Thermal inversion and particulate matter concentration in Wrocław in winter season

Abstract

Studies on air quality frequently adopt clustering, in particular the k-means technique, owing to its simplicity, ease of implementation and efficiency. The aim of the present paper was the assessment of air quality in a winter season (December–February) in the conditions of temperature inversion using the k-means method, representing a non-hierarchical algorithm of cluster analysis. The air quality was assessed on the basis of the concentrations of particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5). The studies were conducted in four winter seasons (2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2019/20) in Wrocław (Poland). As a result of the application of the v-fold cross test, six clusters for each fraction of PM were identified. Even though the analysis covers only four winter seasons, the applied method has unequivocally revealed that the characteristics of surface-based (SBI) and elevated inversions (ELI) affect the concentration level of both fractions of particulate matter. In the case of PM10, the average lowest daily concentration (15.5 µg·m−3) was recorded in the conditions of approx. 205 m in thickness, 0.5◦C intensity of the SBI and at the height of the base of the ELI at approx. 1700 m a.g.l., a thickness of 148 m and an intensity of 1.2◦C. In turn, the average highest concentration (136 µg·m−3) was recorded at a thickness of SBI of approx. 400 m and an intensity of 1.4◦C. Such high concentration occurred when the lowest location of ELI formed at 764 m a.g.l. with a thickness of 308 m and an intensity of 0.96◦C. A marked role of the thickness of the SBI and ELI as well as the height of the base of the lowest location of ELI was also manifested with respect to PM2.5 concentrations.