Photochemical trajectory modelling of ozone during the summer PUMA campaign in the UK West Midlands.

A Photochemical Trajectory Model (PTM), coupled with the Master Chemical Mechanism, is set up for summertime conditions and used to simulate pollutant levels measured in Birmingham, UK during the summer Pollution in the Urban Midlands Atmosphere (PUMA) campaign. In general, ozone is modelled well by the PTM, with reasonably good correlation and approximately 90% of afternoon and evening concentrations within a factor of two of measurements. The contribution of local biogenic emissions in the West Midlands to ozone formation during this period was also assessed and found to be of minor importance.

Development and application of an urban tree air quality score for photochemical pollution episodes using the Birmingham, United Kingdom, area as a case study.

An atmospheric chemistry model (CiTTyCAT) is used to quantify the effects of trees on urban air quality in scenarios of high photochemical pollution. The combined effects of both pollutant deposition to and emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) from the urban forest are considered, and the West Midlands, metropolitan area in the UK is used as a case study. While all trees can be beneficial to air quality in terms of the deposition of O3, NO2, CO, and HNO3, some trees have the potential to contribute to the formation of O3 due to the reaction of BVOC and NOx.