Abstract
Detailed validation of air quality models is essential, but remains challenging, due to a lack of suitable high-resolution measurement datasets. This is particularly true for pollutants with short-scale spatial variations, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2). While street-level air quality model chains can predict concentration gradients at high spatial resolution, measurement campaigns lack the coverage and spatial density required to validate these gradients. Citizen science offers a tool to collect large-scale datasets, but it remains unclear to what extent such data can truly increase model performance. Here we use the passive sampler dataset collected within the large-scale citizen science campaign CurieuzeNeuzen to assess the integrated ATMO-Street street-level air quality model chain. The extensiveness of the dataset (20.000 sampling locations across the densely populated region Flanders, ∼1.5 data points per km2) allowed an in-depth model validation and optimization. We illustrate generic techniques and methods to assess and improve street-level air quality models, and show that considerable model improvement can be achieved, in particular with respect to the correct representation of the small-scale spatial variability of the NO2-concentrations. After model optimization, the model skill of the ATMO-Street chain significantly increased, passing the FAIRMODE model quality threshold, and thus substantiating its suitability for policy support. More generally, our results reveal how a “deep validation” based on extensive spatial data can substantially improve model performance, thus demonstrating how air quality modelling can benefit from one-off large-scale monitoring campaigns.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 118946 |
Journal | Atmospheric Environment |
Volume | 272 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-careOtherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.
Keywords
- Air pollution
- Citizen science
- Dispersion modelling
- FAIRMODE Model Quality Objective
- Model optimization
- Model validation
- Semi-variogram analysis
- Spatial variation
- Street level modelling