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Abstract:
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The deteriorating air quality especially in urban
environments is a cause of serious concern. In spite of being
an effective sink, the atmosphere also has its own
limitations in effectively dispersing the pollutants being
dumped into it continuously by various sources, mainly
industries. Many a time, it is not the higher emissions that
cause alarming level of pollutants but the unfavourable
atmospheric conditions under which the atmosphere is not able
to disperse them effectively, leading to accumulation of
pollutants near the ground. Hence, it is imperative to have
an estimate of the atmospheric potential for dispersal of
the substances emitted into it. This requires a knowledge of
mixing height, ventilation coefficient, wind and stability of
the region under study. Mere estimation of such pollution
potential is not adequate, unless the probable distribution
of concentration of pollutants is known. This can be
obtained by means of mathematical models. The pollution
potential coupled with the distribution of concentration
provides a good basis for initiating steps to mitigate air
pollution in any developing urban area. In this thesis, a
fast developing industrial city, namely, Trivandrum is chosen
for estimating the pollution potential and determining the
spatial distribution of sulphur dioxide concentration. Each
of the parameters required for pollution potential is
discussed in detail separately. The thesis is divided into
nine chapters. |