], for heat power plants and high-capacity industrial enterprises u»
3-5a*i/sec. At low velocities, low impurity concentrations are observed in
these cases in the ground layer of air. This is also indicated by data of
experimental observations. As an example, Fig. 1 shows values of qm as a
function of the wind velocity based on data of expeditionary studies in the
region of the Shchekino State Regional Electric Power Plant (SREPP). In the
case of cool discharges (when the temperature difference between them and the
surrounding medium is close to zero) it turns out that the dangerous velocity
decreases, but it is also different from zero.
mg/m^
« "a/sec.
Fig. 1.
The formulas for calculating AH as a function of u, given in [4, 5], per-
tain to the most frequently observed meteorological conditions, in particular,
when the temperature drops with the height. However, they are inapplicable
under certain anomalous conditions. Such "anomalous" cases are usually related
to the presence of a temperature inversion above the source. Refs. [3, 6] give
a numerical solution of the problem for cases where the coefficients of turbu-
lent exchange decline sharply above the source as a result of a rise of temper-
ature with the height. The source height was assumed constant. It was found
that the ground concentration in the presence of such an "intercepting layer"
increased, and did so to a higher degree the lower this layer was above the
-------
source. Under conditions where the temperature inversion begins immediately
above the source, the ground concentration maximum increases by a factor of
1.5-1.7, and sometimes more than 2.
In [6] it was noted that in the presence of an inverstion above the source,
it is necessary to consider its influence on the initial ascent of the impurity.
In order to obtain a limiting estimate of the latter, a formula was obtained in
[6] for calculating AH as a function of the gradient of temperature inversion
during a calm. One should bear in mind that in the presence of the wind, the
value of AH.will of course be lower. It was found that for these conditions
there exists some "ceiling" ZM above which the impurity from the source cannot
rise. Hence, AH does not increase indefinitely, as when the temperature de-
creases with the height, but takes on a certain final value. For large heat
sources, the height ZM is substantial, and the impurities usually "pierce" the
temperature inversion, rising above it. In the case of cool impurities from
relatively weak sources, ZM turns out to be small, on the order of a few tens
of meters, and this markedly alters the problem of dangerous wind velocity.
Since AH turns nut to be limited, it follows again from relation (2), if the
latter applies, that qm grows indefinitely as the wind velocity drops to zero.
Hence, it may be concluded that the presence of dangerous conditions is
connected with the calm and the temperature inversion above the source. How-
ever, as already noted, the use of (2) in this case does not permit one to set
up norms for the discharges. Furthermore, it is clear from physical consider-
ations that the concentration cannot increase indefinitely. Equation (1),
from which formula (2) was derived, is actually approximate. It does not take
into account the term describing the turbulent diffusion of the impurity along
axis x. This approximation is valid in the presence of a wind velocity, when
the advective transport of the impurity along the direction of the wind sub-
stantially exceeds its diffusive displacement. However, when u decreases to
zero, this approximation is obviously invalid.
As was noted earlier, dangerous conditions may include the presence of
a temperature inversion above the source of impurity. In addition, the ele-
vation and lowering of the temperature with the height in the subjacent layer
of air must be distinguished. In the first case, as the wind velocity drops
to zero, turbulent exchange also disappears for all practical purposes.
Essentially, therefore, there are no factors causing the impurity to spread
from the sources. In practice, the problem amounts exclusively to the molec-
ular diffusion of the impurity, whose laws are known. Conversely, under con-
ditions where the temperature drops with the height in the lower layer of air
down to the level of the source, convective motions may develop in this layer.
As we know, in this case turbulent exchange is very substantial even in the
absence of wind [14, etc.].
Consequently, it is of interest to consider the conditions of diffusion
of an impurity in the absence of the wind, but during the development of tur-
bulent exchange. In so doing, it is important to estimate the limiting value
of the concentration during a calm, and this will permit one to set up norms
for the discharges into the atmosphere. The present paper is devoted pre-
cisely to the finding and investigation of the solution of the equation of
-------
atmospheric diffusion, taking into consideration the turbulent mixing in all
directions in the case of absence of the wind.
We can confine ourselves to the absence of the vertical displacement
velocity as well. The equation being sought then assumes the form
Here the last term expresses the presence of a source, M being its capacity
and 6(C) being the delta function. It is useful to obtain the solution of
this equation for values of the components of the exchange coefficient at
which it would be the limiting expression for the solution of equation (1)
obtained in [4, 5, 7]. The values of these components should be selected so
that they also are the limiting expressions for their values in the presence
of a wind velocity. For the vertical component of the exchange coefficient
we shall assume, as in the above-mentioned references, that it depends on the
height, i. e., kz • k^f^(z), where f}(z) is some function of the height. With
respect to the horizontal component ky in [4, 5, etc.], it is assumed, accord-
int to [2], to increase with the height in proportion to the wind velocity,
i. e., ky =• UQU. In addition, the averaging of q was carried out by allowing
for the fluctuation of the wind direction with time, whose distribution w(o, is sufficient.
As far as the other horizontal component kx is concerned, it may be assumed
equal to ky, this being valid because of symmetry in the absence of the
wind. Further, it is necessary to consider the limiting dependences of the
components of the exchange coefficient on the wind velocity at small u values.
In the general case one can write that for the dependence on the height
z, u » ujf2(z), where u± is the wind velocity at a fixed level, for example,
at a height of lm, and f?/2) is some function of the height z. As already
noted, during convection in the case of absence of the mean wind, k and It ,
like kz, assume values different from zero. Therefore, from considerations
of dimensionality one can postulate that as the wind velocity decreases, the
quantity p2=(po «. retains a certain value. Hence, at low wind velocities,
-------
where kz •» k1f1(z) and kr - $arfa(z).
As the boundary conditions we shall take as usual
A . . do ~ / £ \
for *"«0 ^/~?~*"0, \b)
for r3 + z* -*• oo 0 -+ 0,
and by virtue of the symmetry of the horizontal concentration field we shall
also set for r » 0, kr J?L =0.
or
The solution of this problem can be obtained numerically in the same ex-
pressions for the functions f^(z) and fo(z), which are adopted in refs. [4, 5,
7 etc. ]. However, at this stage, when it is necessary to obtain the first
estimates and to get some idea of the laws of distribution of the concentra-
tions during a calm, it is useful to obtain an analytical solution of the
problem by confining ourselves to some particular form of the functions f^(z)
and f£(z).
Making use of the fact that the homogeneous part of equation (5) allows
the separation of variables, we shall represent its solution in the form
where qj satisfies the equation
and hence (cf. tl3]),
yi"S~'/l2<0 (8)
2
Here w is some constant (spectral parameter)
To integrate (5), it is desirable to use, as is sometimes done (see for
example (9, 16 1), an integral transform of the form
<•>, *) — tf(r, z)ql(r, u>)rdr (9)
-------
or, In accordance with (8),
?'(*, *) -\q(r, «)/>%/, (2
which actually corresponds to the well-known Hankel transform.
We shall subject all the functions contained in equation (5) and boundary
condition (6) to this transformation.
On the basis of equation (7) and conditions (6)
Since at low r values asymptotically J\ (2w)^7) **and of the jump *0 at z«*'t , equal to _J
According to the properties of the Green function, the solution of
equation (11) is related to it by the expression
Afo>
9—TT
or
Ma
TT
nPH*>//
-------
We introduce for consideration two fundamental solutions of the homogen
eous part of equation (11), TJ and T2. Then according to [1] we obtain
where w— *iMTi~d — T« *2?") ~" is tne Wronskian °* tne functions nand T^ .
Since the change of the wind velocity and of the exchange coefficient in
the ground layer of air with the height is approximately described by power
functions, we can set
A (*)-*", ft (2) -«",
where m and n are positive constants, and m££l, n 2^0. 1-0. 3. Then (see [13])
H t,«
where
l+n-m
I —m 2P — ? -
*" ' (15)
are MacDonald functions and Iy(i~N) is the Bessel function of an im-
aginary argument.
We thus obtain an expression for the Green function in accordance with
(13) and (12) ,_.
for z ^H and
l-m
(17)
for z^H, where 1«=
-------
It is now necessary to turn from q(o), z) to the function q(r, z), i. e.,
to perform a transformation which is the opposite of (10). This can be done
by using the general theory of expansion in eigenfunctions (see for example
[16]). However, in our specific case, after some simple operations involving
the substitution of variables which reduce (10) to a standard Handel transform
[9], we obtain
9(r> ... .
(18)
Substitution of (16) into (18) gives
for z$ H and
for z >H.
To determine the integrals in (19), we use the relation (see [13],
formula 6.578^)
OD t \ \ \
JJ.™ -jf—
>4 '
where 2ofttt - a» + &J + c2, (Rea > |Re6], c>0, Rev-1, Re(v+» >
Q,I(«)— is a spherical function of the second kind.
Then
l-m /
-------
and q and riH are determined in accordance with (15) and (17).
By virtue of the relation (cf. [9], formula 8.7232)
, -1, -2, ... ;
where F(a, 0, y; z) is a hypergeometric function.
We transform (20) into the form
where cosh a = s „
In this case, the second index of the hypergeometric function is equal to
-1, and this function can therefore be represented (cf. [9], formula 9.100) as
follows:
; -1; -|»+1; 2
(2i)
As a result, after some algebraic operations, we obtain
M 2«>-iO ' i
where
For a linear increase of the exchange coefficient with the height, i. e.,
m = 1, which corresponds to y = 0, we obtain
-------
X
For the ground concentration q0 " qz«o» expression (21) becomes simpli-
fied and assumes the form
A* l-|i- (2 + „.-//,)* i'-'
• (23)
4.H.m
From the formulas obtained it is apparent that the maximum ground concentra-
tion is reached at r « 0, i. e., under the source, and is equal to
and when m « 1
<7~"=~^~ n ^ (25)
We can introduce a certain distance r = ri at which the concentration is
reduced by one-half relative to the maximum value. It can be readily seen
that
._.
(26)
From (23) it follows that _ _ is a function of _* only. A graph of this
function is shown in Fig. 2. 1m ^
It is interesting to compare the results obtained with the solution of an
analogous problem in the presence of wind velocity with the same models for k.,
and k_. T
£*
According to (4), for the maximum ground concentration we have in this
case (for m = 1),
Cm>
Then from (25) and (27) for y " Cm it follows that
-------
T—'
0.432 *p«
(28)
In addition, it was assumed that (27) is determined for comparatively low
velocities, so that the coefficient kj^ in (25) and (27) is approximately the
same.
The quantities f>3 and
-------
The use of this formula makes it possible to calculate the maximum ground
concentration both in the presence and absence of the wind.
Fig. 3. Dependence of
gm (1) and cm (2) on U
qm qm
:. 0.5
m/sec
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Ko^eOaiinfi naiipaB;ieiiiio aerpa. Tp. FPO, Btjn. 172, 1965.
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aTMOcipepu H OKeana, T. Ill, M 8, 1967.
13. KaMKe 3. CnpaaoiKiiK no oeuKHoneiiHUM AHdxpepeHuiia^bHbiM ypaoHeHHHM
USA. «HayKa», 1965.
14. MOHHH A. C, Rr^oM A. M. CTaTncTHiecKaa rHApOMexaHHKa. MSA. «HayKa»
1965. *
15. CBTTOH O. F. MMxpoMeteopofloniH. HiApoMeTeoiOAaT, Jl., 1958.
16. THT<) M a p uu 3. M. PaafloweiuiH no co6cTB6HHbiM (pyHKUH8M, CBnaaHHue c-AHd>-
(pepeHUHajibHbiMH ypaBHeimtiMii Bioporo nopnAKa, H/l, M., 1960.
17. Fort a k H. Konzehtrationsverteilung urn eine Kontinuierliche Punktuelle bei
Windstille. VDI— Forschunpen — Heft 483, 1961.
18. N ester K. Distribution des concentrations autour d'une source ponctuelte
continue ^ar vent nul. Discussion d'une proposition de H. Fortak. ,,Bull. techn. Suisse
-------
PATTERNS OF VARIATION OF THE TEMPERATURE GRADIENT
IN THE GROUND LAYER OF AIR ON THE TERRITORY OF THE USSR
N. A. Kas'yan, T. A. Ogneva, and K. M. Terekhova
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geoflz. Observat. im. A. I. Voeykova, No. 234,
p. 137-151, (1968).
The temperature gradient is one of the most important characteristics
in the determination of turbulent exchange in the ground layer of air.
The magnitude of this gradient can be characterized by the difference in
air temperatures at two levels (0.5 and 2 m) near the underlying surface.
The temperature gradient of the ground layer differs from the gradient In
the free atmosphere in a considerable change of its magnitude and direction
(change of sign). As a result, the temperature stratification and hence
the turbulence coefficient also change. For this reason, the determination
of the pattern of variation of the temperature gradient is of major inter-
est in the problem of turbulent exchange and in practical problems where
its indicators are used.
On the territory of the Soviet Union, systematic observations of the
difference in air temperatures in the 0.5-2.0 m layer have been conducted
at several dozen stations for a number of years. On the basis of these
data, the present paper analyzes the character of the change of the tempera-
ture stratification in the ground layer of the atmosphere with time (daily
and annual cycle) in different geographical areas and also under different
weather conditions. Such studies are little known in the literature,
especially as regards the analysis of mass observations.
The. initial data used were obtained from systematic observations of
the air temperature at levels of 0.5 and 2 m above the surface of the soil
at 42 stations located in various geographical areas on the territory of
the USSR (Fig. 1). The observations were made by means of suction psychrom-
eters, and in the last few years, by using a method described in Hand-
book [1] and consisting in the following:
1) During the warm period of the year (at positive temperatures), the
temperature measurements were made daily at 1 A.M., 7 A.M., 10 A.M., 1 P.M.,
4 P.M., and 7 P.M. local mean solar time, and during the remaining time of
the year, at 1 A.M. and 1 P.M.; 2) the suction psychrometers were mounted
horizontally on the corresponding levels, and their bulbs (i.e., the reser-
voirs of the thermometers) were turned toward the wind; 3) during each of
the periods, the thermometer readings at the 0.5 and 2 m levels were taken
five times in the course of 10 to 13 min., and the mean temperature was
calculated from five of its values during this period of time. It should
be noted that this method was not kept the same during the entire period
of systematic observations and had the following variations:
-------
' 1
a) Up to 1965, the psychrometers at the two levels had different
supports: at the 0.5 m level the Instrument was suspended horizontally,
and at the 2 m level, vertically;
b) Up to 1961, three thermometer readings were taken per day;
c) At some stations, no observations were made during the cold period
of the year.
Among these deviations, the most interesting is the first, i. e., the
possible errors in measurements of the temperature gradients, due to the
different ways of suspending the psychrometers. This question was studied
rather closely by V. V. Lazovskiy [2]; the errors were shown to be syste-
matic in character and to lower the gradients at high values of the radia-
tion balance. Comparison of factual data of gradient measurements for
Fig. 1. Map of stations measuring temperature gradients.
different and for the same suspension of psychrometers carried out by
T. A. Ogneva [3] for six stations confirmed this conclusion. An appreciable
error is observed only at wind velocities higher than 2 m/sec; its absolute
values increase with increasing radiation balance, particularly in areas of
insufficient moisture. At a wind velocity of 2-4 m/sec and radiation bal-
ance values of 0.2-0.5 cal/cm3 min, errors in the dry areas may amount to
0.2-0.3°C., and in areas of sufficient moisture, to 0.1-0.2°C. This must
be taken into consideration in analyzing materials for different years.
However, no appreciable jump in mean monthly values of the temperature grad-
ient is observed as a result of switching to a different method, as demon-
strated by Table 1. The latter gives mean monthly gradients (At) for the
different years for the time of highest radiation balance values (June,
1 P.M.). In Table 1 it is impossible to observe any substantial change
-------
(namely, increase) of the temperature gradient beginning in 1965» when
the method described in the Handbook [1] was introduced. On the whole,
it is apparent that the existing series of observations can be used as
a set of fully comparable data.
The first generalization of the observational material on temperature
gradients for the network of stations was made by L. I. Prokof'yeva [4],
but this pertained to a considerably smaller number of stations and volume
of observations.
Table 1
Heaii Monthly Values of the Temperature Gradient (At) of Air at 13 h. in June
ZONE
Forest
Steppe
Foothill Steppes
Desert
STATION
Nikolayevskoye
Riga
Yakutsk
Beregovo
Askaniya-Nova
Gigant
Tselinograd
Solyanka
Poltava
Kalaykovo
Dushanbe
Aydarly
Beki-Bent
Tandy
YEAR
1960
0.3
0,3
1,2
0,5
0,2
0,8
1961
0,4
0,3
0,6
0,3
0,4
0,7
0,5
0,6
0,8
1982
0.2
0,3
0,6
0,4
0,8
1,1
0,7
0,4
0,3
1,0
0,4
1.5
1,5
1963
0,9
0,4
0,5
0,6
1,1
0.4
1,1
0,4
0,8
1,1
0,4
0,8
0,8
».3.
1964
0,6
0.2
0,8
0,5.
0,5
0,2
1,1
0,8
0,4
0,8
0,8
1,5
0,9
0,9
1965
0.7
0,6
0.7
-0,1
1,2
0,6
1.2
0,8
0,8
0,8
0,8
1,2
1,1
1,0
1966
0,6
0.7
0.8
0^4
1.2
0,4
0,5
0.8
0,4
1,3
2.1
0,7
1967
0,7
0.7
1.2
0^4
1.3
0,8
0,7
0,2
1.3
1.3
1.0
Table 2 gives mean values of the air temperature gradient in the
0.5-2 m layer for individual months of the year during the day (1 P.M.)
and night (1 A.M.). These values were obtained by averaging the mean
monthly values At at the given times over the existing period of observa-
tions, and the mean monthly At's in turn were calculated by.averaging sin-
gle measurements in the course of each month for a specific time, 1 A.M.
and 1 P.M.
Table 2 gives an idea of the characteristic values of the air temper-
ature gradient in the lowest layer in different geographical zones from
the desert to the conifer forests, in accord with the botanical classifi-
cation based on the Geobotanical Map of the USSR [5]. The statistical
reliability of the mean values At in the table varies; it depends on the
total period of observations at any given station. Depending on the per-
iod of averaging, the characteristic values At themselves can change.
In order to explain possible differences in the average temperature
gradients as a function of the period of averaging, we give Table 3, in
which for stations having a series of observations of 8 to 13 years, there
are average values obtained for observation periods of 5 years and 3 years.
It was found that in the great majority of cases, differences do not exceed
-------
Table 2
Bean Values of Temperature Gradient (At) in the Daytime (l P.M.) and at Night (l AJJ.) in Different Geographical Zones.
ZONE
Pretundra thin forest
Conifer forest
Mixed forest
Hardwood forest
River flood plains
Steppe-covered meadows
STATION
Verkhoyansk
Tnrukhansk
Khibiny
Yakutsk
Skovorodino
Kargopol'
Ust'-Vya1
Nolinsk
Sobakino
Smolensk.
Nikolayevskoye
Riga
Priaorskoye
lolstovka
Pinsk
Beregovo
Kuybyshev
Astrakhan'
Telavi
T
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
PERIOD
3
3
6
9
5
4
4
6
2
G
S
13
3
3
5
8
8
t
0
At at 1 A.M.
v vi vn vm jx — x
—
—
-0.3
-0,2
—
—0.5
-0.5
—0.5
—0.5
--0.5
-0.3
-0.5
-0.4
0,4
0.6
0,4
-0.
—
-0,4
—0,3
—0,8
-0.3
-0.3
-0.8
-0,6
—0.7
-0.5
-0.5
-O.G
—0.1
-0.7
-0,5
f',5
-..8
M
>'.-'
-O.G
-0,6
-0.3
-0.6
-0.3
-0.3
—0.0
-O.G
—0.4
-0.4
-0.5
-0,5
-O.I
-0.4
-0,6
-0.5
0.8
(!.fi
-0.8
-0.4
—0.3
—0,5
—0.4
—0.2
0.3
—0,6
-0,3
—0,4
-0.4
0,4
—0.1
—0.4
-0.6
—O.G
— O.F
O.G
0.-1 0,.]
1
-0.3
—0,2
-0,3
—0.5
—0,4
-0,2
—0.3
—0,4
-0.4
—0,4
—0,3
-0.4
—0,4
—0,2
-0.4
- 0,6
O.G
0,4
0.3
—
-0.2
—
—
—0,1
—
-0,2
-0.2
-0.2
—0.2
-0.3
--
- 0.2
-0.6
—0.4
-0.3
-0,4
At at 1 P.M.
v vi vn vm n x
__
—
0.6
0.6
—
0.5
—
0.2
0,4
0,3
0.4
0.4
0,5
0.7
0.4
0,2
0.3
0.6
0.4
._._
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.4
0.4
0.6
0.3
0.4
0.2
0.5
0,4
0.5
0.7
O.G
0.4
0,5
0.8
0.4
0.9
0.5
0.5
0.8
0.4
0.3
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.3
0.5
0.4
0.5
0.6
C.5
0.5
0.5
0.8
0.5
0.7
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.2
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.4
0.3
0.4
0.4
9.4
0.4
0.4
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.3
0.5
0.5
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.4
0.5
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.5
0.5
._
0.1
-
._._.
o.o
.
0.1
o.i
0.1
0.2
0.4
-,
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.4
0.4
I
-------
Table 2 (Cont'd)
ZONE STATIGN
Frunze
Foothill steppes Dushanbe
Fergana
Tenneaj
Heado* steppes Chita
KhonotOTO
Solyanka
Ogurtsovo
Borispol'
Poltava
KaBennaya Step*
Typical steppes Khakasskaya
Gigant
Typical steppes Yershov
Rodnyy
Tselinograd
Askaniya-lora
Steppe-eorered deserts Kala^ykovo
Deserts Taady
Akmolla
Beki-tent
AydarU
Churuk ;
"V
HAP
,.0
-I
• •i
. '.!-i
'M
25
26
27
n
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
oZ-
TI S
4
6
4
7
3
5
9
4
8
8
8
7
8
2
4
6
10
9
6
2
4
&
2
V
-0.8
1.1
-0.8
-0,9
-0.3
-0.2
--0.5
-0.4
—0.3
-0,6
—0.6
-0.7
-0,4
-0.7
—0,3
-0.2
-0,4
-0,1
-0,5
-0,2
-0,2
-0.4
-0.4
VI
-0.8
-1.1
-l.l
-0.8
-0.3
-0.2
-0.5
-0.7
-0.4
-0.6
-0.6
-0.6
-0.4
-0.5
-0.3
-0,2
-0,4
-o.i
-0.4
-0,2
-0,4
-0,6
-0.4
At a
VII
-0.7
-1.3
-1.2
—0.8
-0.2
-0.2
-0.5
-0.9
-0.4
—0.5
-0.6
—0.7
—0.4
-0.4
-0.3
-0.2
-0,5
-0.2
-0,5
-0,4
-0.2
-0.6
-0,6
t 1 A.I
vin
- 0.7
-1.2
-0.0
-o.n
-0.2
-0.1
-0.5
-0.5
-0.3
-0.6
-0.6
-0.5
-0.4
-0.5
-0,3
0.1
-0.4
-0,2
-0.5
0.4
-0.3
-0,7
-0,4
1.
IX
-0.6
-1.2
—1.0
0.8
-0.3
--0.2
-0.4
-0.5
-0.3
—0.5
-4.5
-0,8
-0.4
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
-0.4
4>.2
-0.6
-0.3
-0.4
-0.6
- 0.4
X
-0.5
—1.0
-0,7
- 0.8
-
—
—
-0.1
-0.2
-0.4
-0.3
-0.5
—0.3
-0.5
-0.2
-0,1
-0.3
-0,1
-0.5
-0.3
0.4
-0,4
0.2
V
o,/
0.4
0.9
0.5
1.0
0.8
0.5
0.7
0.6
0.5
0,3
0,7
0.4
0.8
0,7
0.8
0.8
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.1
VI
0,'J
0.1
0.6'
0.6
1.1
0.9
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.3
0.8
0.5
1.1
0.9
1.0
0.9
0.9
.1
.1
.2
.3
.4
At at
vn
!,0
0.7
0.6
0.9
0.8
0.6
0.7
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.3
0.7
0.8
0,8
0.8
1.0
1.1
0.9
0.9
1.0
1.2
1.2
1.6
1 P.M.
vm
:.»
0.3
0.8
1.1
0.8
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.5
0.4
0,7
0.7
1.0
0.8
0.7
1.0
0.8
0.9
0.9
1.2
1.1
1.4
IX
0.0
1.1
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.5
0.3
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.6
0.6
0.8
0.7
0.7
1.0
0.7
0.7
0.9
1.2
1.0
M
X
0.6
0.3
0,9
0.6
-
—
—
0.4
0.4
0.3 ,
0.3*
0.3
0.3
0.6
0.3
0.3
0.5
0.4
0.5
0.7
0.8
0.7
0.8
N>
-------
Table 3
Mean Values of Temperature Gradient (At) for J-Year and 2-Year Observation Periods.
Station
Yakutsk
Riga
Beregovo
Solyanka
gorispol1
Poltava
Gigant
Askaniya-Nova
Kalmyk ovo
Kuybyshev
At At 1 A.M.
V 1 VII I DC
At At 1
V
vn
P.M.
IX
Mean At for 5 Years
-0,5
-0.5
—0.5
—0,3
-0,7
—0,4
-0,4
—0.1
-0,6
-0,6
-0.fi
-0,5
-0.6
-0.4
-0,5
—0.4
—0,5
—0,1
—0,8
-0.4
-0,4
-0,6
-0,4
-0.3
-0.6
-0,4
—0,4
-0,2
-0.6
_
0,4
0,3 '
0,5
0,5
0.5
0,5
0,7
0,7
0,3
0.9
0.4
0,6
0.8
0.6
0.5
0,8
1.0
0.8
0,4
• 0.5
0,2
0,3
0.5
0.4
0.4
0.6
1.1
0,7
0,2
Yakutsk
Riga
Beregovo
Solvanka
Borispol'
Poltava
Gigant
Askaniya-Nova
Kalmykovo
Kuybyshev
Mean At for 3 Years
—
-0,5
-0.5
—0,4
—0,3
-0,6
—0,4
-0.4
-0.1
—0,5
-0,6
—0.6
-0,4
—0.6
—0.3
-0.6
—0,4
-0.4
-0,1
—0,8
-0,4
—0.5
-0,5
—0.4
-0,3
-0,5
-0.4
-0.5
-0,2
-0,7
—
0,4
0,3 .
0,6
0,6
0,5
0,5
0,6
0.8
0,4
0.9
0,6
0.6
0,8
0.7
0.5
0.8
0.9
0,8
0.4
0,4
0,2
0.3
0.5
0.6
0.4
O.S
1.2
0.6
0,3
0.1°C. for averages for 5 years as well as averages for 3 years, particu-
larly for the nighttime. In dry areas, during the day, the differences
occasionally reach 0.2°C., but the absolute values of At are sufficiently
high in these areas. It may be postulated that the three-year series
of observations of air temperature gradients are sufficiently stable.
On this basis, the data of Table 2 may be considered comparable to a
certain extent, while the values of the temperature gradients are charac-
teristic diurnal and nocturnal mean values during the warm time of the
year for open areas of the natural surface of different landscape zones.
(Measurements of gradients are made on sites of meteorological stations,
on which the plant cover natural for the given zone is retained, and
the sites themselves are usually located in places having little pro-
tection) .
On the basis of an inspection of Table 2, we shall note the follow-
ing pattern in the change of the temperature gradients. According to
the sign of the radiation balance of the underlying surface, a difference
of the sign of the gradients in the daytime and nightime is observed.
In drier areas (steppes, deserts), an increase of the absolute values
of diurnal gradients to 1-1.5°C. is observed as compared to the forest
zone, where they essentially do not exceed 0.5°C. Occasionally, some
-------
deviations are also observed. For example, in Eastern Siberia (Yakutsk,
Verkhoyansk) and beyond the polar circle (Khibiny), the gradient values
are somewhat higher than in the more southern parts of the conifer for-
ests. This was noted earlier by N. I. Budyko [6]. It is due both to a
latitudinal decrease of the air temperature and to the specific location
of the ground station. (The Yakutsk station pertains, on the whole, to
the zone of the middle taiga forests, but is situated in the subzone of
steppe-covered meadows in combination with parts of forests.)
In the zone of meadow steppes of the European territory of the USSR
(Borispol1, Poltava, Kamennaya Step1), the gradients are somewhat reduced
as compared with the analogous zone of the Asian part (Chita, Khomutovo,
Solyanka, Ogurtsovo), and they are increased in southern regions of suf-
ficient humidification (zone of steppe-covered subalpine meadows and
foothill steppes). This characteristic is related to the higher values of
the radiation balance on the European territory of the USSR.
At night, a certain decrease of the gradients is noted (in absolute
value) in the steppe and desert zones as compared with the forest zone,
owing to the higher wind velocities in these regions. The highest grad-
ients at night are observed in the southern regions of sufficient humidi-
fication and at sheltered stations (Dushanbe, Fergana, Termez). In the
remaining regions, the average values of the gradients basically do not
exceed 0.5°C.
The annual cycle displays a definite variation of the average monthly
values of daytime temperature gradients. The highest values are observed
in June-July, and they decrease in autumn. This decrease begins for the
forest zone in September, for the steppe zone in October, and for the
deserts, still later. The variation of the night gradients in the annual
cycle is less distinct. Only in autumn Is a decrease of gradients observed
in most regions, as compared with the summer months. In regions of irri-
gation farming (zone of foothill steppes) a shift of the highest gradient
values (relative to the highest radiation balance values) to August-Septem-
ber is observed; it is due to a decrease of irrigation during this period
and to the decisive Importance of radiation factors as compared to the
humidification of the soil.
Table 4 shows frequencies of different values of the gradients as a
function of the cloud cover (clear, overcast, variable cloudiness) for
five stations of different landscape zones. The frequencies were calcu-
lated on the basis of observations for three years (1965-1967). The
"clear" gradation included cases where, during the observations, clouds
were absent on the solar disk and in a zone of 5° around it, and the
"overcast" gradation was one in which the solar disk was covered by a
thick cloud layer.
The data of the table confirm a sufficient reliability of the average
gradient values used in the study, and also show possible changes of these
values because of weather conditions. For example, for the Nikolayevskoye
station in the summertime, variable cloudiness is most typical (as demon-
strated by the number of cases of observations compared with their number
-------
Table 4
Frequmoy 00 of Gradients of Various Limits Under Various Weather Conditions
1
• Gradation of At at 1 A.M.
7
77
ss
O
77
?7"
ss
0
+1
£
SB
Gradation of At at 1 P.M.
•M
•*•
0
+1
!
0
o
i
o
o
r
*
c^
|
Yakutsk
Clear
VI
VII
VIII
IX
IV
V
VI
Vll
VIII
IX
X
XI
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
5
8
3
28
20
22
13
26
29
39
14
34
35
25
44
7
8
8
24
*
3
5
57
51
36
37
Variable cloudiness
10
25
10
10
12
32
28
80
63
53
72
' VI
VII
VIII
IX
24
4
24
29
25
34
30
58
84
6
37
17
16
12
17
27
12
6
Overcast
6
.6
7
12
50
26
21
18
44
67
65
52
7
7
12
16
15
14
17
20
45
35
47
50
32
60
48
30
23
5
6
N ikolaye vsk oye
Clear
26
8
18
10
5
9
2
26
12
35
31
23
20
11
11
48
43
30
46
42
41
45
45
/24
10
13
14
28
40
33
8
7
2
2
11
23
64
60
71
64
54
45
9
80
33
67
11
67
43
20
20
18
22
40
57
80
33
55
45
20
27
22
40
Variable cloudiness
*
31
17
12
10
100
38
39
41
53
10
50
20
31
44
41
47
90
50
70
1
16
18
17
19
10
14
10
61
2
2
4
9
15
22
11
4
12
32
27
36
70
6
37
26
21
28
27
40
15
11
30
32
46
28
38
15
20
36
21
10
4
Overcast
19
25
10
8
2
2
13
10
15
28
51
51
33
53
26
35
50
19
10
2 51
•
46
32
31
10
11
9
5
3
7
5
3
IS
56
57
67
68
55
33
13
IV
V
.VI
VII
8
8
17
16
33
15
25
50
47
50
100
15
17
. 6
13
12
5
50
14
50
50
61
52
35
30
33
15
9
5
2
26
23
21
-------
Table 4 (Cont'd)
1
*
VIII
IX
X
XI
Gradation of^t at 1 A.M.
7
v
_
77
su
0
77
s y
HiCS
7?
0%
11
16
29
o*
89
80
71
100
~.
A
4
I
*
i
SK
9
25
34
12
Gradation of At at 1 P.M.
7
V
5'
4
4
• .
o
+1
45
65
74
100
i/5
I
0
45
21
22
o
3
o
5
0
7
-
•
A
i
^
i
. •
22
28
55
14
Solyanka
Clear
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
2
3
4
3
26
23
27
26
23
27.
30
28
25
32
31
36
28
31
34
12 1
N
13
14
11
2
1
51
60
68
69
53
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
8
8
18
15
8
14
46
•44
56
46
65
36
15
44
38
21
11
13
18
13
14
Variable Cloudiness
11
9
20
20
50
67
36
40
71
40
22
55
20
29
10
10
9
11
5
7
7
2
3
14
4
6
8
5
20
0
11
23
32
31
48
38
50
54
35
32
45
15
14
2
51
56
55
52
37
Ove roast
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
5
6
5
3
19
19
14
37
13
69.
76
65
47
81
6
21
11
3
32
21
14
19
30
Gigant
5
.3
60
47
55
68
71
33
24
40
21
23
7
24
5
11
3
*•
Clear
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
1
1
3
6
2
9
9
5
4
•6
7
11
23
20
32
15
7
11
65
53
50
45
47
50
47
14
15
14
19
13
33
32
27
81
7
2
5
2
2
5
46
70
58
75
73
72
71
22
7
. 13
7
6
4
2
2
15
32
12
20
17
18
18
62
70
43
50
40
33
36
54
38
8.
22
31
30
46
44
26
Variable cloudiness
30
21
20
28
39
14
23
16
30
24
34
35
8
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
13
14
•
15
12
7
29
25
14
35
38
50
43
50
29
'50
12
43
'14.
25
57
25
6
8
.14
7
8
7
3
3
5
2
3
16
9
13
10
14
26
30
38
28
29
35
37
53
45
40
36
35
30
36
51
25
13
19
13
35
29
10
10
2
2
2
49
'17
52
51
59
49
43
32
-------
Table 4 (Cont'd)
;
5
"
Gradation of At at 1 A .11.
7
v
77
sa
77
ss
m CM
77
S3
o"
+1
•
A
i
*
b
*
Gradation of At at ft P.M.
f
v
o
+1
10
0
o
I
o
o
7
-
A
1
% •
1
«
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
•IX
X
Overcast
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
6
5
18
26
33
17
46
33
46
30
6
60
67
78
36
58
46
65
89
8
8
8
5
5
38
15
18
11
12
1 "
f 20
35
22
70
45
41
42
22
29
47
35
27
SO
37
58
45
57
53
65
. 5
33
14
3
27
18
22
12
9
7
15
20
Kalraykovo
Clear
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
2
3
2
4
2
4
4
4
11
4
12
43
39 '
42
32
20
55
26
36
44
41
53
47
37
50
14
11
13
11
20
2
12
73
56
46
53
'54
46
42
4
12
12
22
13
15
24
6
20
4
11
15
12
12
44
32
11
30
10
18
63
20
60
45
57
4
11
60 ;
34 i
19
25
25
9
23
20
17
16
Variable cloudiness
17
33
50
50
33
25
67
100
33
50
67
75
80
20
3
2
6
4
3
. 8
5
3
27
34
16
31
35
27
14
24
9
14
3
21
3
32
39
27
26
19
6
43
40
10
30
', *
*»•»
44
32
21
14
3
3
6
i'j
23
43
32
34
33
28
Overcast
13
25
12
13
57
75
88
100
75
100
61
43
25
13
14
4
8
5
4
6
15
32
72
88
90
33
50
55
47
28,
45
30
28
21
12
10
22
20
17
1
; 19
S
'' iO
, 9
i ^
in clear and overcast weather). During variable cloudiness, the probability
of gradients from 0.2 to 1'C. is in excess of 60% during all the summer
months, and the average value is 0.4-0.5°C. (see Table 2).
Table 4 also shows how the gradients change with the weather conditions
and in the annual cycle. Thus, in clear weather at the Nikolayevskoye sta-
tion in May-June, the probability of gradients above 0.6°C. during the day
-------
Is 60%, in the presence of variable cloudiness 50-70%, and in cloudy
weather it does not exceed 15%j this pattern is observed to a greater
or lesser degree at all the other stations regardless of the geographical
zone.
The probability of formation of high gradients increases from spring
to stunner and decreases toward autumn, whereas the probability of low
gradient values increases toward autumn. At night, the same pattern is
observed as during the day: the frequency of high gradients (in absolute
value) in clear weather is higher than in cloudy weather; in autumn, the
frequency of low gradients is higher than that of high gradients under
all weather conditions.
The frequency of gradients above +2°C. is slight; it amounts to a
few percent and is observed only under clear weather or variable cloudi-
ness conditions.
Table 5 lists maximum and minimum values of the temperature gradi-
ents At. The data were selected from observations in the last 3-5 years
at 1 A.M. and 1 P.M. during all months of the year. Despite the "spotti-
ness" of the extreme values, the following general features may be pointed
out: 1) the gradients observed in the last five years do not exceed +4.5°C.
during the day and -4.7°C. at night; 2) the extreme values of the gradients
during the day and at night are chiefly observed during the summer months.
Table 5
Extreme Values of Temperature Gradient
in Various Landscape Zones.
Station
Verkhoyansk
Turukhansk
Khibiny
Yakutsk
Skovorodino
Kargopol '
Nolinsk
Sobakino
Snolensk
Nikolayevskoye
Riga
Pinsk
Beregovo
Kuybyshev
Astrakhan'
Telavi
Frunze
Dushanbe
Fergana
Chita
Khomutovo
Solyanka
Ogurtsovo
Borispol '
Poltava
Kanendaya Step1
Khakasskaya
Yershov
Rudnyy
Tselinograd
Tandy
Beki-Bent
Aydarly
Churuk
Period
of obser-
vations
2
3
5
• 4
5
4
3
. 5
5
5
5
5
5
3
3
5
4
3
5
4
' S
5
4 .
5 .
5
5 .
3 .
2
• 4 .
5
5
5
5
3
Maximum
A*
2,5 '
2.7
3,4
3,0
2,3
3,9
2,2 .
2,5
1,7
3.3
2.8
. 1,0
2.4
1.9
3,2
3.3
2.9
2,8 '
3,7
3.9
2.6
3,7
3,1
3.7
2.3
3.1
2.7
3,8 .
2.1
3.1
2.8
4.5
• 4,5
3.4
Month
VII
VII
V VIII
x V
VII
V
VI
VI
IV
VII
VI
IX
VIII
V
• VI
VI
• v
V -,
V
VII
VII
VIII
VII
VI
V
VI.
VI
• vi
VII
VIII
VII
IV
VIII
VIII .
Minimum
At
-3,7
, —4.3
-3.6
-3,4
-3,2
-2,9
-3,6
-3,5"
-3,6
-3,7
-3.7
-3.6
-3,5
-3.7
-3,4
-3.2
-3,6
—4,6
-4.0
—2.4
-2.8
-3.2
-3,1
—4,7
-3,4
— 4;o
. -4.7
—3,8
-2,4
-1,4
-3.0
• -3.7
-4:3
-2.9
Month
VIII
. VI
VIII
VII
X
IV
VIII
X
VIII
VII
VI
IX
VIII
IX
VI
IX
XI
V
' VII
XI
IX
>VII
V
VII
V
IX
11
V
IV
IX
VIII
I .
I
VII
-------
Table 6 shows the daily cycle of temperature gradients averaged
over the observation period In different months of the year for five
stations located in different landscape zones. The values for the
1 A.M. and 1 P.M. periods analyzed here actually correspond to the high-
est values of the gradients (in absolute value) for the daytime and
nighttime hours; only in some cases, in autumn at stations with a suf-
ficiently humidified surface (Dushanbe, Pinsk), and in winter in. the
desert (Beki-Bent), can the gradients at 7 P.M. be higher (in absolute
value) than at 1 P.M. On the whole, the variation of gradients in the
daily cycle follows the radiation balance cycle. In the summertime,
positive gradients are observed during the 7 A.M. - 4 P.M. period in all
the landscape zones, and only their absolute values change. In the for-
est zone (Riga, Pinsk) and in the presence of sufficient hum!dification
of the surface (Dushanbe), the gradients at 4 P.M. do not exceed 0.3°C.,
and in the steppe and desert zone (Askaniya-Nova, Beki-B0nt) reach 0.7-
0.8°C. In the wintertime, positive| gradients at the Dushanbe and Beki-
Bent stations are observed at 10 A.M. to 1 P.M., or 1 P.M. to 4 P.M.,
which are also determined by the possibilities of radiation influx of
heat.
In general, the values of the air temperature gradients change with
the relative proportion of the components of the heat balance. In a
simplified manner, the proportion of the components may be characterized
by the radiation balance (B), the state of hum!dification of the surface
and the wind velocity. Fig. 2 shows graphs of the relationship of the
temperature gradients to the radiation balance for three limits of wind
velocity (less than 2 m/sec, from 2.1 to 4 m/sec, and above 4 m/sec.)
and for four landscape zones - conifer and mixed forests, steppe, and
desert. The graphs were plotted on the basis of average data from
selections of single temperature gradients at the corresponding limits;
the points correspond to mean At values at the given limit based on vari-
ous stations, and the shaded area corresponds to the area of possible
changes of mean gradients in any given group. The material used pertains
chiefly to 1965, and the averages were obtained from data of dozens of
single measurements.
The graphs give an idea of the mean temperature gradients above the
natural surface of open stretches of dry land in the main landscape zones
as a function of the wind velocity and magnitude of the radiation balance
within 0.1-0.2°C. They may be useful for practical applications in evalu-
ating the character of temperature stratification. The graphs show an
obvious decrease of temperature gradients with increasing wind velocity
at both positive and negative values of the radiation balance in the zone
of forests and steppes; in the desert zone, the most positive gradients
were found to arise at a wind velocity of 2-4 m/sec., and not at low
velocities. It is evident from the graphs that the sign of the gradient
changes to positive in the forest zone at higher values of the radiation
balance than in the zone of steppes and deserts; as the wind velocity in-
creases, the sign of the gradient changes at a high value of the radiation
balance.
-------
Table 6
Annual Cycle of Air Temperature Gradients in Different Months of the Year
Station
Riga
Pinslc
Dushanbe
Askaniya-Nova
Beki-Bent
Period 01
Observa-
tion
1
10
12-
12
12
11
10
4
4
4
4
3
4
4
3
5
5
5
5
5.
5
6
5
•' 5
5
5
' 4
7
8
8
8
9
9
8
4-
4
4
4
4
• 4 •
3'
3
3 .
3
3
2
Month
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
I
II
III
. IV
V
• VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
.IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
-0.1
-0,5
—0.6
-0.5
-0.4
-0.4
-0.2
—0,3
<-o-4
-0.6
-0,6
-0.6
-0.4
—0.2
-0,1
—1,0
-0,7
-0,7
-0.9
- ,2
4
- [3
— ,2
- .2
- .0
-0,9
-1.0
-0.3
-0,4
-0,4
—0,4
-0,4
-0.4
-0.3
—0,3
-0.2
—0.3
-0.2
-0.2
-0.4
-0.2
—0.3
-i-0,3
—0,3
-0,4
-4,2
liw of observations, h.
0,0
0,2
0,2
0,2
0,1
0.0
-0,1
0,1
o.o
0.2
0,2
0.0
0,0
-0,1
-0,1
-1.0
-0,6
-0.5
—0.1
0,1
0,1
0.1
0,0
0,0
-0.2
—0.9
-1.3
0,2
0,3
0,4
0.4
0,3
0.2
0,0
-0,3
-0,3
-0,2
0,1
0.2
0,3
0,2
00
0,0
-01
-03
-0,2
0,2
0,4
0.4
04
o;s
0,3
0,1
t
0,4
o;s
0,6
0,5
ois
0,2
0,3
0,0
0.2
02
o!s
0,5
' 0,5
0,6
0,7
0,8
1.1
0.9
0.6
o;e
0.6
0,8
o;g
0,9
1,0
0,7
0.5
"0,0
0,1
.0,5
0,6
0,7
0,9
0,6
0.6
0,5
0,4
0,1
-0,1
0.5
0,4
0,4
0.3
0,3
0.2
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,6
o:s
0,4
8.1
0.1
. 0,5
0.5
0,6
. 0.4
0.5
0,5
0.7
0,9
1.2
0.9
0.8
0.6
0.8
0,8
Oi9
1.1
1.0
1.0
0.7
0,3
0.4
0,8
0,9
1,0
1,2
0,8
0.6
0,8
06
04
0,0
0,3
0,3
0,2
. 0,2
0,2
0,1
0,0
0,2
0.0
0.3
0.2
0,2
0,0
0,0
-0,1
-0.3
0,1
0.1
0,0
o.o
~0 1
0|2
0.3
01
-0.1
—0,4
-0.4
0,4
0,5
0.5
06
07
o;s
0,3
•0,1
0.3
0.6
0,6
0,7
• 0,8
0,3
0,5
0,4
0,2
0,1
-0,2
0.0
-0,1
-0,1
o;o
-0,2
-0,6
-0,3
—0,3
-0.4
-0,2
-0,3
-0;i
-0,6
-0,3
-0,2
-0,9
-0,6
—0.6
-0.8
—1.2
—IJ
-l|3
—1.4
—1.3
—1.2
-11
-1,0
-0.3 '
—0.2
—0.1
—0,1
—0.1
—0.4
-0.4
—0.4
—0.3
—0,2
o;o
0.0
0.0
0.1
oo
—0.1
—0.3
-0,4
-°.?
-------
I
u>
'.O
1,0
-1.0
*
4
o
-i.0
-i.o
/
'
c)
*y
J L
1
QJ
0,*
0,2£'cal/es£ oin.
Fig. 2. Relationship of temperature gradients &t) to radiation balance (B) and wind velocity (ttg) in various landscape zones.
I - U2<2 a/sec; H - 02^2.1-4 a/sec; III - u2> m/sec
a) - conifer forest (0 Turukhansk, x Ost'-Vyn', + Skovorodino) b) - mixed forest (0 Pinsk, x Sobakino, + Hikolayevskoye)
-------
As was mentioned earlier, the graphs of Fig. 2 were plotted from
mean values of At at a given limit. However, a rather close relation-
ship between the temperature gradient and the radiation balance la also
obtained from Individual measurements. As an example, Fig. 3 illustrates
such a graph for the Solyanka station. It was plotted from mean decade
values of At for specific periods of various months (denoted by points)
and radiation balance values corresponding to them, and also from maximum
values of At 'for the same decade (denoted by crosses); observations for
May-September 1965 and 1966 at wind velocities from 2 to 4 m/sec were used.
The correlation coefficient was found to be 0.81. For other stations
(Borispol1, Ogurtsovo, Khomutovo) in this velocity range the correlation
coefficient is respectively equal to 0.63, 0.68, and 0.71, and for veloci-
ties above 4 m/sec, to 0.50, 0.70, and 0.77. The coefficients (a, b) in
regression equations of the type At • a+bB, obtained from these data for
stations of the steppe zone, were also found to be rather close, as shown
in Table 7.
B cal/cm^ min.
1,0 r'
0,5
x *
*
... *x
*•„» •
•X
X
x :
X
x* •
xV '
Table 7
Values of Coefficients a and
b in Regression Equations for
Wind Velocity of 2-4 m/sec for
Stations of the Steppe Zone.
Station
Khomutovo
Solyanka
Ogurtsovo
Borispol1
Gigant
Tselinograd
a
0,10
0,17
0,21
0,15
0,10
0,02
b
1.A7
1,80
1.40
1,08
1,34
2,25
-1
Fig. 3. Relationship of temp-
erature gradients (At) to radia-
tion balance (B) for Solyanka
station at wind velocity of 2-4
m/sec.
-------
In conclusion, we shall give a general characterization of possible
conditions of temperature stratification. We shall use for this purpose
the known parameter At/u£ (u. being the wind velocity at a level of 1 m
above the surface of the soil), calculated from mean monthly values for
the individual years. For July at 1 P.M. in the steppe and desert zones,
the average At/u2 is 0.10-0.15 (stations of Beki-Bent, Aydarly, Askaniya-
Nova, Gigant, Astrakhan", Khomutovo, Solyanka); these values are determ-
ined by the high values of the temperature gradients in these regions.
The same values of At/u^ are observed at the Beregovo and Skovorodino
stations located in the forest zone and having lower gradients and low
wind velocities. The highest mean value At/u* « 0.4 was observed in
Dushanbe, this being the result of the relatively high temperature gradi-
ents and a wind velocity not exceeding an average of 1.5 m/sec in July.
In the forest zone at 13 h in July, the average At/u? amounts to 0.03-
0.10.
At night, the parameter of the temperature stratification in absolute
value exceeds the daytime values, changes considerably with data of the
individual stations, and amounts to >0.5 for a majority of the regions;
at stations with high diurnal values of At/u|, the nighttime values amount
to <-1.0.
Literature Cited
I. PykoBOAciBo no rpaAiiciiTHUM HadjuaneminM K onpeA&neiuito COCTBBJIOIOIUHX reanoaoro
6ajiaiica. fiiApoMeTeoHSflaT, J]., 1964.
2. Jl a a o B c K H ft B. B. HexoTopue Aaxxbie o cucTeMaTHiecKux ouiiiflKax npu mMepeHiia
TCMnepaiypbi BO3Ayxa. Tpy.au ITO, sun. 112, 1963.
3. O r H e B a T. A. 0 norpeuiHocrsx onpeAenemin sarpar Ten;ia HB iicnapenue u Typfiy-
^eHTHoro noroKa renfla no AaHHUM Hafi^ioAeuHft Ha CCTH CTauuHH. TPVAU rrO;
sun. 174, 1965.
4. n p o K o (J) b e B a J\. M. XapaxTepucTHKa rpajuiexTa TeMneparypbi B npHSe.MHOM oioe
B03Ayxa no ABHHMM HSMepeHHii ua CCTH craumifi. TpyAU rrO, aun. 174. 1965.
5. reofioraHHsecKafl xapra CCCP. HOA pea. E. M. /laapeHKO H B. B. Coiaaa. USA. AH
CCCP. M.~^.. 1954.
6. EyAbiKO M. H. Ten^osoft 6a^aac seMHofl noaepXHOCTH. FHApOMereoHaAaT, Jl., 1956.
-------
EXPEDITIONARY STUDY OF THE POLLUTION OF THE
AIR RESERVOIR OF INDUSTRIAL CITIES
N. S. Burenin, B. B. Goroshko and B. N. P'yantsev
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. im. A. I. Voeykova, No. 234,
p. 100-108, (1968).
1. Organization of Observations Based on Collection of Air Samples
In order to conduct a successful drive for purity of atmospheric air in
cities and to adopt active measures for decreasing the emission of noxious
substances into the atmosphere, it is necessary to know the degree of pollu-
tion of the air reservoir of the city and the meteorological conditions
leading to the accumulation of impurities in the lower layer of the atmos-
phere.
To this end, an expedition with separate groups for studying the state
of pollution of an air reservoir under urban conditions was created by the
A. I. Voeykov Main Geophysical Observatory. The present paper presents the
main principles of the work of these groups and some of the results obtained.
In carrying out expeditionary studies it is necessary to consider that
the territory of cities may contain not only large enterprises that consti-
tute major sources of noxious discharges, but also many small enterprises
with relatively small discharges. The general background of atmospheric
pollution of a city is produced by the activity of all these sources.
According to the existing arrangement of industrial enterprises on their
territory, cities may be divided into two types. The program of investiga-
tions can be selected and conducted in accordance with the type of city*
The first type includes cities where the industry and hence the noxious
discharges are concentrated in some part of the city on a single industrial
site. In such cases, the direction of the plume from the complex of enter-
prises plays a major part in the pollution of the city districts. The pres-
ence of a small number of small sources scattered over the entire city will
create an additional, less substantial pollution. For this reason, in
studying atmospheric pollution in this case, it is first necessary to con-
centrate one's attention on determining the surface concentrations in the
zone of influence of the plume originating from the main industrial site at
various distances from its center. The concentration of ingredients that
are discharged by the industrial enterprises was determined.
The second type of cities is characterized by a more uniform arrange-
ment of major sources and a large number of minor ones, which make a great
contribution to the pollution of the atmosphere. In these cases, in order
-------
to obtain the main characteristics of pollution of the air reservoir of a city,
a network of points is organized for taking air samples in characteristic areas
equipped with special booths. This makes it possible to create representative
sampling points and to obtain reliable results. For a more detailed evaluation
of the field of concentrations, observations are made at points located along a
preselected route. An automobile specially equipped for taking samples moves
along this route. This makes it possible to increase substantially the number
of sampling points on the territory of the city, move rapidly the sampling
points to various areas of the city by changing the route of the automobile,
obtain additional information on the state of atmospheric pollution over the
entire area of the city, and to determine the degree of pollution of various
neighborhoods, and so forth. The selection of the route is determined by the
location of approach roads, residential sections, and pollution sources, by the
arrangement of stationary sampling points, and by the particular objective to
be reached as the result of the observations..
In studying air pollution, the problems of propagation of noxious impuri-
ties from various industrial sources are of major interest. To solve these
problems, the main sources of atmospheric pollution on the territory of, the city
studied are determined. Such sources include individual stacks or groups of
stacks of industrial or power plants, as well as random discharges of noxious
substances into the atmosphere reaching the latter from sources other than
stacks. In order to evaluate the contribution of each of the main sources to
the pollution of the city's air reservoir and determine the range of propaga-
tion of noxious impurities, the sampling is organized under the plumes to de-
termine the ingredients which are characteristic of these sources. The samples
are taken at different distances from the source (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 15
and 20 km). The number of distances and magnitude of the distance of the
sampling points from the source are determined up to the distances where the
plume is still detected. This in turn will be determined by the height and
capacity of the discharge and the meteorological conditions causing the propa-
gation and dispersal of the impurities. Inasmuch as large-size plumes fre-
quently spread beyond the city limits, the data taken under the plume will
permit an evaluation of the magnitude of expected concentrations in areas of
prospective construction of residential sections.
In order to cover the various meteorological conditions that are known to
have a strong influence on the propagation of impurities and to determine the
average daily variations of the concentrations, the sampling is carried out
along a grazing graph. [Ed. note: Kymograph]. According to the latter, a daily
alternation of morning and evening changes, which also include the daytime, is
obtained.
The sampling and their chemical analysis in laboratories were carried out
according to the recommendations of the A. 1% Voyeykov Main Geophysical Observa-
tory, whose principles are matched with the techniques of the Health Ministry
of the USSR [7], Samples to be analyzed for gaseous ingredients are usually
taken by means of U-shaped absorbers filled with an absorbing solution through
which the air is drawn at a certain rate by various types of stimulators. The
dust concentration is determined by a gravimetric method, the sample being
separated on filters made of FPP-15 cloth.
-------
In addition to the collection of samples of atmospheric air, many addi-
tional observations are made at meteorological and aerological stations, in-
cluding gradient observations, and an additional release of a surface radio-
sonde. Data of gradient observations are used to calculate an important
characteristic such as the coefficient of turbulent exchange, and the radio
sounding makes it possible to obtain the distribution of the meteorological
elements in height. The air temperature and humidity and the wind velocity
and direction at a single level are measured at the points of sampling.
These data are necessary for the study of the microclimatic characteristics
of the city, whose influence on the field of concentrations should be con-
siderable.
Of great importance for the analysis of the field of concentration is
the knowledge of the characteristics of discharges of industrial enterprises
and allowance for the operation of purifying installations. For this reason,
data on discharges at the main industrial facilities of the city are constant-
ly being corrected.
2. Preliminary Analysis of Observational Results.,
The establishment of relationships between the pollution of a city's
atmosphere and the change of the meteorological elements, the arrangement of
pollution sources and other factors determining the magnitude of surface con-
centrations is relatively difficult, since many of these factors are variable.
However, in the presence of a large number of observations, the statistical
method makes it possible to obtain a series of relationships. We shall con-
sider the data for mean monthly concentrations of phenol for four months rep-
resenting different seasons. These data were obtained from regular observa-
tions at points located in characteristic areas of one of the cities. Fig. 1
shows a diagram of this city, indicating the boundaries of the residential
area and the location of the points of sampling. The same figure shows lines
of equal concentrations based on data of average monthly values of phenol
concentrations for February (a), April (b), June (c), and November (d). The
figure clearly shows the area of maximum air pollution, located in the
northern part of the city, with its center at the main source of discharge of
phenols. In all seasons of the year, a slower decrease of the concentrations
in the direction southeast of the center of the city than in the other direc-
tions is observed. In this part of the city, there are no additional major
sources of discharges, but a heavy flow of automobile traffic is observed,
and the narrow streets of the old part of the city promote the accumulation
of noxious substances. Fig. 1 also indicates a change of average monthly
concentrations from one season to the next. The lowest phenol concentrations
were observed in autumn, in November, when the concentrations on the whole
were considerably lower over the entire territory of the city than in the re-
maining seasons. The average maximum monthly concentrations are observed in
spring. The data show that the air reservoir over the entire territory of
the city is heavily contaminated with phenols, particularly its northern part,
i.e., the area of new construction.
-------
In the study of pollution of the environment, considerable attention is
given by Soviet [7, etc. ) and foreign authors to the analysis of the daily
and annual distribution of pollutants in the atmosphere. It is well known
that these distributions depend on the synoptic and meteorological conditions
and also on the conditions of operation of pollution sources such as indus-
trial enterprises, automobile transportation, the heating system, etc. When
a plot is made for the curves of the annual variation of mean monthly phenol
concentrations in April and September, based on observational data at two
points of the city, a distinct daily variation is observed with a concen-
tration maximum in the morning and evening and a minimum at 1-2 P.M. We
plotted the distribution curves of sulfur dioxide for September and October
based on the data of two cities. The shape of the curves is similar. The
marked decrease of surface concentrations of phenol and sulfur dioxide dur-
ing the day is probably caused by meteorological conditions, since discharges
into the atmosphere should not increase during this period.
a)
Fig. 1. Distribution of phenol concentrations over the city in various
months of the year: February (a), April (b), June (o).
November (d).
1 - boundary of residential section of city, 2 - points of collection of
air samples, 3 - lines of equal phenol concentrations (ng/m').
-------
The daily variation of mean monthly concentrations of sulfur dioxide for
a summer month (July) in the interval from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M. shows slight fluc-
tuations with a maximum, on the contrary, during daytime hours. The increase
of the mean concentration (by 0.01-0.04 mg/m3) in the daytime is explained by
the fact that, as was shown by several authors [1, 2, 6, 9], under convective
conditions the concentrations in the zone of influence of high sources in-
crease, i. e., the daytime maximum in summer is explained by the influence of
pollution from high sources.
In the daily variation of mean monthly concentrations of phenol and
sulfur dioxide for the winter period (February), a decrease of the concen-
trations is observed from morning hours to daytime, end these concentrations
reach their maximum values at 4-5 P.M., then decrease again by 9 P.M. The
increase of concentrations before sunset is probably due to a decrease of
turbulent mixing, and a further decrease occurs as a result of reduction in
the discharge of pollution from minor sources into the atmosphere.
In summary, it may be stated that the daily variation of concentrations
in the city substantially depends on the change of meteorological elements,
which in turn depend on the time of day and the synoptic conditions. A draw-
back of the results obtained is the fact that no observational data are
available for nighttime concentrations.
Fig. 2 shows the annual variation of mean monthly concentrations for
different ingredients calculated from observational data at 12 points of
sampling, during the period from September 1966 to September 1967 for two
cities (a and b). The curves have a complex shape. However, there is a
distinct minimum of all the ingredients during the autumn period and in
December 1966. This is probably due to the self-purification of the atmos-
phere during the autumn period as a result of frequent precipitation, which
washes the pollutants out of the atmosphere. Fig. 2 also gives a plot of
the mean monthly wind velocity. The annual variation of the mean monthly
wind velocity agrees relatively well with the concentration change. As the
average wind velocity increases, the degree of air pollution decreases.
3. Single Episodic Survey of the Air Pollution of a City Resevoir.
In addition to stationary-type experimental studies, it is of interest
to make an episodic survey of individual cities. The chief objective of such
work was to determine the degree of pollution of the city's atmosphere for a
relatively short period and to solve a number of problems pertaining to
methods. One of such surveys was made in the summer of 1967 in a large
industrial city in the south of the Ukraine. The start of the work was pre-
ceded by a study of the location of the sources of pollution relative to the
residential areas of the city, which stretches out over a distance of tens
of kilometers from the northeast to the southwest. A large number of major
and minor sources were found to be located within the city outline and on
its borders. '
-------
Phenol q
0.01 -0.1
S02 q ns/m3
A
^N /
\\/
I
I
I
Jf/ )f// / // /// IV
VI Mil VIII IX X
Fig. 2. Annual variation of impurity concentrations in two cities (a and b).
1 - sulfur dioxide, 2 - carbon monoxide, 3 - phenol, 4 - mean monthly
wind velocity. <•
A detailed familiarization with the parameters of discharges of the
city's industrial enterprises showed that the greatest discharges occur at
one of the industrial sites, containing a metallurgical plant with blast-
furnace, open-hearth furnace and rolling sections, and coking, sintering,
and cement plants. Southwest of this industrial site at distances of 4.5
and 8 km are located two ore-dressing complexes which also contribute
substantially to the atmospheric pollution.
-------
After the analysis of the arrangement of the sources and quantities of
discharged pollutants, a program of experimental observations was worked out
to determine the degree of pollution of the city's atmosphere. The program
included a study of the background pollution of the atmosphere caused by the
large number of sources scattered over the entire city, and also a study of
the spreading of pollutants from the main sources located on the site, and
measurement of meteorological quantities: air temperature and humidity at
heights of 0.5 and 1.5 m, wind velocity at heights of 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0
and 4 m. Release of a surface A-58 radiosonde made it possible to obtain
the distribution of the values of meteorological elements in height in the
boundary layer.
A combined analysis of the annual wind rose for the given area and of
the arrangement of the main sources shows that the latter are stretched out
along the line of the direction of the prevailing wind,.i.e., the individual
plumes of the main sources are frequently superimposed. Maximum surface
concentrations are observed in this case, since to the general pollution
background of the city are added the discharges from main sources, whose
common plume is directed toward the southeastern part of the city. As a
result of a study of the distribution of the ground concentrations in the
zone of influence of the plume, carried out in accordance with a technique
described in [5], a concentration field was obtained at different distances
from the source under certain meteorological conditions, and the zone of
maximum and unsafe contaminations was determined.
During the period of the survey, samples for analysis of sulfur
dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and dust were taken at different
distances from the source at a height of 1.5 m from the earth's surface.
The number of samples taken according to the ingredients is shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Name of ingredient
Sulfur dioxide
Nitrogen oxides
Carbon monoxide
Dust
Number of collected samples
Under plumes of sources
301
307
123
240
In city
330
343
146
163
The distribution of maximum concentrations of sulfur dioxide, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and dust shows that the concentrations of the
main ingredients in the zone of influence of the plume exceed severalfold
maximum permissible norms within a radius of 15 km from the source. "As is
evident from Fig. 3, the curves have several maxima, i.e., the magnitude of
impurities near the ground was determined by discharges of pollutants from
a complex of enterprises located on a single industrial site (metallurgical
-------
and coking plants, sintering plant), which gave the first maximum at a dis-
tance of 2-3 km. The second and third maxima were located at distances of
5-6 and 11-12 km, respectively, and are determined by discharges of ore-
dressing complexes whose industrial sites are located at distances of 4.5 and
8 km from the metallurgical complex. The air pollution increases with the
distance from the source, as it passes over the other sources. Even at a
distance of 15 km from the first source, the concentrations are higher than
the background in the city.
Fig. 3 shows the distribution of sulfur dioxide concentrations with the
distance from the source for two gradations of wind velocity from 0 to 4 and
over 4 m/sec. The wind was measured at a weather station at a height of 2 m
from the earth's surface. Earlier it was shown [6] that the minimum sulfur
dioxide concentrations in the zone of the plume of a single high source lo-
cated outside the city limits were observed at wind velocities up to 2 m/sec,
and the maximum ones, at velocities above 3 m/sec. As is evident from Fig. 3,
the concentration field formed under the plumes of the sources in the city is
inversely proportional to the wind velocity. The maximum sulfur dioxide con-
centrations near the ground are observed at wind velocities up to 4 m/sec.
As the wind velocity increases, the surface concentrations decrease appreciably.
Thus, in the distribution of impurity concentrations arriving from high sources,
reinforcement of turbulent mixing takes place with increasing wind velocity in
the city, resulting, on the one hand, in the elimination of stagnant zones, and
on the other hand, in a more vigorous transport of impurities from the plume to
the lower layer of the atmosphere. In this case, the first factor predomi-
nates over the second, and the atmosphere of the city becomes cleaner as a
result of a more extensive aeration of the residential sections.
Having obtained the distribution of maximum concentrations from the main
sources and for the mutual superposition of their plumes, one can evaluate the
degree of the air pollution of other areas of the city when the plume is di-
rected toward these areas. Of interest in this connection is the pollution
background, produced by the action of minor pollution sources and automobile
traffic.
In order to obtain the magnitude of background air pollution in the city,
four main residential areas were selected, and in each area, four character-
istic points for the given area. The sampling was made for sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and dust during morning, daytime, and even-
ing hours. Results of treatment of the data are presented in Table 2.
The data of Table 2 show that the background pollution is relatively
high. The city's atmosphere is heavily polluted with carbon monoxide and
dust, and to a lesser degree with sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. In the
fourth area, concentrations above MFC were observed in all of the samples
taken for analysis of carbon monoxide. This may be explained by the fact that,
first, a heavy automobile traffic exists in this area, and second, that during'
the period of sampling, an air current was directed toward this district from
the territory where a large number of mine pits are located.
-------
1 km
Fig. 3. Distribution of sulfur dioxide concentrations as
a function of distances from sources at different
wind velocities.
1 - from 0 to k m/seo, 2 - above 4 m/seo.
Table 2
Concentrations, ng/nr
No. o
Area
1
2
3
4
NO.
Of
Point
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Carbon Monoxide
66
101
72
54
62
89
73
. 73
54
51
25
43
46
41
49
36
27
24
19
26
27
26
18
23
23
25
26
21
24 '
22
20
18
Dust
2,38
2.06
1,17
2.25
1,53
1,06
2,21
1.31
1.71
1.43
1,7
1.42
1.84
1.14
1.15
1,76
u
0,64
0,90
0,61
1,23
0.61
0,63
0,65
0,64
0,68
0,77
0,51
0,52
0,92
0.69
0.52
0,96
Sulfur Dioxide
1,1
1,3
0,75
0,51
0,92
0,95
0,92
0.85
0,69
0,41
0,39
0,64
0,85
0,84
0.83
0,85
0,3
0,27
0,25
0,25
0.36
0,32
0,35
0,26
0.22
0.22
0.25
0.26
0,42
0.54
0,75
0.35
Nitrogen Oxides
1,1
0,37
0,4 •
0,33
0.33
0.34
0,40
0,45
0,09
0.17
0,27
0,15
0,25
0,71
0,28
0,30
Ikon
0.27
0,16
0.14
0,13
0.11
0.09
0.13
0.10
0.05
0,07
0,1
0.07
0,26
0,16
0.1
0,1
-------
From the standpoint of atmospheric pollution with dust, one can separate
the first area, where maximum concentrations were observed (up to 2.4 mg/m3),
and the frequency of concentrations above MFC was higher than in other areas.
This is due to the fact that open-cut mines are located around the first area,
and large areas are occupied by ash heaps.
During the survey, the program of sampling near the ground was supplement-
ed with sampling from a helicopter at certain heights above the city and in the
plumes of the main sources. Preliminary results of the treatment of these data
are given in [4].
LITERATURE CITED
1. BepJiniiA M. E., P c u u x o B n iiKamiii.
TpyAU FTO, nun. 158, 1964.
3. B ii e p B. Texmi'iecKan Mereopojioriiji. PiiApoMeieoHaAaT, Jl., 1966.
4. T o p o uj K o B. B., 3 a ft u e B A. C., H a 3 a p u H K o B. H. MeroAHKa H HeKOTOpue pe-
3y.ii.TaTU nccjieAOBaHiin sarpusneima aTMOc(J)epu c noMomwo aepTOAera. CM.
iiaci. co.
5. TopoiuKo B. B. nocTHHOiiKa SKCiiepiiMeiiTa.ibiibix paSor no nsyieiiuK) pacnpocrpa-
iiciinfl Bpe;;iibix npuMeceii 113 ipyfi MOIIUIBIX BUCOKHX ncromiiiKOB. CM. iiacr. c6.
6. F o p o in K o B. B. HeKOTopue ocoCeiniocTH pacnpocrpaHeHiia apefliiux nptiMeceft or
UblCOKIIX IICTOMHHKOB B 3HBI1CHMOCTK OT CHIIOnTHKO-MeTeOpOAOrilMeCKHX dlSKTOpOB.
TpyAbi rrO. Hbin. 207, 1968.
7. C o n b K ii n .'I. P., Paa6eraeBa E. A., Tcpexosa K. M. K aonpocy o MeTcopo-
^oni'iocKoii oOycflOBJemiocTH :)arpfl3Heiiim oo.iAyxa IOA ropOAHMii. TpyAH ITO.
Bi,in. 185, 196(3.
8. MucTpyKTiiBiio-MeTOAHiecKHe VKanamin no opraiiHsauHit HCCfleAoeaHHH aarpnaneHHH
aT.MOC(J)epiioro sosAy.xa n iisyMeiiHsi BAIISIIIIJI aiMocdiepHbix 3arpn3neHiiH na sao-
poBbe n caiiHTapHO-rnrHenn'iecKHe yc^oBHH WKSHH. MeAfHS, M., 1963.
9. Bpe.MeHHan meroAHKa pacieiOB pacceiiaaHnsi B atMOccpepe Bbi6pocoa (3o;iu n cepim-
cibix raaoa) us AUMOBUX Tp>6 a^t'KTpociaHUHfl. TpyAW rPO, sun. 172, 1965.
-------
ORGANIZATION OF EXPERIMENTS FOR STUDYING
THE PROPAGATION OF NOXIOUS IMPURITIES FROM LARGE SOURCES
B. B. Goroshko
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. im. A. I. Voeykova, No. 234,
p. 109-115, (1968).
1. Introduction
At the present time, considerable experience has been accumulated in
organizing experimental studies of propagation of noxious impurities from
large single sources as a function of the meteorological conditions. The
data obtained are of major importance for checking the methods of calcula-
tion of dispersal of impurities in the atmosphere, for establishing the
patterns of their propagation as a function of the meteorological condi-
tions, for the further development of studies of propagation of impuri-
ties from platform sources, and for studying the problems of pollution of
air reservoirs of heavily industrialized cities.
The object of the present paper is to generalize the experience gained
from a broad range of expeditionary work in a region of large sources of
atmospheric pollution, carried out in the past few years by the A. I. Voyey-
kov Main Geophysical Observatory with the participation of the F. F. Erisman
Moscow Scientific Research Institute of Hygiene, the Southern Trust for the
Organization and Efficiency of Electric Power Plants, and others. The gen-
eral program of work includes meteorological ground observations, determin-
ation of parameters of the plume, selection of air samples under the plume
of the source by analysis of ingredients that are discharged into the atmos-
phere, and determination of the characteristics of the discharge.
2. Meteorological Observations
In the atmosphere, an impurity is subjected to the influence of
meteorological factors. A theoretical study [1-3, 13] and processing of
the experimental material [10] have shown that the magnitude of surface
concentrations strongly depends on the distribution of the meteorological
elements in the boundary layer of the atmosphere. For this reason, during
expeditionary work aimed at determining the concentration field near the
ground in the zone of influence of the plume of a large source, it is nec-
essary to organize a broad range of meteorological observations. The lat-
ter may be divided into two types: ground observations - up to a height of
15-17 m, and aerological observations - up to heights of 500-1000 m. The
program of measurement of meteorological characteristics near the ground
should include the determination of the wind velocity, temperature and air
humidity up to a height of 17 m, and wind direction and balance observa-
tions [9]. The necessity of detailed measurement of the meteorological
-------
elements in the ground layer IB because of the fact that they are, sub-
jected to the greatest changes In both height .404 tti«e. Theae data make
It possible to obtain the values of the exchange coefficient near the
ground end then, by using a aeries of, models, to extend it io greater
heights.
Fig. 1. Measurement of the profile of wind velocity
and air temperature and humidity up to a
height of 17 m OB telescopic Bests.
.»
In order to obtain the wind profile in heights, the velocity ia meas-
ured with contact anemometers, with recording by means of electromagnetic
counters. The anemometers are placed at the following heights from the sur-
face of the ground: 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, '2.0 and approximately 5, 10, 12 and 17 m.
Starting at the 5 m level, the anemometers are mounted on brackets (80 cm long)
of a telescopic mast (Fig. 1). The whole circuit is supplied with 6-8 volt
dry batteries. This method of recording the wi«d velocity is one of the sim-
plest and most reliable. It permits an automatic averaging of the wind veloc-
ity over the required time and the taking of remote measurements. Usually,
the wind velocity is averaged over a 20-winut* interval snd this Is followed
by averaging over 1 hour.
- 51 -
-------
The air temperature and humidity are determined at heights of 0.2,
0.5 and 2 m by means of Ass man psych rometers, which are mounted In a hori-
zontal position. At higher levels (5, 10 and 17 m), the temperature and
humidity of the air are measured by means of resistance thermometers. The
design of the thermometers used is such that a 0.1°C. temperature change
in the ambient medium leads to a 0.1 ohm change in the resistance of the
gauge, which is measured with a Wheatstone bridge. Radiation shielding of
the thermometer is provided by placing the gauge in the housing of the
Assraan psychrometer, and ventilation is achieved by means of an electric
motor. On a single level, two resistance thermometers are installed, one
of which is wetted with distilled water from a special small tank welded
to the frame of the psychrometer. The telescopic mast with the resistance
thermometers is lowered once a day to fill the tanks with water.
In such studies, telescopic masts are quite convenient, since they
are compact in the telescoped form and easy to transport. When the gauge
goes out of adjustment, the mast can be lowered easily, permitting a rapid
elimination of malfunctions. Balance observations are made according to
a standard procedure: the radiation balance of the underlying surface,
direct solar radiation on the perpendicular surface, reflected short wave,
scattered and total radiation and also the albedo and effective ground
radiation are measured. Balansometers, actinometers and albedometers are
used in the measurements. Evaporation from the soil is measured by means
of small evaporators, and the temperature is measured at depths of 2, 5,
15, and 20 cm.
According to [3], the stability of the wind direction has a considera-
ble influence on the scattering of impurities in the atmosphere. For this
reason, a continuous recording of the wind direction is made by means of
M-12, M-45 or M-64 anemorhumbographs.
During the work of the expedition, the meteorological elements, in-
cluding those which are determined visually such as cloud cover, visi-
bility, atmospheric phenomena and plume shape, are under observation day
and night: during the day for 1 hour, at night for 3 hours, and during
the sampling, every hour.
As a rule, the discharge of noxious substances from large sources
takes place at a great height (100 m and higher). Moreover, the consider-
able rate of ejection of gases from the stacks and (for hot sources) the
large difference between the temperature of the gas and that of the sur-
rounding air cause, under certain conditions, an effective ascent of the
plume, whose height may reach 1000 m, and in some cases even higher, and
it is only after this ascent that the noxious substances begin to descend
and reach the ground. In such cases, a substantial layer of the atmosphere
participates in the dispersal of the impurity, and the corresponding meteor-
ological conditions in this layer substantially affect the magnitude of the
ground concentrations. It is important, therefore, to know the magnitudes
of the aerological characteristics. Their determination involves the use
of methods of aerostatic and airplane-helicopter sounding of the atmosphere
in the region of the source and reference pilot balloon observations of
the wind velocity and direction. As a result, the distribution of temper a-
-------
•*•
V
ture, humidity, wind velocity, structural characteristics of the wind,
and a number of other characteristics from which the turbulence coeffic-
ient is calculated are determined. For atmospheric sounding up to a
height of 500 m, a 125 n»3 MAZ-1 captive balloon is employed. To the
cable of the aerostat is attached a mechanical aerostatic meteorograph
that ascends every hour during the sampling period, measuring the pressure
with an average error of *5 rab, the temperature with an average error of
±0.2°, the humidity with.an average error of *1.4%, the wind velocity with
an error of *0.5 m/sec, and gustiness in the horizontal plane at levels of
25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400 and 500 m. Between the ascents of the main
meteorograph, an instrument for measuring the average velocity and for de-
termining the structural characteristics of the wind ascends with the plat-
forms to levels of 100, 200 and 300 m. For sounding the atmosphere to a
height of 1000 m, use is made of a helicopter (Mi-1) or airplane (YaK-12,
AN-2) , which is equipped with an electrometeorograph with gauges for pres-
sure, humidity, temperature, fluctuations of temperature and overloads, and
also, for duplication purposes, a mechanical meteorograph with pressure,
temperature, and humidity gauges. A detailed description of the instruments
and technique of aerological observations is given in [5-7].
In order to consider the dispersal of impurities, it is very important
to know the shape of the plume and its dimensions, which are determined by
means of a helicopter or airplane flying through the plume at a known veloc-
ity, at various distances from the source, the flight time being recorded
with a stopwatch. The distance of the visible zone of propagation of the
plume from the source is determined in the same manner. Photographing of
the plume from a point located at a distance of 2-3 km from the plume along
a straight line perpendicular to the latter yields additional data on the
parameters of the plume, whose dimensions and shape depend on the distribu-
tion of the values of the meteorological elements In height. Photographs
are taken every 15 min and also In cases where the shape of the plume
changes sharply. The plume parameters thus obtained make It possible to
calculate, by means of a procedure worked out by M. Ye. Berlyand [4], the
coefficient of turbulent exchange [11] and the effective height of the plume
[8], making use of the fact that the scale of the stacks, that are always
found on the photographs, is known.
3. Collection of Samples in the Zone of Propagation
of the Plume of a Large Source
The determination of ground concentrations at man's breathing level
(1.5 m) In the zone of influence of the plume of the enterprise being studied
is made In two steps: collection of samples and their analysis in the chemi-
cal laboratory by existing techniques. In cases where small volumes can be
used, the sampling is carried out in small containers (flasks, gas pipets,
etc.). As a rule, substances in the gaseous and vapor phase are collected
in liquid media, where they are dissolved or combined chemically, i.e.,
suction methods of collection are chiefly used, based on the drawing of a
known volume of gas through an absorbing medium.
-------
When thermal power stations operate in the zone of the plume, where
the main noxious Ingredients are sulfur dioxide and dust, the sampling is
carried out by means of v-shaped absorbers with porous plate No. 1 (for
taking samples to be analyzed for sulfur dioxide) and filters of FPP-15
fabric (for taking samples to be analyzed for dust). For drawing air
through absorbers or filters, depending on the volume of collected air re-
quired, use is made of suction tanks, OK-1 aspirators, automobile aspira-
tors, etc. according to the techniques of [14].
The sampling is carried out under a plume in accordance with a prede-
termined program and simultaneously with an extensive group of meteorologi-
cal measurements and with the determination of the characteristics of the
discharges. The samples are taken simultaneously under the plume at approx-
imately 20 points, at three to five and sometimes more distances (Fig. 2).
At each distance, from two to five collecting points are established perpen-
dicular to the plume at a distance of 50-400 m from each other depending
on the width of the plume. Gradually the distances change, beginning with
500 m from the source, and on up to 15-20 km. The sampling lasts 20 min.
The spacing of the points is carried out under the plume, and is arranged
according to its physical position. The distance from the source la de-
termined by comparing the location of the sampling point with a map of the
area, or by means of telemeters (clinometer, binoculars) or from readings
of an automobile speedometer when there Is a straight road along the direc-
tion of the plume. When there is no visible plume, the spacing of the
sampling points is made by considering the odor of a specific ingredient
discharged by the source and by using the direction of visible plumes of
the nearest sources, with ejection at the same height.
0,5
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of the spacing of air sampling
points under the plume of a source.
In order to elucidate the influence of the daily variation of meteoro-
logical elements on the dispersal of impurities, the sampling is set up at
different times of day: in the morning, in the presence of slight convect-
ive exchange; during the day, during the period of maximum turbulent ex-
change; and in the evening, when the turbulent exchange has been attenuated.
The influence of seasonal changes of meteorological elements is brought out
by organizing the studies in various seasons of the year, and the climatic
changes are brought out in various climatic zones.
-------
4. Determination of the Characteristics of a Discharge
In [3] and [14], the magnitude of ground concentrations is expressed
by the following formula:
AMf-'m
cm ~~~ T~-^- '
/A! / V\T
where A is a coefficient dependent on the temperature stratification of
the atmosphere, which determines the conditions of the vertical and hori-
zontal dispersal of the impurity in air, M is the amount of noxious substan-
ces discharged into the atmosphere, H is the stack height, V is the volume
of the gas-air mixture discharged, AT is the difference between the tempera-
ture of the escaping gases and the air temperature, F is a dimensionless
coefficient allowing for the rate of deposition of the noxious substances,
and M is a dimensionless coefficient allowing for the conditions of ejection
of the gas-air mixture from the mouth of the discharging source.
It is apparent from the formula that the magnitude of the surface con-
centration observed in the zone of the plume of the source is affected by
several variable quantities that change with the conditions of operation of
the plant. They are determined directly at the plant under study.
To determine the total volume of escaping gases, measurements are made
in gas conduits behind the filters, the gas conduit having first been cali-
brated. A Prandtl tube is used to determine the dynamic head, and the mean
velocity is calculated, by means of the formula
V ± f>e
Wav.=4.37 kc Yc m/sec.
where k is the calibrated coefficient, h is the dynamic head (mm 1^0) and
YG is the specific weight of the flue gases under the operating conditions
(kg/n>3) .
Knowing Wflv, one can calculate the total volume of escaping gases
Q = 3600FWav m3/hr
where F is the cross-sectional area of the gas conduit (m^).
The determination of the amount of noxious substances discharged into
the atmosphere is made behind the filters. For example, dust samples are
taken by means of a special dust-collecting probe, and the total volume of
the dust discharged is calculated from the formula
where qQ is the weight of ash trapped by the dust-collecting probe (g),
F is the cross-sectional area of the gas conduit (m^), z is the duration of
the sampling in minutes, and D is the mouth diameter of the dust-collecting
probe (m).
-------
The collected dust samples are analyzed for their fractional composi-
tion by the air classification method.
The temperature of the escaping gases is measured in the gas conduits
behind the filters.
In order to determine how closely the actual situation is reflected
by the samples of gases collected behind the filters in the gas conduits,
the data obtained are checked by collecting samples of fuel and analyzing
it chemically for the content of ash and sulfur, considering the amount of
fuel burned; then taking the efficiency of the purifying equipment into
account, the amount of noxious substances discharged into the atmosphere
per unit time is calculated. Thus, for example, the amount of sulfur diox-
ide discharged is calculated from the formula
where MgQ.-, is the amount of sulfur dioxide discharged from the stack
(g/sec), B is the consumption of fuel (t/hr), SP is the sulfur content of
the fuel (%), Uso? *-8 t*le molecular weight of sulfur dioxide, and y§ is the
molecular weight of sulfur.
Carrying out the appropriate calculations, one can reduce the formula
to the form
/I/so, = 5,56 £5".
The amount of ash discharged is determined from the formula
_ _ . -
3600 TOT 100 100
i _2/il
8?" 100 J '
where M ^ is the amount of ash discharged (g/sec.), B is the fuel consump-
tion (t/hr), nash is tne efficiency of the purifying equipment, qn is the
heat loss due to the mechanical incompleteness of combustion, AP is the ash
content of the fuel (%), and aesc is the fraction of fuel ash which escapes
with the gases into the gas conduits.
-------
Literature Cited
1. B c p n n u ;i M. E., O n n K y .1 P. H., F e n n x o H 11 'i E. JI., J\ o >K K n 11 a B. FI. 0 33-
rpiDiieiiiiii aTMOcijiepbi iipr,,\ii,iiiiJiciinuMii ubifipocaMii npu atioMaJibiiux ycJiouimx
CTpaTHcpiixaiimi- Mereopofloniii H niApojionin, Ns 6, 19C3.
2. B e p n si a A M. E., F e H n x o n u M E. JI., .n o >i< K n n a B. H, 0 11 n K y ji P. H. Hue-
.'lemioe iicc.'ie.iOBaiine arMocipepHoii Aiujupyaim npii iiopMa-nbiibix u aiio.\iajibiibix
yc^oaiinx cTparmpHKauiiH. TpyAW FFO, BWII. 158, 1064.
3. Be p.in 11 A M. E., fen n x OP u M E. JI., Ouii'Kyji P. H. O pac'ierc aarpn:iiieiuiii
aTMocdjcpw BwCpocaMii us AUMOBbix ipyO sflCKTpocTanniiii. TpyAU ITO, awn. 153,
1964.
4. B e p Ji n 11 ;i A\. E. OiipeACJiuiiim Ku^i|u|)iiiuiciiTa TypCy.TciiTiioro oC.MCiia no o'teptaumo
Abisia OT npoMbiiu/ieHiibix rpyd. A\cTC!Opo »Ji o B a T. A., P n x •
T e p B. B. Peay.ibtaTui SKCiiepiiMcirra.ibiiux ncc;iCAOBani[H aarpnaneuiisi ar.MOCipcpu
B pafioiie Mo^/iaaCKOii TP3C. TpyAU FTO, aun. 207, 1968.
9. To pom KO B. B., F p a li e u a B. II, Pacropryeua F. FI., Pnxrep B. B.,
OoAOpOBa F. A. MeTCOpojioiii'ict'Kiie naojiioAeiiiisi iipn iiccflCAonaiiiiii npoMuiu-
^oiiiiux 3arpn:iiiciiuii npiuiOMiioro CJIOH BO.'inyxa. '!'••• M FFO, nun. 138, l'JG3.
10. FopoiuKO B. B. HeKOTOpbie ocoficimocTH pacnpeAOJU-ii.in BpeAiiwx npiiMcceii or 111.1-
COKHX IICTO'IIIMKOB B :iailllCHMOeTll OT CIIHOnTIIKO-MeTCOpOjlOril'ieCKHX
Tpyjibi FFO, nun. 207, 1968.
11. EjiiiceeB B. C. K aonpocy o ropnaoiiTa^LHOM pacceuaaHiiii npiinecu B
TpyAU ITO, Bbin. 172, 1965.
12. Piixiep B. B., FH Jib AC HCKHOfl i, A P. C. PacnpeAe/iemie np'iiacMHbix KOHnenr:u-
unii cepiiucToro rasa H so^u B soiie Ten^OBoii sJieircpocTaHumi. TpyAbi FFO, uun.
158, 1964.
13. VKa-iainifl no pacieiy pacceiisaHmi u arMocipepe apeAiiux BeuiecTD (nujiii H cepii;:-
cioro raaa), coAepwamiixcn B auOpocax npOMuiujieHHNX npeAnpiiaiHil. (CH-36fJ-67).
FiiApOMc-rcoH-JAaT, JI., 1967.
14. HHCtpyKTHBHo-MeTOAHHecKHe yxasamiH no opraHHsauHii
aTMocij)epnoro aosAyxa. MeAnu, 1963.
-------
DETERMINATION OF THE AIR POLLUTION POTENTIAL
E. Yu. Bezuglaya
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. im. A. I. Voeykova, No. 234,
p. 69-79, (1968).
1. State of the Problem
The level of air pollution is determined by discharges from vari-
ous sources and by the nature of their dispersal in the atmosphere.
To evaluate possible air pollution for given discharge parameters, the
concept of "air pollution potential", referring to the ability of the
atmosphere to scatter impurities, is used in many countries. It is a
function of the meteorological and topographic parameters and thus, for
a given locality or district, may be evaluated from data on the relief
and on the expected meteorological conditions.
The air pollution potential from a meteorological standpoint may
be defined as a combination of weather factors determining the level
of possible air pollution. Its changes take place under the influence
of turbulent motions, particularly changes in the vertical thermal sta-
bility, velocity and direction of the wind, and a whole series of other
meteorological parameters.
A frequent combination of meteorological conditions unfavorable to
the dispersal of impurities indicates a high air pollution potential in
the given region. A low air pollution potential takes place in regions
where meteorological conditions favorable to the dispersal of discharges
are frequent.
Thus, the degree of air pollution for the same amount of discharges
may differ appreciably depending on the climatic characteristics of the
various geographical regions. An evaluation of the air pollution poten-
tial based on climatic and aeroclimatic data is an important character-
istic that must be considered in planning urban industrial construction
and development.
Systematic studies of the climatology of the air pollution potential
and its prediction are being carried out abroad. The first part of the
present paper will consider certain conclusions drawn from this work,
and then results of an analysis of the air pollution potential on the
territory of the USSR will be given.
American researchers assume that weak winds and a stable state of
the atmosphere may serve as the basis for predicting unsafe pollution
conditions. They have worked out an experimental program for determining
the air pollution potential for forecasting purposes. Prediction based
on this program was conducted during the period 1957-1959. By a high
-------
air pollution potential was meant a combination of the following condi-
tions:
1) velocity of ground winds, less than 4 tn/sec}
2) velocity of winds at the level of the 500 mb surface, less
than 12 m/sec; „
3) descending motions of air, below the 600 mb surface;
4) duration of such conditions, about 36 hours.
Six periods of high potential during the indicated two years were
accompanied by a high level of air pollution in many.U.S. cities simul-
taneously [8].
A recent study of meteorological conditions promoting a high air
pollution has established that they are observed in quasi-stationary
anticyclones [10].
Since 1960, predictions of the air pollution potential over the
entire territory of the U.S.A. have been made in Cincinnati. In the last
few years, several different forecasting methods have been developed. In
some cases, the air pollution potential is determined from data on the
height of the base of revised temperature inversions and the average wind
speed in the layer from the ground to the base of the inversions [15].
Data on temperature inversions may serve as a good indicator of the limi-
tation of dispersal of impurities in height, but, in the absence of these
data, another criterion is necessary, which could be used to evaluate
the vertical thickness of the layer where mixing of the discharges takes
place. Holzworth [11] has introduced the concept of "maximum mixing
height", which enables one to evaluate the thickness of the layer with
the greatest vertical dispersal in the course of 24 hours. The maximum
mixing height is assumed to depend solely on the surface temperature
maximum for 24 hours and on the vertical thermal stratification of the
layer. Its value characterizes the thickness of the convection layer in
which vertical mixing of the impurity takes place. It is determined from
data of radio sounding of the atmosphere as the level of intersection of
a dry adiabat drawn from the temperature maximum on the ground, with a
vertical temperature profile.
In the western part of the U.S.A., air stagnation has been forecast
as follows. Analysis of synoptic conditions showed regions where a high
pressure area was located near the ground, and a warm nucleus or crest
was located at the heights, indicating that the surface pressure system
would move relatively slowly. Further, for the next 24 hours, the condi-
tions of vertical thermal stability of the atmosphere and horizontal
transport in two layers of the troposphere were calculated. The first
layer is located below 1000 m, and the second, between 1000 and 6000 m.
The product of afternoon mixing height times the mean velocity of the
wind from the surface of the ground to a height of 1000 m is found for
the first layer. For the second layer, radio sounding results were used
-------
to find the thickness of the layer (located above 1000 m) In which the
potential temperature changed by 5°, then the product of this thickness
times the mean velocity in the layer from 1 to 6 km was obtained. The
sum of the products of the first and second layer was taken as the air
pollution potential. The experiment performed established that if this
sum was equal to 20 or less, a high level of air pollution could be ex-
pected. Thus, by using data of aerological measurements, the air pollu-
tion potential was calculated, and regions with its unsafe values were
identified [17].
Forecasts of high pollution potential are also prepared from data
on the maximum mixing height and wind velocity [18]. Recently, instead
of the maximum mixing height, which is difficult to predict, use has
been made of parameters that are more convenient for forecasting and are
related to the thickness of the mixing layer, for example, the difference
of the ground maximum of potential temperature and the potential tempera-
ture at the isobaric surface of 850 tnb. To refine these values, the temp-
erature at the 500 mb. isobaric surface is employed. The forecast of the
maximum mixing height is made on the basis of data on numerical forecast-
ing of the temperature maximum on the ground and on Isobaric surfaces of
850 and 500 mb. Attempts have been made to calculate the impurity concen-
tration in the city from the total amount of discharges and from data on
the maximum mixing depth and wind velocity [19].
For a climatic evaluation of the air pollution potential, Hosier [13]
studied the propagation of temperature inversions in the lower 500 meter
layer of the atmosphere above the U.S.A. He found that a limitation of
vertical mixing is observed in almost 25% of the observations in all sea-
sons. In winter, ground and raised inversions in the east and in the con-
tinental part of the U.S.A. are observed In 50%, and in the west above
mountains, in 90% of all cases. He showed that at night, as a rule, a
stable vertical stratification temperature and a minimum vertical mixing
above the entire territory of the U.S.A. are observed.
To evaluate the unsafe periods of air pollution during the daytime,
Holzworth [11] calculated the average values of the maximum mixing height
according to seasons, using for this purpose the data of 45 radio sonde
stations of the U.S.A. for 10 years and maximum temperature data for 30
years.
Maps of distribution of this quantity over North America were plotted.
The maximum mixing height increases in summer and decreases in winter to
200-800 m. In the coastal areas of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it
changes only slightly in the course of the year.
An important element for the climatic evaluation of the air pollution
potential is the wind velocity at the surface of the ground. In [12], the
frequency of weak winds was studied in an annual cycle. In that paper,
weak winds include those having velocities up to 2 m/sec. Three groups were
distinguished according to the character of the annual variation of the wind
velocity at 48 stations: 1) weak winds are absent in all seasons; 2) there
-------
Is a large number of weak winds in winter and a small number in summer;
3) the largest quantity of weak winds occurs in autumn.
A map of the geographical distribution of different types of annual
variation of the velocity was plotted, and regions with periods having
weak winds lasting from 10 to 20 days were identified.
Synoptic conditions associated with periods of long-time high air
pollution potential were studied, and it was found that stationary anti-
cyclones are located on the surface map and a warm crest is located at
the heights.
M. E. Miller and L. E. Niemeyer calculated the number of cases per
y<2ar in which a high air pollution potential can be expected, and plotted
tvie corresponding map. In most cases, there was an actual rise of the air
pollution level [16].
Korshover [14] studied the frequency of stationary anticyclonic centers
above the eastern part of the U.S.A.
In the last few years, more extensive climatic generalizations have
been made for determining the air pollution potential of separate regions
in which the construction of major air pollution sources is contemplated.
For example, an atlas of a series of climatological characteristics such
as the wind direction, wind velocity, frequency of inversions, precipita-
tion, precipitation with winds, and the like was compiled for the region
of Southern California, where the construction of an atomic power station
was proposed [9].
2. Possibilities of Evaluating the Air Pollution Potential
above the Territory of the Soviet Union
In order to identify the regions where conditions favoring the accumu-
lation of impurities in air arise most frequently, it is of interest to
make a climatological evaluation of the air pollution potential above the
territory of the Soviet Union.
To select the meteorological parameters that must be considered in
such an evaluation, use is made of conclusions obtained in a series of
papers, and additional treatment is presented involving the study of the
influence of temperature- inversions of the lower layer of the atmosphere
and various wind velocities on the conditions of increase of the impurity
concentrations in cities.
Theoretical and experimental studies show that raised inversions stop
impurities coming from pollution sources and create conditions favorable
to the accumulation of high impurity concentrations in air [1].
The influence of ground inversions on the air pollution of cities has
been studied less extensively. Theoretical estimates indicate that highly
-------
developed ground inversions present a danger in cities containing many
low sources of air pollution.
When high sources of air pollution are present in a city, consider-
able impurity concentrations near the ground are observed in the pres-
ence of the so-called "unsafe velocity" of the wind Mm» which for high-
capacity thermal power stations is about 5 m/sec [2]. The heaviest air
pollution from low sources of discharges in a city is observed at a
wind velocity of 0-1 m/sec [5].
As the wind is weakened in the ground layer, unsafe air pollution
conditions may also arise if an inversion layer is located above the
stack of a high pollution source [1].
In order to study the influence of ground inversions at different
wind velocities in the boundary layer of the atmosphere on the air pollu-
tion level of a city, use was made of data on the concentrations of dust,
soot, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide in several
cities indicated in Table 1.
City
Alma-Ata
Dushanbe
Tallinn
Tbilisi
Mos cow
Period of Observations
1966
1966
VI 1965 - XII 1966
1962 - 1963
1966
Number of
Observations
888
1014
638
2385
1000
Unfortunately, the quantity of observations of the air pollution
level in cities is still insufficient to permit a reliable statistical
treatment in order to obtain quantitative relationships between the im-
purity concentrations and the meteorological characteristics. It be-
comes necessary to restrict oneself mainly to the identification of qual-
itative relationships for the purpose of using them later in the fore-
casting and climatology of air pollution.
Mean impurity concentrations were calculated for different condi-
tions of thermal stratification of the atmosphere (Table 2).
As is evident from Table 2, the concentrations of all the impuri-
ties in the presence of ground inversions are higher than in their
absence.
In the cities of Irkutsk and Tbilisi, where the quantity of obser-
vations of air pollution in the presence of ground inversions was found
to be sufficient, mean values of the concentrations of soot and dust
were calculated for each month.
-------
Table 2
Mean Impurity Concentrations (ng/rn') in Various Cities.
City
Type of Atmospheric Stratification
Ground
Inversion
Inversions
With Base
Above
0.01 km
Absence of
Inversions
Tbilisi
Tallinn
Moscow
Tbilisi
Dushanbe
Moscow
Alma-Ata
Dushanbe
Alma-Ata
Tallinn
Soot
0,17
0.16
Dust
Carbon monoxide
3,0 I 2,9
0,09
0,37
0,30
0.54
0,34
!_
0,57
0,27
0,21
0,41
Sulfur dioxide
0,12
0.33
0,17
0,10
0,40
0,16
0,11
0.32
0,12
Nitrogen oxides
0,38
0,61
0,36
0,50
0,26
0,47
1,9
/ // /// IV V VI VII VIIIIX X XI XII
Fig. 1 shows the annual vari-
ation of dust and soot concentrations
in the city of Tbilisi in the pres-
ence (I) and absence (II) of ground
inversions. The highest concentra-
tions of the impurity are observed
in the presence of stable stratifi-
cation of the ground layer in all
months. Similar results were ob-
tained in Irkutsk.
A comparison of the data on the
concentrations of sulfur dioxide and
nitrogen oxides obtained by the Alma-
Ata and Moscow stations under differ-
ent stratification conditions also
shows a definite increase of pollu-
tion during the warm and cold halves
of the year in the presence of ground
inversions.
ML* li\ Mean cooeentrations Of dust.(a
;o8t Cb) in Tbilisi in the presence (I;
ibsence (II) of ground inversion.
F ,
so., x_
absence
!) and
and
In addition, the influence of
inversions formed above the earth's
surface on the pollution level in a
city was also analyzed. Mean impuri-
ty concentrations in the cities of Tbilisi, Moscow and Alma-Ata were calcu-
lated separately for inversions with a base below and above 500 m. The
-------
results obtained show that there are no clearly defined differences in
the pollution level of the two groups of inversions. This is obviously
determined by the variety of the sources of discharges in the city.
High sources in the presence of low-raised inversions turn out to be
higher than the inversion, and their discharges do not reach the ground.
As is evident from Table 2, the concentrations of various impuri-
ties under conditions of raised inversions are always higher than in
their absence, but usually slightly lower than under conditions of ground
inversions.
Thus, it may be definitely concluded that the presence of an inter-
cepting layer in large cities containing many low sources of discharges
promotes the accumulation of noxious impurities in the air.
For the cities of Moscow and Alma-Ata, mean concentrations of sulfur
dioxide and nitrogen oxides were calculated for the cold half of the year
at various wind velocities (Fig. 2) without considering the stratifica-
tion. As is evident from Fig. 2, in winter the highest concentrations of
these impurities are observed in the presence of calm. As the wind grows
stronger, the impurity concentrations decrease rather sharply. According
to observations in Moscow, there is also observed a new increase of the
concentration at a wind velocity of 6 m/sec, probably due to the presence
of high sources of discharges.
S m/sec
F
ni
on
lg. 2. Mean concentrations of sulfur dioxide and
itrogen oxides at different wind velocities based
n Alffla-Ata U) and Moscow (.11).
The most extensive observations of dust and carbon monoxide concentra-
tions were obtained for the city of Tallinn. They permitted a calculation
of mean values of these impurities for various gradations of the wind veloc-
ity near the ground, for three types of thermal stratification of the atmos-
phere (Tables 3 and 4).
The data of Table 3 show that the greatest air pollution with carbon
monoxide was observed in ground inversions in the presence of a wind of
1 m/sec. High concentrations of this impurity are also noted at wind
-------
pollutions are observed, as in the case of ground inversions, at wind
velocities of 5 m/sec. This may be explained by the fact that the CO
discharges originate from low sources, chiefly from automobile trans-
portation and stacks 10-30 m high, for which the "unsafe" wind velocity
is about 1 m/sec. The second maximum is due to high sources, for which
the unsafe wind velocity is close to 5 m/sec,
Table 5
Mean Concentrations of Carbon.Monoxide in Inversions
at Different Wind Velocities in Tallinn
Type of
atmospheric
stratification
Ground ,
Inversions
Inversions with
0 §\m
Without inveiv
ST nns
Wind velocity, m/sec
0
1,8
1,8
—
1
5,9
2,9
1,7
2
1.9
2,2
2,8
3
2,4
2.3
1,5
4
2,3
2,4
2.8
5
3,6
4,3
3.1
6
3.1
2,1
1,1
7
2,8
2,7
1,8
8
2,9
1,8
9
—
—
>-10
2.3
1.7
3,3
Table
Mean Concentrations nf Dust in Summer in Tallinn
Wind velocity, a/sec
Type of
Stratification
Ground
Inversions
Raised
Inversions
Without.
Inversions
0-1
0,51
0,29
0,32
2-4
0,28
0,33
0,30
5-7
0,46
0,32
0,23
>8
—
0,50
0,28
The data listed in Table 4 enable one to reach a number of conclu-
sions concerning the influence of inversions in combination with various
wind velocities on the concentration of dust in city air.
The greatest air pollution with dust is observed in ground inver-
sions at wind velocities no higher than 1 m/sec. A rise of the air pollu-
tion level in ground inversions is caused by a weak vertical austausch,
and the simultaneous presence of calm causes the absence of horizontal
transport. Heavy air pollution with dust was observed in the presence of
ground inversions at wind velocities of 5-7 m/sec, and in the case of raised
inversions, at wind velocities above 8 m/sec, which is obviously due to the
"smoke pollution" effect, i.e., the descent of the plume from smokestacks
toward the earth's surface. Finally, in the absence of inversions, the
greatest air pollution with dust occurs at wind velocities of 0-1 m/sec
and decreases with increasing wind velocity.
-------
The conclusions reached show that for large cities, the conditions
of formation of thick ground inversions at wind velocities of no more
than 1 m/sec are very unsafe. These conclusions agree with those ob-
tained earlier on the accumulation of impurities in cities in the cold
half of the year in the presence of stationary anticyclones [6], which
are characterized by a high frequency of ground inversions [A] and weak
winds. To confirm the above, the three highest values of the concentra-
tions of each impurity for each point in a month were selected from ob-
servational data in Leningrad on the concentrations of sulfur dioxide,
carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides during May-September 1967 (a total
of 3315 observations). In all, 223 observations were selected. Analy-
sis of these data for all the Impurities shows that 74% of the latter
were detected when In the 12 hours preceding the collection of air
samples the wind velocity did not exceed 1 m/sec.
The considerable influence of a long duration of a wind velocity
of 0-1 m/sec and thick ground inversions (air stagnation) on the increase
of the air pollution level to unsafe values indicates the necessity of
considering the frequency of such conditions in cities. To this end, we
determined the frequency of days when a wind velocity no higher than
1 m/sec was observed In the course of 2A hours.
Using data of daily meteorological observations of the wind veloci-
ty based on a weather vane, days were selected at 220 stations when wind
velocities of 0-1 m/sec were detected at a given point in the course of
all the observation periods. Using the results of selections for Janu-
ary, April, July and October 1962-1966, the author in cooperation with
L. I. Yelikoyeva plotted maps of frequency of air stagnation conditions
(wind velocities of 0-1 m/sec In the course of 24 hours). It was found
that in each case, the air stagnation was observed at several stations
simultaneously. Analysis of synoptic maps showed that the observed
cases of weak winds were related to large-scale synoptic processes. In
winter, they were chiefly observed in the central portion of slowly mov-
ing anticyclones or in gradientless fields of diffuse anticyclone or
pressure col type.
The maximum number of cases of air stagnation over the territory of
Eastern Siberia, the Far East, Trans-Caucasia and mountainous regions of
Central Asia in the annual cycle is observed In winter. In the eastern
regions of Western Siberia and In the Ural region, in addition to a win-
ter maximum, an increase in the number of cases of air stagnation is also
observed in July. Above the European territory of the USSR, the frequency
of the number of air stagnations changes insignificantly in different
seasons.
Data on the average number of days with wind velocities of 0-1 m/sec
in the course of 24 hours (air stagnation) for January, April, July, and
October were plotted on maps. They must of course be considered as pre-
liminary and in need of further refinement. This is because only a five-
year period of observations and a somewhat limited number of stations were
used.
-------
To determine the degree of openness of the location of a station, use
was made of an evaluation based on V. Yu. Milevskiy's classification.
Stations of the 5th. category of openness and below were excluded from
consideration. Analysis of the maps showed that it was possible to dis-
tinguish zones where the number of days per month with wind velocities of
0-1 m/sec in the course of 24 hours (air stagnation) was: 1) less than 1;
2) from 1 to 5; 3) above 5.
In all the selected months in the west.of the European territory of
the Soviet Union including the western part of the Ukraine, the inner areas
of the Baltic region, and Belorussia, air stagnation was observed for 1 to
5 days a month. The same frequency of the number of days with air stagna-
tion conditions was noted at a number of points on the western and eastern
slopes of the Urals. In the forest zone of Western Siberia, air stagnation
above 1 day per month are observed in January, and in other months, once
every few years.
On the shores of the border seas of the Soviet Union, in the steppe
and forest-steppe zone of the European territory, and in northern Kazakhstan,
cases of air stagnation are very rare. Their frequency in all the selected
months is less than 1 day, i.e., air stagnation may be observed once every
3-4 years or less often.
The mountainous regions of Trans-Caucasia and Central Asia are marked
by an extremely complex map of frequency of air stagnation cases. Here we
should note only a high frequency of such cases in certain cities (Yerevan -
up to 18, Fergana - 17, Alma-Ata - 13, Khorog - 18 days per month).
In winter, Eastern Siberia and regions of the Far East, excluding the
sea shores, are in the area of a heavy anticyclone causing weak winds and
cases of air stagnation. In January, the number of days of air stagnation
in this part of the territory of the Soviet Union exceeds 5, and in some
areas (Bodaybo, Chul'man, Blagoveshchensk, Nizhneudinsk, Oymyakon, Olenek,
Verkhoyansk, Ekimchan) reaches 20-25 a month. In other middle months of
the seasons, the frequency of air stagnation conditions is also consider-
ably higher than in other regions, but less than in January (reaching 10-
13 days a month).
Considering the frequencies of calms, and also data on the frequency
of winds of 0-4 m/sec at a height of 500 m, we attempted to make a rough
estimate of the possibility of appearance of unsafe air pollution levels
in various areas of the Soviet Union. The distribution of the frequency
and the thickness of ground inversions were taken into consideration [3],
As a result, four areas were distinguished (Fig. 3):
1) A large area of Eastern Siberia, where the greatest frequency of
stagnation conditions is observed. In winter, up to 25 days per month
with air stagnation conditions are observed in some parts of this region;
2) Western regions of the European territory of the Soviet Union,
western and eastern foothills of the Urals, where a moderate frequency of
-------
air stagnation is observed;
3) The northwestern part of the European territory of the Soviet
Union and forested regions of Western Siberia, where air stagnation con-
ditions are observed only in spring and winter;
4) Kazakhstan, land along the Volga, northern part of Central Asia,
a large part of Western Siberia and the shores of border seas, where air
stagnation conditions virtually are not observed (once or twice every
five years).
The Ural, southern regions of Central Asia, Caucasus, and mountainous
regions of Eastern Siberia are not included in the zoning.
The data cited give a certain measure of the distribution of the air
pollution potential. A more complete evaluation of the latter requires
extensive studies of the frequency of the vertical stability of the lower
part of the troposphere and distribution of weak winds In height in the
boundary layer of the atmosphere. In order to allow for the capacity of
the atmosphere to accumulate impurities, data on fogs should obviously be
employed. Also useful will be data on the duration and magnitude of atmos-
pheric precipitation, probability of clear and cloudy sky, coefficient of
turbulent exchange, amount of incoming radiation, frequency of stationary
anticyclones, and the like.
In addition, since sources of different heights are affected by diff-
erent meteorological parameters, the air pollution potential should be
evaluated separately for high and low sources of discharges.
-------
VO
I
1 ' A Minsk '\\^. } |
Kishinev ^"
Hovosibirsk Krasnoyarsk
Fig. 5. Bap-diagram of the territory of the USSR. Areas of different numbers of days with wind velocities of
-------
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SOME GENERALIZED CONCLUSIONS CONCERNING THE EXPERIENCE OF OBSERVATION POSTS
IN REFERENCE TO THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE OF CITIES
I. A. Yankovskiy
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. 1m. A. I. Voeykova, No. 234,
p. 116-124, (1968).
1. Introduction
The system of the hydrometeorological service (HMS) has now initi-
ated work on a systematic control of the chemical composition of atmos-
pheric air in heavily industrialized cities by organizing stationary ob-
servations and expeditionary surveys with simultaneous observations of
meteorological conditions.
The organization of stationary posts and arrangement of systematic
observations were preceded by major preparatory work involving the col-
lection of information on the main sources of pollution and characteris-
tics of parameters of industrial discharges, selection of areas for tak-
ing the air samples, their coordination with sanitary epidemiological
stations and urban architects, the outfitting of posts with special booths
(kiosk type), compilation of sanitary topographical descriptions of the
location of the posts, etc. As early as 1965, observations of the content
of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere were organized at
meteorological stations in many cities.
For purposes of systematic control of air pollution, an additional
network of stationary observations of the atmospheric content of sulfur
dioxide, dust, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and hydrogen sulfide was
created in 1966-1967 in 60 major industrial cities. In each city, from
three to six posts are set up with double or triple observations of con-
centrations of ingredients most characteristic for a given city, and
associated meteorological conditions.
In the present paper, on the basis of inspection trips and studies
of observational material received at the A. I. Voyeykov Main Geophysical
Observatory, an attempt was made to draw some generalized conclusion con-
cerning the experience of local subdivisions of the HMS in studying the
pollution of air reservoirs of cities, primary attention being given to
problems of methods and organization of the work of the posts.
2. Choice of Areas for Stationary Posts
In organizing work aimed at studying atmospheric pollution, primary
attention should be focused on the problem of selection of locations
for stationary observation posts* since a suitable selection of such
posts permits an evaluation of the degree of pollution of city air even
-------
on the basis of a few points. For this reason, the selection of such
locations is based on a detailed familiarization with the layout of the
city, the location on its territory of industrial facilities, residential
areas, recreation zones, transportation routes carrying the heaviest traf-
fic flow, and on a detailed study of the wind conditions.
Stationary posts are set up in areas permitting observations of the
general diffusive atmospheric pollution in open spaces representative of
a given city district (at the intersection of streets, squares, in aerated
yards, etc.). Furthermore, they are placed in such a way that one can
characterize the state of city air both in the center and at the outskirts,
covering all types of industrial enterprises, electric power stations,
petroleum product storage and distribution centers, heating centers, auto-
mobile transportation, and other sources of pollution.
In general, a certain number of posts should be set up in every city,
in the proportion of one post for an area of 5-10 km3 in large industrial
cities and one post for an area of 2.5-5 km-* in relatively small cities.
However, for a number of reasons, some deviations from these requirements
are tolerated in the solution of this problem. At the present time, 5-6
posts have been created in most industrial cities, and only in a few
cities are there 8, 10 or even 12 posts. In keeping with the recommenda-
tions given in [1], they are placed on the leeward side (along the direc-
tion of the prevailing wind) relative to major industrial facilities or
to the center of the area where the stacks of main pollution sources are
located, at a distance over 20 times the average stack height.
In the Northwestern, Ural,Zabaykale and other subdivisions of the
HMS, in order to find the most representative locations for the posts, a
preliminary study of the wind conditions was made in different districts
of each city; data for many years of meteorological observations of a
series of stations located within the city outline were used for this pur-
pose.
Comparison of data of measurements of air pollution at points selected
with and without allowing for the wind conditions and the height of the
sources shows that in the second case the concentration of pollutants in the
atmosphere was usually higher than in the first case.
It is quite obvious that the most effective method of selecting loca-
tions for stationary sampling of air is to make a comprehensive prelimin-
ary survey of the city air by means of specially equipped motor vehicles.
Such a selection method was used by A. A. Gorchiyev in the Azerbaijan sub-
division of the HMS. During a certain time period, regular itinerary ob-
servations were made at a number of points selected in various districts
of the city of Baku, and in addition to the collection of air samples, the
meteorological conditions were recorded. From the results of the survey
and data on wind conditions taken for many years, locations were chosen
for stationary observations of air pollution.
-------
3. Outfitting of Stationary Posts
Booths are set up for taking air samples and carrying out the
meteorological observations at stationary posts. Inside the booths are
placed the necessary equipment and apparatus. For direct sampling in the
booth, special holes (two in each of the four walls of the booth) located
at a height of 1.5 m from the earth's surface are made, with one hole to
the outside through the ceiling and roof of the booth. The latter hole Is
used only for taking samples for analysis of gaseous ingredients, especially
in cases where for whatever reasons (substantial height of snow cover, prox-
imity of underbrush, etc.) it is inadvisable to take samples through the
lateral holes. Let us note that the difference in determinations of a sin-
gle concentration of atmospheric pollutants for air sampling at a height of
1.5 m (through holes in the booth walls) and 2.2 m (through the hole in
the roof) is within the precision limits of the corresponding methods of
measurement.
At the present time, the construction and outfitting of posts in many
territorial subdivisions of the HMS is being carried out with relative suc-
cess. In the Ukrainian subdivision of the HMS, the preparation of booths
Was organized at the Kiev Plant of Experimental Commercial Equipment. The
walls of the booth were covered with glass-reinforced plastic on the out-
side, and were lined on the inside with structural cardboard and insulated
with glass wool. Boards of pressed shavings were used for the floor and
ceiling. Inside the booth is an electric instrument board, a daylight
quality lamp, an electric oven and other equipment. A general view of the
booth is shown in Fig. 1. Such booths have found relatively broad appli-
cations not only in the Ukraine but also in other cities of the Soviet
Union.
In the Uzbek and Tajik subdivisions of the HMS at stationary posts,
hydrometric GR-70 booths produced by the Tashkent Plant of Hydrometeoro-
logical Instruments were set up. In the Ural subdivision of the HMS, a
project for a stationary post was worked out, and the construction of brick
booths was organized. These booths have the advantage of sturdiness over
other booths. However, when the location of the air sampling changes, a
booth of this type can no longer be used at the new location.
To insure a normal operation of the posts from the time they are set
up, in a number of territorial subdivisions of the HMS the construction of
the booths was organized by the service's own assembly-and-repair teams.
In the Kamchatka subdivision of the HMS, in order to avoid changing
manually the position of the intake tube projecting above the roof of the
booth, a special device was constructed (Fig. 2) causing it to turn auto-
matically under the influence of the wind's force. This device consists
of a fixed metal tube 1 projecting to the outside through the ceiling and
roof of the booth, and moving tube 2 with weather vane 3. Below and above
are mounted ebonite sleeves 4 into which the moving tube is inserted. The
latter rotates relative to the fixed tube on rolls 5 mounted in the upper
sleeve. In the hole of the lower sleeve is inserted a rubber stopper 6
with two glass tubes 7, which are connected to absorbing instruments by
-------
means of rubber hoses when the samples are taken. The device described
has been tested and adopted at all stationary posts of the Kamchatka sub-
division of the KMS.
While noting the desirable qualities of the system, it is often nec-
essary to indicate its insufficient sensitivity in the presence of a weak
wind, and an unjustified use of a metal tube through which the air reaches
the absorbers, instead of a glass tube. For this reason, when this system
is used in the HMS on a large scale, it is necessary to introduce; certain
changes that will eliminate these defects.
Fig. 1. General view of a booth made by the
Kiev Plant of Experimental Equipment.
In cities where for one reason or another no booths have been installed
for setting up and protecting the instrumentation, utility buildings of vari-
ous municipal organizations are used. In this case, the collection of air
samples in winter is achieved through glass tubes communicating with the out-
side through holes in the window frames or walls of buildings* During the
warm period of the year, the samples are collected on an open platform,
where the necessary equipment Is placed after being brought out of the build-
-------
In some subdivisions of the HMS (Azerbaijan, Lithuania and Kazakhstan)
in collecting samples at stationary posts, use is made of motor cars that
stop off at posts at certain hours every day. The cars carry the same
type of apparatus as is contained in the booths. The sources of electric
power used are the municipal power lines or independent sources of elec-
tric power carried by the automobile (battery, portable electric generator).
1-120
Fig. 2. Attachment for automatic rotation of intake tube under the
influence of wind.
1 - stationary metal tube, 2 - moving metal tube, J - weather vane,
4 - ebonite sleeve, 5 - gas rollers, 6 - rubber stopper, 7 - glass tubes.
8 - bracing bolts, 9 - iron ring.
-------
In the western Siberian subdivision of the HMS, at fixed points of
the itinerary and under the plumes, instead of an electric respirator
and dust collector, the UAZ-452 automobile engine is used as the air
blower for collecting samples. The vacuum manifold of the engine is
connected by a metal tube to the air distribution system of an LK-1
electric aspirator of L. F. Kachor's system and to an auxiliary unit
replacing the automobile aspirator used in taking samples for dust
analysis.
During the operation of the engine, external air Is sucked in at
the required rate, varied by means of performance regulators; the air
enters through the absorbers and filters and reaches the engine. In
the view of its originator, A. N. Seletskiy, this sampling method does
not appreciably affect the wear of the automobile engine. In addition,
the use of this method considerably shortens the time required for the
preparation of the apparatus for sampling at each point.
4. Collection of Air Samples
One of the most important steps in the operation of the posts is a
suitable collection of air samples for subsequent chemical analysis. When
this requirement is not met, substantial errors result in the determina-
tion of the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere.
At the present time, at all posts„ including those having no booths,
air samples are taken every day except Sunday in double or triple
collections in accordance with technical recommendations confirmed by the
GUGMS (Main Administration of the Hydrometeorological Service of the USSR).
For the purpose of comparative evaluation of the results of measurement
of polluting ingredients and determination of the degree of influence of
atmospheric conditions on their concentration, a single period of sample
collection and meteorological observations was established for all the
posts. The duration of sampling for all the ingredients was taken to be
the same and equal to 20 minutes. However, these requirements are not
always fulfilled by the sample takers, In many cases deviations are not
considered when the results of measurement are processed, and the actual
concentration of a given ingredient is thus distorted.
Electric aspirators are used, as a rule, for direct collection of
air samples to be analyzed for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen
sulfide, and soot, while gas pipets or other chambers are used for car-
bon monoxide. In the Krasnoyarsk subdivision of the HMS, the collection
of samples for carbon monoxide analysis is carried out by means of 500 ml
bottle aspirators in all types of observations (stationary posts, itiner-
ary points and under plumes). In the collection of dust samples, the air
blower used is always a "Raketa" type vacuum cleaner combined with an auto-
mobile aspirator produced by the Moscow Scientific Research Institute of
Hygiene.
An important condition for the collection of samples is the considera-
tion of the wind direction, and in a collection of samples for dust analy-
sis, of the wind velocity as well. To this end, the intake tubes and
-------
filters are mounted against the air flow.
In the collection of air samples for gaseous Ingredients during the
cold period of the year, special heaters made on the spot are used for
heating up v-shaped absorption instruments.
In the section of observations of the Minsk Hydrometeorological
Observatory (HMO), as suggested by S. A. Dragun, a special "radiator" was
built for heating the air entering the absorption instruments. This radi-
ator (Fig. 3) is in the form of a wooden box with a lid, measuring 20 x 20
x 27 cm. Inside the box in the bottom part is mounted a 75-100 W electric
bulb that serves as the heat source, and a spiral with three turns made of
tubing 6-8 mm in diameter surrounding the bulb. The ends of the spiral
come out of the radiator through holes in its lateral walls.
Rubber tubes connect one end of the spiral to the outside, and the
other to the absorption instrument. If samples to be analyzed for 2-3
ingredients are collected simultaneously, the second end of the spiral is
provided with a T joint in order to supply the necessary quantity of
absorbers. In this method of heating, the air moving toward the absorbers
passes through the spiral tube, is heated up and acquires a positive temper-
ature. The use of such a radiator in the Belorussian subdivision of the
HMS made it possible to obtain the necessary number of observations in win-
ter when the collection of air samples was made at air temperatures down
to -30°C.
Although the above-described method of sample collection at negative
air temperatures is simple, it has not yet been sufficiently studied, and
therefore requires careful checking in the course of practical operation
of the posts under different climatic conditions with the use of spiral
tubes of various materials.
*-
i
11 !
Fig. 3. Radiator for heat- Fig. 4.
ing air during sampling in winter.
Thermostat
This problem is handled in a somewhat different manner by the labora-
tory of water and atmosphere chemistry of the Krasnoyarsk HMO. In order to
keep the solutions of reagents from freezing during the collection of sam-
ples and their transportation to the laboratory, the absorption instruments
are placed in a special thermostat designed by P. D. Solonitskiy and
N. S. Sigovaya.
-------
The thermostat (Fig. 4) is in the form of a wooden box with a lid
measuring 60 x 20 x 20 cm. The inner surface of the box is lined with
felt. To maintain a positive temperature, two polyethylene bottles con-
taining hot water are placed in the thermostat together with the absorp-
tion instruments. The absorbers and bottles are braced by means of a
support set up inside the box. The support has 8 sockets, 6 of which
are designed for the v-shaped absorbers and two for the flasks with hot
water.
The longitudinal side walls of the thermostat have six holes each,
through which rubber tubes connected to the ends of the v-shaped absorb-
ers reach the outside. During the collection of samples, one end of the
rubber tube is brought to the outside of the booth or body of the auto-
mobile, and the other is connected to the electric aspirator.
The use of such a thermostat enabled the water chemistry laboratory
of the Krasnoyarsk HMO to carry out a systematic collection of samples
at negative temperatures down to -38°C.
In the Northwest subdivision of the HMS, the absorption instruments
are heated with electric heaters of the EK-A system. However, the prac-
tical use of these heaters is somewhat restricted by the fact that they
require a current of 750 watts.
It should be noted that in practice, cases are sometimes encountered
where in observations at stationary posts, pollutants usually observed
in the atmosphere of any city (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, etc.) are
not systematically detected. This is due either to an improper choice of
locations for stationary collection of samples, or an incorrect collection
of air samples and errors in their chemical analysis. In order to explain
the actual causes, the following is done. Using equipped automobiles, the
air pollution is inspected at various points and districts of the city,
and also under plumes, at different distances from the sources of pollution.
In addition, in cooperation with a sanitary epidemiclogical station, sam-
ples are simultaneously collected at some point of the city, then subjected
to separate chemical analyses in the water chemistry laboratories of the
SES and UGMS. If some polluting ingredients are detected as a result of
such an experiment, the errors made earlier are eliminated, and observations
of the atmospheric pollution at certain points of the city are continued.
5. Meteorological Observations at Stationary Posts
As already noted, the evaluation of the degree of influence of meteoro-
logical factors on the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere ordin-
arily utilizes observational data of a reference meteorological station lo-
cated on the territory of the city or on its outskirts. However, when
such a station is far removed from the post, the data of its observations
cannot always be used to reduce the volume of air studied to standard con-
ditions (760 mm Hg and 0°C.) and to determine from the wind velocity the
diameter of the attachment for the automobile aspirator used for collecting
samples for dust analysis. For this reason, at most locations of sample
collection, observations are made to determine the air temperature, velocity
-------
and direction of the wind and special weather phenomena (precipitation,
fog, mist, etc.). Measurement of the wind is made at all points of sample
collection, with the exception of those located on Instrument platforms or
in their vicinity.
In addition, data of meteorological observations at stationary posts
are used for evaluating the influence of the microclimate on the concentra-
tion of pollutants In any given district of the city, and can also be used
in solving certain special problems of major practical importance.
At the present time, meteorological observations at stationary posts
have already been organized in most subdivisions of the HMS simultaneously
with the sampling.
In order to carry out observations of the air temperature and wind
velocity, In the HMS subdivisions of the Ukrainian SSR and Central Black
Chernozem regions, a ventilation psychrometer and an induction anemometer
are mounted on a special stand (Fig. 5) which is set up for the period of
observations on the windward side of the booth at a distance of 3-4 m.
After the observations, the instruments and the stand are placed in the
booth. The wind direction is determined from a weather vane or streamer.
The stand is mounted in a vertical position by means of a metal tube
6-8 cm In diameter burled In the ground on each side of the booth. The
design of the stand and its bracing tube were worked out by A. M. Lavchenko.
In the Transbaykal'e subdivision
of the HMS, all the stationary posts
are equipped with weather vanes with
rhumb indicators prepared by the staff
of the control bureau. The weather
vanes are mounted on the roofs of
booths at a height of 2.5 m from the
ground. These weather vanes permit
continuous observations of the direc-
tion of the wind and their correct
consideration in selecting samples for
analysis of polluting ingredients.
The problem of wind measurement
is being solved much better in the
Krasnoyarsk subdivision of the HMS,
where the posts are equipped with
anemorhumbometers permitting the determ-
ination of the wind velocity and direc-
tion with the required accuracy.
II
1 _._
I
if!
Ground
Fig. 5. Stand for suspending a venti-
lation psychrometer and for mounting
the anemometer.
In conclusion, it should be noted
that even though the territorial sub-
divisions of the HMS play a certain part In the organization of the opera-
tion of stationary posts observing atmospheric pollution, this operation is
-------
still characterized by serious drawbacks whose elimination will be their
next objective.
Literature Cited
'p/MiiiA M. E., FeniixoBHi E. JT., OHnxyji P. H. 0 pac'iere
a-r.\ioc(j)epu BuCpocawii 113 ^UMOBUX rpyC s^eKipocTaHUMtl. TpyAU frO, nun. 158.
1964.
-------
DISTRIBUTION AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF NATURAL AEROSOLS
OVER VARIOUS REGIONS OF THE EUROPEAN TERRITORY OF THE USSR
Ye. S. Selezneva, 0. P. Petrenchuk and P. F. Svistov
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geoftz. Observat. 1m. A. I. Voeykova, No. 234,
p. 125-129, (1968).
Atmospheric aerosols are studied from various points of view in
different areas of atmospheric physics and other sciences. The litera-
ture on the problem is very extensive and varied. Surveys on the mechan-
ics of aerosols [9, 16] and microphysics of clouds arid fogs [A, 10] have
been made; a large number of studies have been devoted to the distribution
of aerosols in the atmosphere [8, 4, 21], and, in particular, to the study
of coarse salt particles [11, 23, 24]; new data are being reported on the
content of aerosol particles in the stratosphere [20, 22], the optical and
electrical properties of aerosols are being studied [17, 19], and new
methods of their investigation are being developed [7, 18]. Much atten-
tion has recently been concentrated on the study of industrial aerosols
and their diffusion from sources [1, 2, 3].
However, measurements of the characteristics of aerosols in the free
atmosphere remain sporadic, so that information on the distribution and
chemical composition of aerosols at different heights is very scarce: in
the published studies, some data are given only on certain components
[5, 11, 23]. No studies on a geographical scale have yet been published,
although it may be assumed that the physiochemical properties of aerosols
and their content in the atmosphere are directly related to the physico-
geographical conditions.
In order to characterize the world background of aerosols and to study
their nature, data on vast geographical territories on the scale of the
continents are required. However, the use and correlation for this pur-
pose of studies made in different countries is complicated by the variety
of the methods of collection of samples and their chemical analysis, and
the lack of estimates of the errors of the methods. Because of the latter
factor, data of different authors, pertaining to surface conditions and to
the free atmosphere, cannot be compared. Obviously, spatial correlations
require specially organized investigations.
In the last few years, the Main Geophysical Observatory has been study-
ing the distribution and chemical composition of aerosols over different
regions of the Soviet Union according to a single established method. It
is now possible to correlate the results obtained for the European territory
(ET) of the USSR.
The chemical composition of the aerosols was studied by directly analyz-
ing air samples collected near the earth's surface and in the boundary layer
-------
of the atmosphere (250-1000 m) In an airplane, and also Indirectly on the
basis of analyses of samples of cloud and rain water. Special devices
were developed for taking the samples.
The aerosol sample collector is based on the principle of inertial
deposition of particles present in the air studied and their trapping
when the air bubbles through distilled water. The design of the instru-
ment is such that it may be used on land and in airplanes {15].
For collecting water samples from clouds, two types of samplers
were constructed. One is used at negative air temperatures and is based
on the freezing of supercooled droplets on an exposed plate.
The other type of sampler is used at positive air temperatures and
is based on the principle of deposition of droplets during suction of
cloud air through the sampler; the cloud droplets strike its inner sur-
face and flow down this surface and the receiving plate into a collector
[12].
All the samples were analyzed by chemical and spectral methods;
their content of Cl~, S04™, MO^, NH^+, Na4", K+, Kg4* and Ca4* ions was
determined; the analytical procedure is described in a monograph [6].
In order to collect the samples and to measure the concentration of
aerosol particles, a large number of flights over different regions were
made. In correlating the results, the ET of the USSR was divided into
4 regions:
I - north of ET (regions to the north of 62°N),
II - northwest of ET (Leningrad region and Baltic region),
III - southwest of ET (White Russia and Ukraine),
IV - east and southwest of ET (mainly land along the Volga
from Kazan' to the Caspian Sea).
The characteristics of the aerosols in these regions differ consider-
ably.
In the north of ET, the concentration of aerosol particles is 3-4
times lower than in the southwestern regions. A difference in the vertical
distribution of the aerosols is observed: in the north, the decrease of
the particle concentration with the height is slower than in more southern
regions of the Baltic and east of the ET, where the ground layer is contam-
inated; beyond the limits of the boundary layer the concentration of aerosol
particles is slight. The southwest of the ET stands out in aerosol distri-
bution, where not only the ground layer of air but also the superjacent
layers are heavily contaminated because of an intense vertical exchange.
The chemical composition of the aerosols in the regions under consid-
eration also differs appreciably, as shown in Table 1. Thus, in the north,
chlorides predominate in the aerosols (Cl~ ions make up 35% of the total
ions), whereas in other regions sulfates predominate heavily (804—, 40Z).
-------
Here the main source of chlorides dissolved In water is the surface of
the sea (the nonfreezlng Barents Sea).
High atmospheric concentrations of aerosols and their components
such as SO^—, Ca"*"1", NH| in the south of the country may be explained by
the high density of the population and of industrial enterprises, and
also by a considerable wind erosion of the soil, here observed during al-
most the entire year.
In addition to a high content of water-soluble aerosols, a large
amount of water-insoluble particles are present here; in some samples,
it reached 300-600 yg/m3. These were cases of winter flights in subin-
version layers; the trapped aerosols consisted of coarse particles of in-
dustrial origin. If these cases are excluded from the analysis and only
the soluble part is considered, the aerosol concentration in the 250-1000 m
layer above the southern regions amounts to an average of =18 yg/m3, and
over northern ones, to -2 yg/m3.
The countable concentration of aerosol particles was determined in
the same layer with the aid of a nucleus counter. On the average per year,
this layer in the south contains 2000-3000 particles per cm3, i.e. ,
2 x 109 - 3 x 109 nT3, and in the north 600-700 (6 x 1Q8 - 7 x 108 m"3).
If the average size of the particles counted in the counter (condensation
nuclei) is taken as r/^10~5 cm. their mass per unit volume (for a density
of 2) amounts to about 20 yg/m* in the south and to about 6 yg/m3 in the
north. The comparatively close coincidence of these values with the con-
centration of trapped water-soluble particles (Table 1) is obviously acci-
dental, since this calculation must be regarded only as a rough estimate,
but the order of magnitude of the values obtained by the different methods
is the same. For this reason, more detailed comparisons may be made if the
experiment is suitably arranged.
Table 1
Chemical Composition and Concentration of Atmospheric Aerosols in the 250-1000 m layer
(Average for Year)
ferf
Q) ed
cc w
I
II.
Ill
IV
*8
s8s
as
13
53
95
16
Concentration, g/nr
so;-
0,29
3,76
6,96
3,44
ci-
0.58
2,33
2,26
1,69
NO.r
0.05
0.18
1,44
0,68
NHJ-
0,07
0.65
1.92
0,84
Na+
0,29
1.46
1,88
1,39
K+
0,10
1,28
1.11
0,96
Mg++
0,03
0.55
0,56
0,41
I
Ca++
0,21
1.74
1,50
1,79
£ion
1.62
11.95
17.63
11.40
Number of particles
per om'
at height of
250m
1500
2500
3500
3000
500H
600
1500
2500
2000
1000 m
400
1000
1500
1250
-------
The indicated characteristics of the change of the concentration of
aerosols in space and of their composition are supported by data on the
chemical composition of cloud water and atmospheric precipitation [6, 13].
The largest amount of impurities in samples of cloud water and precipi-
tation was obtained in regions of highest aerosol pollution of air.
Table 2 lists data on the composition of atmospheric waters, averaged
over the same four regions.
In southern regions of the ET, particularly in the southwest, sul-
fates predominate in the water of clouds and precipitation, whereas
chlorides predominate in the north.
It is of interest to compare the relationships between the compon-
ents in the aerosols and in the water samples (Table 3). They differ
considerably with the different types of samples and vary with the geo-
graphical regions. Thus, the ratio Cl~/Na+, in the north, in aerosols
and clouds is close to the value of this ratio for sea water, and even
slightly higher; whereas it becomes less in the precipitation. In two
other regions, the value of Cl"/Na+ is above 1.88 in cloud water, and
less in aerosols and precipitation, which may be explained by the pres-
ence of HC1 in the atmosphere. This gas is more intensively absorbed
by cloud elements than by aerosol particles, causing low pH values in
cloud water C$5.0, and in some measurements <4.0). In the precipitation,
the pH value increases, while the ratio Cl~/Na+ decreases as compared with
cloud water, this being obviously because of the trapping of aerosol par-
ticles, for which the ratio Cl~/Na+ is substantially less than in cloud
water.
Table 2
Chemical Composition of Samples of Cloud Water and Precipitation
Type of
water sample
Content, me/1
sor
ci-
HC07
J
Nor
NHt
NV
K*
M^
,
pH
North of ET
Cloud I 0.6
Precipitation 4,8
1
6.3 — 0.1 ! 0.6 : 2.4 ' 1,7 : 1,0 ' 0.4 ! 13.1 '5.3
2,8
3,7
0.5
0,8
1,6
0,8 0.5 O.S 16,3
1
5.4
Northwest of ET
Cloud
Precipitation
7.0
7.4
2.4
1.4
— ! 0.8
1.5
0.7
1,5
0.9
1.2
1.2
0,7
0,7
0,3
1.4
0.5
14.4
•1.8
1,2 16,'i :,.•->
i
Southwest of ET
Cloud 1 8.9
Precipitation 10,5
2.1
2.5
__
7.7
0,8
1.8
1,8
1,3
0.7
1.7
0,6
0,6
O.o ! 1.0
1.8
2.2
16.4
30,3
"• i "
5.7
Southeast of ET
Cloud
Precipitation
5.6
9,2
1.2
2.1
—
5.6
0,3
1.3
0.9
0.9
0,5
1,5
0,4
0,7
0.9
1.5
1.4
2,0
11.2
24,8
5.6
6.0
-------
Table 3
Mean Values of Ionic Ratios*
Regions
Sampling
I
II
III
IV
Type of Sample
Aerosols
Ci-/Na+ <
2.0
1,6
1,2
1,4
so4-/ci-
0,7
1.6
3.1
1,8
Clouds
Cl-/Na+
2.6 .
1.9
3,0
2,6
so4-/ci-
0,1
3.0
4.2
1.6
Precipitation
CI-/Na+
1.8
1.2
1.5
1.4
S04— /Cl-
1.7.
5.3
4.2
4.4
* For sea water Cl"/Na+ o 1.88, SOj^/Cl" . 0.14.
The ratio SO^~/C1~ everywhere considerably exceeds the value of the
ratio characteristic of sea water and it is lowest in aerosols. An in-
crease of the ratio SO/J'/Cl"" shows that the content of sulfur compounds
in the cloud water and precipitation increases, apparently as a result of
absorption of sulfur dioxide and sulfate aerosol particles.
The relative increase of the amount of Na"1" (the ratio Cl~/Na+ decreases)
in aerosols and precipitation simultaneously indicates that particles of
sodium compounds are present in the subcloud layer. This may be sodium
bicarbonate, since a considerable amount of HCOo ions was observed in pre-
cipitation of these regions. This type of particles appear to be of ter-
rigenous origin.
The above characteristics in the proportions of the ions may be re-
garded as indicators of transformation of the composition of cloud water
into precipitation under the influence of aerosols and gaseous impurities
of the subcloud layer of air.
The total amount of impurities in the precipitation is greater than
in cloud water, this being due to the above-mentioned washing of impuri-
ties out of air by the precipitation. As a result, the highest limit in
the mineralization of cloud water and precipitation is observed in regions
of heaviest aerosol pollution of air (regions III and IV).
A detailed quantitative analysis of all these questions also necessi-
tate data on the structure of the clouds, rate of precipitation, spectral
characteristics of aerosols before and after precipitation, and other data.
The mean values listed give only an outline of the spatial changes in the
composition of atmospheric precipitation in aerosols, but they serve as
indicators of the most essential characteristics of these changes on the
European territory of the USSR under consideration.
-------
Literature Cited
1. ATMOC(|iepiian Aii'!>y3ii»i n sarpnsHcmie uosAyxa. FIcpcuoA c anr;i. HOA pc;i. A. C. Mo-
mma. HJ1, AV. 1962.
2. Bepjiiiii;i M. E.. rexiixonim E. /I., fl e M b H u o 11 MM B. K. HcKoropwc aiay-
aJibiiue upoO^cMbi ncc-noAOBaHHH arMocipepiioii Aiupy3iui. TpyAU FfO, Bun. 172, I9G5.
3. Bcp^n n a. M. E. K^»MaTo^orn'iecKne BCHCKTU iicc.qcAouaiinn sarpiiaiioiuiii aTMOdpepu
npoMuujjiemibiMii BbiOpocaMii. CO. «CoapeMeniibte npoOjieMH tuiiiMaTo:iorHii». THA-
poMeTeom.iaT, J].. 1966.
4. B o p o B n K o n A. M. n Ap. OIISHKB o6,naKOB. IloA peA. A. X. Xprnaiia. FHApoMUTeo-
II3A8T. J\., 1951.
5. fpaCoBCKiiii P. H. 0 KoimenrpamiH x-nopiiAa B ocaAKax n o6jiamiux sJieMexrax.
BCCT. j\ry HI 10, 1951.
6. ApoaAosa B. M. u Ap. XiiMiiMecKiifl cociao aTMOCtpcpHUx ocaAKOB Ha EaponeftcKofl
TeppiiTOpHii CCCP. rn;ipoMeTeoii3AaT, JI., 1964.
7. H M H H ii T o Q H. M., M y 6 a p H H a E. B. SjieKTpicjecTBO CBofioAHOrt aTMOCipepu.. HiA-
poMeTeoiisAar, /!., 19G5.
8. JlaKTiioiiou A. f. Pe.iy^bTaiw iicc^e.'ionaiuifi ecTecTDeniiux aipoao^efl naA pas-
^imiiuMii pa/ioiiaMii CCCP. MSB. AH CCCP, ccp. reoc|). Ni 4, M., 1960.
9. /ICBIIH JI. M. Hco^e.aoBaiiHfl no cpH^HKe rpyGoAHCncpCHbix aspoao^efl. MSA, AH
CCCP, M., 1961.
10. Me fie on B. flxv Ousuna oQ.iaKos. HepeaoA HOA peA. B. T. Mopa^cocKoro a
E. C. Ce-neaiieBofi. FiiyipoMeTeoiiaAaT, JI., 1961.
11. Mecapoui 3. 4>H3HHKe o6^aKoa n aKTUBHUM B03AcAcTBHflM na noroay*.
poMeTcoii3AaT, M., 1967.
12. rierpeii'iyK 0. n., A ^ e K c a K A p O.B H. H O6 oueiu
-------
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CLOUD WATER
IN REGIONS OF WESTERN SIBERIA
0. P. Petrenchuk
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. 1m. A. I. Voeykova, No. 234,
p. 130-136, (1968).
An important factor in atmospheric self-purification involving
various impurities, both those of natural origin and those caused by
man's industrial activity, is atmospheric precipitation. The composi-
tion of the latter depends on a number of parameters, for example, the
chemical nature of the condensation nuclei, the physico-geographical
location of the points of sampling, and the content of aerosols and
C.aseous impurities because of local pollution sources (industrial dis-
charges, underlying surface, etc.) in the subcloud layer of the atmos-
phere, this content being considerably dependent on the stratification
of the atmosphere. The process of formation of the chemical composition
of the precipitation takes place in the cloud itself, and it is, there-
fore, important to study the chemical composition of cloud water and to
explain its causes, particularly the influence of meteorological condi-
tions.
The present paper examines the chemical composition of cloud water
on the basis of samples collected in the vicinity of Krasnoyarsk,
Yeniseysk, Podkamennaya Tunguska and other cities and towns of Western
Siberia. The organization of systematic work involving the collection
of samples of cloud water at a point of airplane sounding in Krasnoyarsk
made it possible to obtain for the first time data on the chemical compo-
sition of cloud water in regions of Western Siberia under various meteor-
ological conditions. The cloud water samples were collected by flight
aerologists V. G. Dedkov, A. A. Ignat'yeva, and N. A. Volkova, and anal-
yzed in the chemical laboratory headed by V. M. Drozdova.
An inspection of the data obtained is of special interest, since,
according to studies of the distribution of condensation nuclei [3] and
chemical composition of the precipitation [4], the atmosphere is basic-
ally pure in the north of the European territory of the USSR and over a
vast area of the Asian taiga. On the average, the total impurities dis-
solved in the precipitation do not exceed 10-15 mg/1. However, under
unfavorable meteorological conditions, in the vicinity of large industri-
alized cities, a heavy pollution of the atmosphere is observed, which
causes an increase in the concentration of condensation nuclei and in the
mineralization of the precipitation.
It is of interest to determine the mineralization of cloud water in
regions of western Siberia and the extent of its variation with the mete-
orological conditions.
-------
The analysis of the influence of meteorological conditions made use
of data on the chemical composition of cloud water collected in various
synoptic situations (about 60 cases in all). Samples of water were ob-
tained from clouds formed under anticyclonlc and cyclonic conditions, in
cases of slight advection and marked transport of air masses, and a con-
siderable part of the samples were collected from precipitating frontal
clouds.
The stratification of the atmosphere under anticyclonic conditions
and slight advection was characterized by the presence of a temperature
inversion. The clouds were located under the inversion, and their verti-
cal thickness was 150-500 m.
Let us consider a few characteristic examples, for which data of
chemical analysis are given in Table 1.
Under anticyclonic conditions
with a slight advection of the air
masses, two samples of cloud water
were obtained (No. 1, 2). Sample
No. 2 was collected on 16 May 1966,
50 km to the north of Krasnoyarsk.
An extensive anticyclone with its
center at Abakan was located in the
south of Siberia at that time.
Krasnoyarsk was in the central part
of the anticyclone. At the sampl-
ing point, a wind from the direction
of Krasnoyarsk was observed. The
sample was taken from subinversion
fine-droplet Sc clouds with a water
content of 0.13 g/m^ and with a ver-
tical thickness of 350 m; Its total
mineralization was 30.8 mg/1. The
results of temperature sounding in
the atmosphere on 16 May 1966 during
the collection of the sample are
shown in Fig. 1 b.
ZKM
a)
-20
-to
Fig. 1.
Sample No. 1 was collected from
Ac clouds at a height of 2230 m on
19 October 1965 in the vicinity of
Krasnoyarsk, In the northwestern part
of a vast anticyclone with its center
on the territory of Mongolia. The
clouds were located under a layer of a marked temperature inversion (fig. 1 a)
and were characterized by a slight vertical thickness (190 m) and low water
content (0.15 g/m^). The collected sample of cloud water had a dark color,
and its mineralization was 32 mg/1.
Results of temperature
sounding of the atmosphere
in Krasnoyarsk.
a - 19 October 1965; b - 16 May 1966.
-------
oo
VO
Chemical Composition of Samples of Water from Clouds in the Vicinity of Krasnoyarsk in Various Synoptic Situations.
Cl>t«
•-I a
H
0)3
(/)!=
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Date
19 X 1965 r.
16 V 1966 r.
16 X 1965 r.
16 X 1965 r.
16 X 1965 r.
23 V 1966 r.
23 V 1966 r.
4 V 1967 r.
4 V 1967 r.
4 V 1967 r.
29 IX 1965 r.
10 V 1966 r.
e
t,
o
t*
M
u
Ac
-Sc
Ac
Ac
Ac
Sc
Sc
Sc
Sc
Sc
Sc
Sc
%9E
+>a
-------
The presence of pronounced temperature inversions in combination with
low wind velocities under anticyclonic conditions in the region of Kras-
noyarsk promotes the accumulation of impurities in the subcloud layer of
the atmosphere, and this, as shown by the data of Table 1, is reflected in
the composition of the cloud water, despite the considerable height of the
sampling.
The S0^= ions, chiefly due to industrial discharges, predominate in
water samples from subinversion clouds (No. 1 and 2). They amount to 80%
of the total of all the ions. Accordingly, the ratio SO^*/C1~ is also
large. There is also observed a somewhat increased concentration of NH^"*"
ions as compared with the concentration of the remaining ions.
The chemical composition of samples taken under cyclonic conditions
from precipitating frontal clouds (samples No. 3-7) is substantially differ-
ent.
On 16 October 1965, the development of cyclonic activity was observed
over a considerable area of the south of western Siberia. A marked pres-
sure drop was observed in the region of Krasnoyarsk and to the west of the
latter. A wave front passed from the southwest to the northeast and across
Krasnoyarsk. A vast area of precipitation was observed along this front.
In the vicinity of Krasnoyarsk, at three heights beginning with approximate-
ly 3000 m and higher, three samples (No. 3, 4, 5) were taken from Ac clouds.
It is evident from the table that the mineralization of samples in
this case is one order of magnitude lower than that of samples from subin-
version clouds and does not exceed 4.0 mg/1. The value of the ratio S04"/C1,
which indirectly characterizes the influence of industrial pollution, de-
creased substantially.
The Ac clouds consisted of fine droplets and crystals, and their water
content increased from 0.20 g/m3 at heights of 2990 and 3600 m to 0.43 g/m3
at 3800 m. Petrenchuk et al. [2] noted the existence of a dependence of the
composition of cloud water on the microphysical characteristics of the cloud.
In particular, it was observed that the more mineralized samples of cloud
water corresponded to lower values of the effective droplet radius and of
the water content of the cloud. Such low mineralization values of cloud
water for comparatively moderate values of the water content and the predom-
inance of fine droplets indicate in this case an extreme purity of the water
on precipitating frontal clouds.
On 23 May 1966, an occlusion front associated with a vast precipitation
zone moved across Krasnoyarsk. In the area where the hydroelectric power
station is located, to the southwest of Krasnoyarsk, two samples (No. 6 and
7) were taken from fine-droplet clouds with a water content of 0.71 g/m3 at
two heights. They were characterized by a relatively low mineralization and
were similar in chemical composition to the samples taken on 16 October 1965.
Clouds forming in an air mass of Arctic origin in the forward part of
large anticyclones or in the rear of cyclones may be classified in a separate
-------
Table 2
Chemical Composition of Water From Clouds on the Territory of Western Siberia in Various Synoptic Situations
t,
1
c
3
&
to
Si
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Date
19 X 1966
3 VI 1966
6 X 1966
13 IX 1966
9 IX 1965
9 IX 1965
9 IX 1965
I
5
£
1650
3420
2320
1580
1380
1620
1340
Concentration, ng/1
•*
%
6,6
3,8
1.6
0,8
0,8
0,9
1,1
ft
o
1,0
7,7
0,8
0,2
0,5
0.2
0.4
•KV
to
0,7
0,3
0,1
0.3
0,1
0,1
0.1
*KN
Q
g
4,6
0,0
0,0
0,6
2,0
o.o
1.0
+*
3C
Of
3,1
0,9
0.3
0,3
0,2
0.1
0.2
+
€0
0,2
2,6
0,2
0,0
0.2
0,1
0,1
fc
0,1
3,4
0,3
o.o
0,1
0,0
0.1
+
+
JP
0.3
0,2
0.2
0.2
0,2
0.0
0,2
t
-------
intermediate group. Samples from such clouds also are characterized by
low mineralization values. However, their impurity concentration is
somewhat higher than that of precipitating frontal clouds.
ZHM
3
a)
So
Sc
-20
Fig. 2.
"fO P« 8°C
Results of temperature sound-
ing of the atmosphere.
The chemical composition of
samples of cloud water (No. 8-12)
collected under conditions of
advection of air masses from the
north is given as an example.
Samples No. 8-10 were taken on
4 May 1967, 50 km north of
Krasnoyarsk from Sc clouds of
mixed structure with a water con-
tent of 0.35-0.50 g/m3. The area
of collection was located in the
frontal part of a large anticy-
clone in the area of a pronounced
northern transport. Results of
atmospheric sounding show that
the clouds were located under a
layer of temperature inversion,
which is frequently observed in
the forward part of the anticy-
clone (Fig. 2 a). However, the
presence of an inversion in this
layer does not cause the accumu-
lation of impurities in the sub-
inversion layer, as was the case
in a low-gradient pressure field.
Indeed, in a rapid displacement
of the air masses arriving from
the sparsely populated areas of northern Siberia, their transformation is
slowed down, and they are less exposed to the influence of ground sources
of pollution.
Table 1 shows the results of chemical analysis of samples taken on
10 May 1966 in the area of Krasnoyarsk, located in the rear of the cy-
clone, from clouds formed during passage of secondary cold fronts (No. 12),
and on 29 September 1965, when the point of sampling was located in the
northern part of the anticyclone (No. 11). The chemical composition of
these samples differs only slightly, and in mineralization they resemble
samples No. 9 and 10.
In regions of western Siberia farther to the north (environs of
Turukhansk, Podkamennaya Tunguska, Yeniseysk, Achinsk, Boguchany), the
cloud water is still less mineralized. However, in subinversion clouds
(Fig. 2 b), formed in a low-gradient pressure field, an increased impurity
concentration reaching 20 mg/1 is observed. However, in clouds formed in
other synoptic situations, particularly upon intrusion of Arctic air masses
into the forward part of an anticyclone or the rear of a cyclone or during
the development of cyclonic activity, the total mineralization amounts to
an average of 3-6 mg/1. Some typical cases with results of chemical
a -
b -
4 May 1967 in Krasnoyarsk;
19 October 1966 in Yeniseysk.
-------
COULOMETRIC METHOD OF DETERMINATION OF SULFUR-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS IN AIR
N. Sh. Vol'berg
From Trudy, Glavnaya Geofiz. Observat. 1m. A. I. Voeykova, No. 238,
p. 107-114, (1969)
The widespread use of automatic Instruments for the determination of
toxic Impurities In air Is hindered by an Inadequate sensitivity and by the
high cost of gas analyzers. The creation of a bank of automatic instruments
in every laboratory which would make it possible to determine even the most
common air pollutants is a very difficult problem. Therefore, the develop-
ment of universal, continuous-action gas analyzers suitable for determining
microimpurltles in air is quite urgent. Of major interest .in the design of
such instruments is the coulometric method.
The coulometric method has long been extensively used in analytical
chemistry for the analysis of solutions, but its chief advantages in gas
analysis have been discovered only recently thanks to the works of Hersch
[7], Novak [8] and a number of other scientists. The coulometric analysis
of gases is based on the measurement of the current of the electrode reaction
involving the substance being determined, which acts as a depolarizer and is
continuously supplied to the electrolytic cell with the stream of analyzed
gas.
Depending on the nature of the reaction taking place at the electrode,
the coulometric method may be used for the determination of reductants or
oxidants.
The advantage of this method is the theoretical possibility that the
electrode reaction can take place with a 100 percent current efficiency.
This makes it possible to calculate the value of the measured concentra-
tion from Faraday's law without the need for calibration. The participa-
tion in the reaction of the entire substance supplied ensures a high sensi-
tivity of the determinations, making the method particularly suitable for
determining microconcentrations of various impurities in air and other
gases. A high sensitivity can also be attained even without the use of
current amplifiers by using ordinary microammeters. In contrast to the
other electrometric (polarographic, conductometric, potentiometric, etc.)
methods, in the coulometric method, the magnitude of the current is de-
termined only by the.amount of the electrochemically active substance
supplied to the cell, and.is almost independent of factors usually affect-
ing the results of measurements in other methods such as temperature, state
of the electrode surface, stirring rate, etc.
Of particular importance is the absence of a temperature dependence of
the readings, so that thermostating of the cells is unnecessary. These
-------
analysis of cloud water in various regions of western Siberia are given
in Table 2.
Table 3 lists mean values of the impurity concentration in samples
of water from two groups of clouds: frontal and subinversion clouds for
the entire investigated territory of western Siberia. The first group
also includes samples collected in clouds formed during a marked advection
of air masses of Arctic origin, since their chemical composition differs
little from that of frontal clouds. An inspection of the data of this
table shows that the mineralization of the water samples from subinversion
clouds is over 3 times that of the water from precipitating frontal clouds.
Table 3
Chemical Composition of Cloud Water in Regions of Western Siberia.
Cloud Type
Frontal
Subin-
version- •
Concentration, Dg/liter
V
2,8
11,5
o
0,6
1,9
sf
0,3
0,6
's
0,6
1,1
V
0,4
2,2
*
-------
advantages of the coulometric method favor the creation of portable gas
analyzers of high sensitivity.
The coulometric method has been used as the basis for the design of
Instruments for determining a number of toxic substances in air: sulfur
dioxide, halogens, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and some others.
Since the group of substances which can undergo a direct coulometric
determination is limited to electrochemlcally active, chiefly inorganic gases,
efforts to expand it through chemical conversions of inactive compounds are
justified.
The object of the present study was to determine the conditions for the
coulometric determination of sulfur-containing compounds. It was assumed
that the substances containing sulfur could.be burned to sulfur dioxide,
which is readily determinable coulometrically. As the representative of
such compounds we selected carbon disulfide, a substance widely employed in
industry and possessing a high toxiclty.
Determination of Carbon Disulfide
A large number of studies have been devoted to the problems of com-
bustion of sulfur-containing substances. Combustion Is one of the most
common methods of elemental analysis or organic substances and the most
widespread method in the determination of sulfur in metal ores.
The combustion of substances containing sulfur forms a mixture of its
oxides. As we know, the ratio of SC>2 to SO, is determined by the temperature
of the process. At comparatively moderate temperatures of the order of 400-
500°C, the equilibrium is markedly shifted toward the formation of SO-j and only
at temperatures above 1000°C does the bulk of the S03 dissociate into S02.
Under analytical conditions, the ratio of 862 to SO., Is also affected
by the presence of catalysts, the oxygen concentration in the gaseous mixture,
and the composition of the latter.
For this reason, in the absolute majority of cases, the final determina-
tion is made on the SO^ ion, eliminating the sulfur oxides by various absorb-
ers and oxidizing SOj to SO^.
The determination of the sulfur content in terms of sulfur dioxide is
used chiefly in different variants of the lamp method, in which the oxidation
to SO, is comparatively slight. For a gas analyzer, it is more convenient to
carry out the combustion in a tube heater.
The determination of sulfur in organic compounds in terms of SOo after
combustion In an empty quartz tube has been closely studied by Dokladalova
[6]. It was found that the systematic negative error caused by the conver-
sion of sulfur dioxide to the trioxlde is determined by the temperature in
the combustion zone and is independent of the structure of the substances
undergoing combustion.
The authors contend that the combustion in an empty quartz tube in a
-------
stream of air at 800°C can be used for determining the content of sulfur in
organic substances from the sulfur dioxide formed.
To determine sulfur dioxide, we used a coulometrlc cell designed by
V. Z. Al'perin et al. for the analysis of atmospheric air [1, 4].
It was of interest first to explain the degree of oxidation of SC^ on
passing air through an empty quartz tube at a given rate and different temp-
eratures.
The gas-air mixture, containing a constant amount of sulfur dioxide, was
passed at a rate of 150 ml/min through a quartz tube 6 mm in diameter into a
coulometric cell connected with an N 373-1 automatic recorder. The tube was
inserted into an MA 2-20 tube heater whose temperature was measured and main-
tained at a certain level within ±10°C by means of an EPB-2 controller. The
length of the Incandescent zone of the heater was 190 mm. The gas was
supplied at a constant rate from a diffusion dispenser [2] filled with a
solution of sulfur dioxide and water.
A check showed that in the temperature range from 20° to 1100°C in the
quartz tube, the current of the coulometric cell, proportional to the amount
of SC>2, underwent no change, indicating the absence of oxidation of sulfur
dioxide by atmospheric oxygen in the empty quartz tube.
Further, the combustion of carbon disulflde was checked in the same
tube at a constant feed rate of 1.2 yg/mln, an air drawing rate of 50-250
ml/min, and at different temperatures, 700°-1000°C.
The constant amount of carbon disulfide
was steadily supplied from a diffusion dis-
penser described below [3]. '
.Results of measurements of the coulo-
metric cell current are shown in Fig. 1. It
is evident from the latter that at 850°C the
yield of sulfur dioxide reaches a maximum and
does not increase with a further elevation
of temperature. This attests to the comple-
tion of the combustion of carbon disuifide.
Considering the possibility of voltage
fluctuations in the line, the working temp-
erature chosen was 900°-950°C.
I.
no
too
90
80
70
S0
50
600 700 800 900 VC
Fig. 1. Cell current vs. com-
bustion temperature of carbon
disulfide.
The influence of the flow rate of the
analyzed air on the yield of sulfur diox-
ide at a given temperature was checked. It
was found that in the range of 50-250 ml/min, the consumption of the analyzed
air did not affect the results obtained.
-------
In order to create a technical basis for the construction of a coulo-
metrlc gas analyzer, it was desirable to use elements as small and as light
as possible. An attempt was therefore made to use a heater With a shorter
combustion zone, 55 mm. In this case, quantitative combustion began only
at 1050° C.
The use of a catalyst - platinum wire with an area of 5 cm^ rolled into
a cylinder - did not yield any positive results. On the contrary, the
catalyst decreased the yield of sulfur dioxide by 7% as compared with the
empty tube, even at 1150°C.
In addition to the empty quartz tube heated from outside, the following
were tested: a fine quartz tube 3 mm in diameter heated from outside to
900° C, placed in a similar tube 6 mm in diameter, and a spiral of platinum
wire heated by a current to 1200°C and placed inside a wide quartz tube. In
both cases the yield was lower than in the empty quartz tube.
Thus, the following conditions were found to be optimal for the combus-
tion of carbon disulfide: quartz tube diamter 6 mm, length of heating zone
190 mm, temperature 850°-950°C, air rate up to 250 ml/min. Under these con-
ditions, certain carbon disulfide concentrations (from 0.3 to 10 mg/nr)
obtained by means of the above-described diffusion dispenser were analyzed
repeatedly.
The carbon disulfide concentration (mg/m^) was calculated from the
formula v
c =: 0,01 18 • ~-~-,
where 0.0118 is the electrochemical equivalent of €82, jag/min ' uA; I is
the cell current, MA; IQ is the background current, JJA; v is the air flow
rate, Jl/min.
In a series of 35 determinations, the concentration values found
amounted to an average of 97% of the assumed values for a probable square
deviation of the arithmetic mean of 13% (for an accuracy of 0.95).
On the basis of the data obtained, a correction factor of 0.97 was
introduced into the formula for calculating the carbon disulfide concen-
trations. The refined formula is
0.0118 /-/„ _oo /-•/..
--
Removal of interfering impurities. Since in many technological pro-
cesses carbon disulfide is. associated with sulfur dioxide and hydrogen
sulfide, particular attention was given to the problem of purification of
the analyzed air by removal of the indicated impurities. A series of ad-
sorbents were tested for this purpose: sodium acetate, sodium and potassium
-------
carbonates (for trapping sulfur dioxide) and lead acetate, copper sulfate,
and cadmium oxalate (for trapping hydrogen sulfide). These substances were
deposited on the inert dlatomaceous support TND (spherochrome-1).
The effectiveness of- the absorption of SQ2 and H^S and the influence of
the adsorbents on the accuracy of the determination or carbon disulfide were
checked. The experiments showed that the carrier impregnated with lead
acetate solution effectively holds hydrogen sulfide without adsorbing CS2-
Potassium carbonate deposited on TND in the form of a saturated solution
containing phenolphthalein indicator may be recommended for trapping sulfur
dioxide.
As little as 0.3 ml of adsorbent is enough to hold either S02 or ILgS.
The adsorbent for sulfur dioxide is prepared in the following manner.
Carrier TND-TS-M (spherochrome-1) (the 0.25-1 mm fraction) is boiled with
1:2 hydrochloric acid for two hours, washed until the reaction is neutral,
and heated for two hours at 800-900°C. The carrier is wetted with a satur-
ated solution of potassium carbonate in the proportion of 1 ml to 3 ml of
carrier, stirred, and dried at 100-150°C. The powder is then colored with
a few drops of an alcohol solution of phenolphthalein and dried at 50-60°C.
With use, the adsorbent loses its red color. After one-half of its layer
has been used up, the adsorbent is replaced.
To prepare the adsorbent for hydrogen sulfide, the inert carrier,
purified as described above, Is drenched with a lead acetate solution satur-
ated at room temperature in the proportion of 1 ml to 3 ml of carrier, and
dried at 100-120°C. As it becomes saturated with hydrogen sulfide, the
adsorbent turns black. It is replaced after one-half of its layer has been
used up.
Determination of Hydrogen Sulfide
As we know, hydrogen sulfide, like sulfur dioxide can reduce elemental
iodine to hydrogen iodide, and is determined from the current of oxidation
of the latter on a noble metal electrode [9]. However, as was shown experi-
mentally, relative to SC>2, the allowed drawing rate of the gas being analyzed
through the coulometric cell is 5-7-times lower in this case, owing to the
lower solubility of hydrogen sulfide in the aqueous medium and the slower
rate of reaction with iodine. It was useful therefore to carry out a pre-
liminary combustion of hydrogen sulfide to sulfur dioxide. It was found
possible to use the samp conditions for this purpose as for the combustion
of carbon disulfide.
Fig. 2 shows comparative current efficiency data for the direct re-
action of hydrogen sulfide with the electrolyte and after its combustion to
S02 for different drawing rates of air. The amount of E2S supplied from the
-------
diffusion dispenser remained constant and equal
to 1 yg/min. Although after the combustion the
magnitude of the signal obtained decreases by
approximately one-half, the sensitivity of the
determinations can be increased severalfold be-
cause the drawing rate of the analyzed air can
be considerably increased.
To determine the yield of S02 from the
combustion of H2S, the results of coulometric
determination of the amount of hydrogen sul-
fide discharged from the dispenser per minute
were compared with data of chemical analysis
performed by using a standard method [5]. The
data listed in Table 1 show a relatively high
yield of S02.
20
15
0 50 100 ISO 200 ml/mln
Fig. 2. Current vs. rate of
passage of analyzed air through
the coulometric cell in the de-
termination of hydrogen sulfide.
1 - without combustion, 2 - with
preliminary combustion.
The preliminary combustion of H2S not only
affords the possibility of increasing the sens-
itivity of the determinations, but considerably
increases the selectivity of the analysis.
This is because under the conditions adopted
for the combustion of hydrogen sulfide, all the
interfering organic impurities capable of re-
ducing iodine like S02 (for example, aldehydes,
ketones, etc.) oxidize to C02< Under the selected conditions, only organic
sulfur compounds and S02 interfere with the determination of H2S. To elim-
inate S02 from the analyzed air, a series of adsorbents were tested. We
based their selection on the fact that sulfur dioxide has much stronger
acidic properties than H2S. Therefore, salts of acids weaker than SC>2 were
tested as absorbers. The salts were deposited on the inert carrier sphero-
chrome-1 in the form of saturated aqueous solutions in the proportion of 1
ml to 3 ml of powder and were dried at 120-150°C.
All the indicated adsorbents completely trapped sulfur dioxide (concen-
tration 30 mg/m3) for a layer volume of 0.3 ml and an air flow rate of 100
ml/min (Table 2). The trapping of hydrogen sulfide by these salts was
checked on a small concentration of H2S, about 1 mg/m .
All the S02 absorbers tested trap to a slight degree also H2S. The
best results were obtained with sodium carbonate, which decreased the hydro-
gen sulfide concentration by only 3%. An attempt to use the oxidants
potassium chlorate and hydroperit for trapping S02 were unsuccessful.
The effect of the presence of organic substances in the analyzed gas on
the yield of sulfur dioxide from the combustion of H_S was checked in spec-
ial experiments. This check was necessitated by differences in the behavior
of sulfur dioxide in the ignited tube depending on its origin. Whereas SO^
formed from organosulfur compounds oxidizes partially to SOo during the com-
bustion, ready S02 was shown by our observations to pass with the stream of
air through the ignited quartz tube without oxidizing. This suggested the
-------
Table 1
Comparative Results of Determination of Hydrogen Sulfide (ug/min) by the Standard
Method and the Coulonetric Method after oenfeuatisn to SOg.
Method
Standard
1.40
1.27
1,39
1.33
1,43
Coulometrio
1.38
Standard
2,00
2.03
1.97
1,93
1,9
Standard
0,39
0.43
0.35
0,42
• 0,40
Coulonetrio
0,40
Table 2
Adsorbents for Sulfur Dioxide.
Substance
K,C03
NazCO:l
NaCjH5O3
KaHPO4
Na2COa
Carrier
Spherochrooe-1
*
ft
.
—
% Retained
S02 H2S
100
100
100
100
100
5
3
5
7
3
Table 3
Effect of the Presence of an
Organic Substance on the Yield
of SOj from the Combustion of H2S.
possibility of an Induced oxidation of sulfur
dioxide. To elucidate this question, differ-
ent amounts of vapor of an organic substance
(acetone) were Introduced into the stream of
air containing a constant t^S concentration
(8 mg/m3) (Table 3). The value of the coulo-
metric cell current, measured for the case of
combuxtion of l^S in air without other admix-
tures, was taken as 100%.
It is evident from the data of Table 3
that the presence of other organic substances
affects the yield of SC>2, but to a small ex-
tent. Therefore, the applicability of this
method to the determination of H2$ in gases
containing substantial concentrations of or-
ganic substances requires further checking.
Determination of Sulfur Dioxide in the Presence of Other Reductant8
The coulometric method is at the present time the most promising for
the determination of mlcroconcentrations of sulfur dioxide in air. However,
the scope of this method is considerably limited by the nonspeclficity of
Concentration of
Acetone, og/m*
0
. 20
.34
Cell Current
yA
78
75
73.5
%
100
96
94
-------
the analysis in the presence of other reductants such as acetone. This
makes the analysis unreliable in the presence of products of incomplete
combustion of organic compounds.
Attempts to select an absorber which removes the interfering impurities
and does not hold S02 have been unsuccessful. The selectivity of the de-
terminations was successfully achieved by using the above-mentioned stability
of sulfur dioxide to oxidation in an empty heated quartz tube, since all the
other substances lose their reducing properties under these conditions.
Despite the inconvenience of using a heater in the apparatus, only this
method is applicable in the presence of other reductants (except l^S and
other sulfur-containing compounds). A series of reagents were tested for
their capacity to hold hydrogen sulfide: lead acetate and copper sulfate on
spherochrome-1, cadmium oxalate on flourolone-4, metallic silver on silochrome-
3. The most convenient reagent was found to be copper sulfate, deposited on
the inert carrier spherochrome-1 washed with hydrochloric acid and water and
ignited at 900-1000°C.
When the method described is used for determining SOo in air containing
high concentrations of oxidizing substances, the possibility of induced oxi-
dation must be borne in mind just as in the determination of H2&.
Summary
1. The determination of air of microimpurities of vapors and gases of
sulfur-containing compounds is best carried out by using the coulometric
method for sulfur dioxide, after passing the gas through an empty quartz
tube ignited to 850-1000°C.
2. The size of the combustion zone depends on the required flow rate of
the analyzed air and fqr 0.25 1/min are 1 = 200 mm, d • 6 mm.
3. When sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are determined, a prelim-
inary combustion substantially increases the specificity of the determinations
in the presence of other reductants. It is shown that in contrast to other
reductants, S02 does not oxidize when passing with a stream of air through a
heated empty quartz tube. In addition, in the presence of a large amount of
combustible substances, there takes place a slight induced oxidation of sulfur
dioxide which requires a special study.
A. Selective solid chemical adsorbents that gradually change color as
they are used up were chosen for the separate determination of sulfur dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide when these compounds are present
together.
-------
LITERATURE CITED
I. A/II.ncjiHii B. 3. [H /ip.]. yconupujeHCTuoBaimax ra-ibBainmcKaii xyjiOHO-no.'iH-
|,iiifi;i'|>ii'K:rK;r,i ti'H-.HKH ;uin nri.Mcpciiiiii MMUX KGimciiTpaiiHft AuyoKHcii ccpu. C6. I« Ma.iux KO^imecTB m-
.'.Oil II IKipoll II ilOTOK U03AVX3. C6. «.\\CTO,'IU OllpCAejICIIMH BpCAMMX UCIIICCTU D U03AyXC».
Iloa pea. E. A. neperya. HUH riirHcuw ipyja n npO(i)3a6o^eBaintft, Jl., 1968, 130.
3. Bojibfiepr H. 111. Aoaaiop napoa jierymix wiiaKociefi. CM. Hacr. cC.
4. C a ii (J> H P. H., 5 .1 a w e 11 H o B a A. H., A ;i b n e p u n B. 3. AHT. emu. A"» 191213.
iiaoop., A1} 12, 1964.
5. TexmniccKiie yc^omm HH Mero^hi onpeAe.ieHim upeAiiux sen;ecTu a aoaAyxe.
ms, M., uuiii. 1, 1960, 12.
SDokladaloval. MicrobesUmmung des Schwefels in organisclien Ferbundun-
gen. Microch. e. ichnoanal. acta. 1965, 2, 344—348.
. 7 Hersch P. Galvanic Analysis. Advances in Analytical Chemistry and Instru-
mentation, 1964, 183—249.
8. No v 2k 1. V. A. Polarographic-coulometric Analyzers. Measurement of Low
Concentrations of Sulphur Dioxide. Coll. Czechosl. Chem. Commun., 1965, 30, 2703—2716.
9 Nova' k I. V. A. Some Examples of Automatic Measurements by Means of
Polarography. Abstracts of Papers. XXI Int. Congr. Pure a. Appl. Chem., Prague,
1967, A 21.
------- |