The contribution of emissions from rural interstate traffic to local ground-level ozone formation is examined using microscopic traffic simulation and a photochemical simulation model. Atmospheric and micrometeorological data from a remote Canadian forest are simulated as a baseline case. Several traffic and traffic emissions scenarios are then compared to the baseline case. The results indicate that traffic emissions along a rural interstate contribute to substantial ozone formation in the rural environment when compared to ozone formation in the absence of vehicle emissions. Resultant ozone levels immediately above the roadway are estimated to be around 120 ppbv, roughly three times that produced in the baseline case. It is shown that the relatively large amounts of anthropogenic NO-x emitted from traffic, particularly heavy-duty vehicles, dominate the ozone formation in the immediate vicinity of the rural interstate. The results of the research support the most recent emission standards imposed on the trucking industry that require NO-x emissions for vehicles manufactured after 2004 to be reduced to half of their 1998 values. The results also support technologies and alternative fuels that further reduce NO-x emissions from heavy duty vehicles. The research suggests that rural interstates may be a significant local source of photochemical pollutants that requires explicit treatment in regional scale analyses.
Ozone Formation Attributable to Emissions from Rural Interstate Traffic
2001
164 pages
Report
No indication
English
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