ASL385

Fundamentals of Air Pollution Science

Ravi Kumar Kunchala

Centre for Atmospheric Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
 ASL385- Fundamentals of Air Pollution Science

Marks distribution:

Mid-term Exam 25 Marks

Assignment /Mini Project 20 Marks

Quiz/Class test 20 Marks

Major Exam 35Marks

rkkunchala@[Link]; IIT Delhi

Reading recommendations

Atmospheric Science by Wallace and Hobbs

Meteorology Today by C Donald Ahrens

First Principles of Meteorology and Air Pollution By Mihalis Lazaridis

Air Pollution Sources, statistics and health effects by Michel, Johnsen

and Heltel

Sources and Control of Air Pollution by Heinsohn Kabel

Air Pollution Sources, Impacts and Control by Saxena and Vaishali

Fundamentals of Concepts focusing Factors behind In situ
the atmosphere: on atmospheric governing the measurements;
Structure, composition changes in the air emerging
composition, related to the air pollutants/quality techniques in
transport, and pollution/ air satellite remote
criteria quality sensing of surface
air quality

Basics of Air Factors driving the Implications on Emissions and air pollution
Pollution changes Regional air quality reduction strategies

Case studies to Crop residue

Modeling concepts various air burning, forest fire
one, two and three
and its pollutants emissions, and
dimensions) and
applications Emerging issues desert dust;
their applicability
(Different types of over the IGP, Delhi Inter-relation of
to different time
modeling and other Asian air pollution and
scales)
methodologies megacities climate change
Introduction: Air Pollution and Air quality
Definition and history
Types of air pollutants: Primary vs Secondary, Criteria vs Hazardous
Natural vs anthropogenic sources
Key global air pollution events (e.g., London Smog of 1952)

Sources and Emissions: Regional to Global Air quality

Mobile sources
Stationary sources
Area sources
Biogenic and geogenic sources
Emission inventory development and estimation techniques

Processes: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

Gas-phase chemistry (e.g., photochemical reactions, ozone formation)
Aerosol science: formation, growth, removal
Atmospheric transport, dispersion, and mixing
Meteorological influences on air pollution
Deposition processes: dry and wet deposition
Monitoring Air Quality and Management
Ground-based measurements: low-cost sensors, analyzers,
Remote sensing and satellite observations
Sampling techniques for gases and particulates
Data quality assurance and control

Modeling to Understanding the Air Pollution Gaussian plume and puff models
Chemical transport models (e.g., WRF-Chem, Reg-Clim, CMAQ, GEOS-Chem)
Data assimilation and inverse modeling
Source apportionment techniques (e.g., PMF, CMB)
Chemical Reanalysis datasets

Impacts: Health and Environmental

Human health impacts: short-term and chronic exposure
Epidemiological studies and dose-response functions
Impacts on ecosystems: acid rain, eutrophication, visibility
Climate interactions: radiative forcing of aerosols and gases
Indoor vs outdoor air pollution

Regulatory Frameworks and Air Quality Standards

National standards (e.g., CPCB, NAAQS in India)
International guidelines (e.g., WHO, EPA standards)
Air quality indices (AQI)
Policy instruments: command-and-control, market-based approaches
Fundamentals of the atmosphere: Structure, Composition, Transport, and Stability;

PM2.5 pollution; Surface ozone; Acid rain; Organic pollutants;

In situ measurements; emerging techniques in satellite remote sensing of surface air quality;

Concepts behind modeling air pollutant transport: one-box model, puff models, and continuity
equation:

Eulerian and Lagrangian forms; air pollution hotspots

Emerging issues over the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Delhi and other Asian megacities;

Crop residue burning, forest fire emissions, and desert dust;

Impact of emission reduction policies and natural events on global, regional, and local air quality;

Inter-relation of air pollution and climate change;

Impacts of air pollution on human health and food security;

Types of Air Pollution
Indoor
Outdoor

Urban Pollution
Regional Air Pollution
Global Air pollution Methods
Ground/surface
Effects
Health In-suite
Ecosystem Satellite based
Weather and Climate
Modeling Tools
Factors Emissions based
Meteorological inventories
Formation mechanisms

Sources
Natural and Anthropogenic Sources
 ASL 385- Fundaments of Air Pollution Science
Basics concepts of Air Pollution
Sources
Anthropogenic Sources air pollutants
Natural Sources
Transport of air pollutants
Processes associated with the Air Pollution Changes
Methods for measuring the air pollutants
Air Pollution Modeling
(Concepts related to the air pollutants, when and where to use)
Applications of the methods of observations and modeling for
case studies, regional Air pollution problems and their
Scientific understanding
Effects of Air pollutants on health, ecosystem and Environment
Technologies to curb air pollution
Air Pollution Control Policies
 ASL 385- Fundaments of Air Pollution Science

Few questions for better understanding of air quality

What are the methodologies and approaches are required?

Observations (Real time approaches – Will alone sufficient ?) – Case studies

Ground based observations (LPS- Location of point sources)

Satellite based observations (Global coverage)

Modeling approaches – (What kind of benefits would obtain)

Major question

Can any one of the tool will serve the purpose of solving the problem?

If not then how these approaches will supplement one another?

Focus should be given to the concept of the modeling methodologies to understand

the spatial distribution of the air pollutants
Pollution link to fog: Why Delhi sees severe smog during winter even when its
PM load is lower than Beijing

What makes
these
situation
worst?
How to address these much needed scientific problems?

Did only Sources alone responsible for these impacts of air pollution?

If not what else will be plays important role in controlling the air pollution?

Why the air pollution problem is challenging and how researchers focusing
on the addressing these issues?
Atmosphere: How the gases are evolved?

Different types of air pollutants

What is air pollution?

Basic concepts of air pollution and air quality

Sources of air pollutants

Scales of air pollution

Local
Urban
Regional
Continental
Global scales

rkkunchala@[Link]; IIT Delhi

Sources of air pollutants

ØCombustion

ØMobile sources

ØStationary Sources

ØNatural sources

Effects of air pollution

ØEffects on human health

ØEffects on vegetation

ØEffects on materials and structures

ØEffects on atmosphere

ØLong term effects on the planet

rkkunchala@[Link];
rkkunchala@[Link];IIT
IITDelhi
Delhi
 Introduction
Air pollution may be defined as any atmospheric condition in which various
substances are present in the atmosphere at concentrations high enough above their
normal ambient levels to produce a harmful effect on man, animals, vegetation, or
materials.

By "substances" we mean any natural or man-made chemical elements or compounds

capable of being airborne. These substances may exist in the atmosphere as gases,
liquid drops, or solid particles

The air pollution problem can be simply depicted as a system consisting of three basic
components:

1 2 3
Emission Sources Atmosphere Receptors
Pollutants Mixing and chemical
transformations

1. The genesis of air pollution is an emission source.

2. Pollutants are emitted to the atmosphere, which acts as a medium for transport, dilution and physical and
chemical transformation.
3. Instruments or human beings, animals, plants, or materials may subsequently detect pollutants

rkkunchala@[Link]; IIT Delhi

 Natural and anthropogenic
emissions

Gases and Particles

AIR POLLUTION
Atmospheric Processing
Mixing
Phase changes
Nucleation/coagulation/condensation
Chemistry

Health and climate effects

Regulations

rkkunchala@[Link]; IIT Delhi

 What is Atmosphere?
Comprised of a mixture of invisible permanent and variable gases as well
as suspended microscopic particles (both liquid and solid)
– Permanent Gases – Form a constant proportion of the total
atmospheric mass
– Variable Gases – Distribution and concentration varies in space and
time
– Aerosols – Suspended particles and liquid droplets (excluding cloud
droplets)

• Weather deals with the short term state of the atmosphere

• Climate deals with the long-term patterns
– More than simple long-term averages
– Involves complex interactions and variability
Climate is What you Expect
And
Weather is What you Get
 Earth’s Early Atmosphere
The Earth's first atmosphere (4.6 bn years
Second atmosphere is more denser
ago) Helium and Hydrogen and its
gradually enveloped and volcanoes spewed
compounds such as CH4 and NH3
up the same gases from the interior
But it escapes to space

Mostly 80% H2O , 10% CO2 and few % N2.

Processes
H2O and CO2 is created the earth’s
Volcanic out gassing (H2O and CO2 , N2)
atmosphere due to Volcanic out gassing
Photo dissociation (O2 )
Photosynthesis is also responsible for the Due to continuous out gassing provided the
increase of O2 in the atmosphere in the rich supply of H2O and CO2.
presence of sunlight for the thousands of Rain fell upon thousand of years makes
years after the plant evolution River, lakes and oceans of the world.
Life formed, plants grew adding additional With much of H2O is already condensed and
O2 through photosynthesis leading to the concentration of CO2 dwindling, the
today’s atmosphere. atmosphere gradually became rich in N2,
which is chemically not active
O2 is the second most is probably began an extremely slowly increase in concentration as
energetic rays split H2O into H2 and O2 during a process called Photo dissociation. H2 is
8/7/25
escaped to space and O2 is remained in the atmosphere.
 Atmospheric composition of gases

8/7/25
 6%
Atmosphere
Reflected
to space 20%
30%
100%
4%
Incoming 16%
solar Clouds
radiation
Absorbed 3%
70%
51%
Earth’s
surface
 Climate Change Global warming
Climate change is the
Global warming is the rising
changes occurring in climate
Definition of the average temperature
patterns of the globe or
of the earth over time
region over period of time

Both anthropogenic and Mainly due to human

Causes natural occurring activities

Volcanic eruption, changes

Major factors in oceans, pollution, Mainly due to emissions of
affecting deforestation and release of greenhouse gases
greenhouse gases

Changes in weather
patterns, rise in earth
temperature, changes in Rise of surface temperature
Major Result
seas level and ice, more of Earth
frequent occurrence of
drought.. etc
 Atmospheric Aerosols
•Aerosols: A suspension of solid particles or liquid droplets
in a gas
•Atmospheric aerosols are solid or liquid particles or both
suspended in the atmosphere, excluding cloud droplets
and ice crystals.

•Aerosol particles vary greatly in size, source, chemical

composition, amount and distribution in space and time,
and how long they survive in the atmosphere.
Lifetime (Residence time) of aerosols: ~ days-week (Troposphere),
~ months-year (Stratosphere)