Air quality in Norwich, UK multi-scale modelling to assess the significance of city, county and regional pollution sources

Abstract

Norwich is the eastern most city in the United Kingdom. Despite a population of only 100,000 and very little local industry, studies have shown that the city experiences levels of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulates and sulphur dioxide exceeding the UK Air Quality Standards. Because of Norwich's situation within a large, predominantly rural area a large non-resident workforce is one factor that contributes to large, often very congested traffic flows. The city's location close to the European mainland also exposes it to polluted airmasses transported from the continent, especially in the case of particulates and ozone. In order to assess the relative contributions of local and regional sources, data from rural and urban monitoring sites are to be used in conjunction with ADMS-Urban and the UK Meteorological Office's NAME model.