Atmospheric conditions and air quality assessment over NEOM, kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dasari, Hari Prasad; Desamsetti, Srinivas; Langodan, Sabique; Karumuri, Rama Krishna; Singh, Shyamcharan; Hoteit, Ibrahim

Atmospheric conditions and air quality assessment over NEOM, kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Files

Aatmospheric.pdf (2.68 MB)

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Embargo End Date

2022-04-14

Type

Article

Authors

Dasari, Hari Prasad

Desamsetti, Srinivas
Langodan, Sabique

Karumuri, Rama Krishna
Singh, Shyamcharan
Hoteit, Ibrahim

KAUST Department

Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) Division
Earth Fluid Modeling and Prediction Group
Earth Science and Engineering Program
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)

KAUST Grant Number

REP/1/3268-01-01

Online Publication Date

2020-04-14

Print Publication Date

2020-06

Date

2020-04-14

Submitted Date

2020-01-26

Abstract

NEOM is an under-development transnational city and economic zone spread over an area of 26,500 km2 along the northern Red Sea coast of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia, bordering Jordan and Egypt. This study analyzes the meteorological parameters and air pollution dispersion over the NEOM region, based on observations and air quality dispersion modeling. The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model was used to simulate the fate of air pollutants. To drive HYSPLIT, high-resolution (660 m) meteorological data were generated by downscaling the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecasting System analysis using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. The air pollutant emission factors (AP-42) emission inventory, from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, was used to initialize HYSPLIT. A continuous three-year dataset simulated by WRF–HYSPLIT was then analyzed to understand the spatial and temporal distributions of air pollutant concentrations in the NEOM region. Strong land and sea breezes, resulting from differential heating, dominate the diurnal dispersion and distribution of pollutants in the NEOM region. The spatial distributions of the concentrations of different pollutants, which show maximum concentrations in the spring and winter because of lower boundary layer heights. The predicted maximum concentrations of NOx (∼40 μg/m3), SO2 (∼25 μg/m3), CO (∼10 μg/m3), VOC (∼0.05 μg/m3), and PM (∼4 μg/m3) remain well within the national air quality standards recommended by the Saudi General Authority for Meteorology and Environment Protection and the Royal Commission. The estimated emissions analyzed by the model do not include background emissions (such as dust and vehicle pollution), as they are not available over this region, but only major industrial sources. Our analysis provides the information needed to understand the state of the air quality in the NEOM region, providing a fundamental contribution to the environmental impact assessment and planning in the region.

Citation

Dasari, H. P., Desamsetti, S., Langodan, S., Karumuri, R. K., Singh, S., & Hoteit, I. (2020). Atmospheric conditions and air quality assessment over NEOM, kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Atmospheric Environment, 117489. doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117489

Acknowledgements

The study was supported by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) under the “Virtual Red Sea Initiative” (Award # REP/1/3268-01-01) and by NEOM through Beacon Development Company (BDC) at KAUST. The research made use of the Supercomputing Laboratory resources at KAUST.