Numerical modelling of pollutant dispersion in sea breeze conditions

Abstract. The characteristics of air pollution in Tarragona (Spain) were investigated. Tarragona has an important petrochemical industry in a coastal region with a complex terrain. The numerical study was made in sea breeze conditions with a three-dimensional mesoscale model. Temporal and spatial variations of the wind fields have been used in the Eulerian equation for a non-reactive pollutant. The results of this study reveal the complexity of the dispersion patterns due to the combined effects of the sea breeze circulation and the orography. This work presents a comparison between the model output and the observed wind data by sodar and surface wind measurements. The evaluation shows that the model is capable of providing very realistic wind fields within this domain.