A line source model, developed in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, India, namely IIT line source (IITLS) model, is proposed to describe the downwind dispersion of pollutants near roadways along with a brief description of California line source (CALINE-3) dispersion model. Both the models are based on the Gaussian plume methodology and are used to predict air pollutants' concentrations near roadways. The IITLS model's parameters like source strength and dispersion parameters are estimated from routine data available in urban Delhi. In order to test the performance of IITLS and CALINE-3 models, the NO2 concentrations due to vehicular traffic in Delhi at three heavy traffic places namely, ITO, Parliament street and Pahar Ganj, have been compared against observed air quality data. A statistical error analysis of both the models' predictions and observed values have been made, which shows that performance of IITLS and CALINE-3 models are comparable and also in agreement with observed values. (Author/publisher).
Abstract