Novel Methods for Assessing Urban Air Quality: Combined Air and Noise Pollution Approach

Anirban Kundu Chowdhury^1, , Anupam Debsarkar¹ and Shibnath Chakrabarty¹

¹Department of Civil Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India

Cite this paper:
Anirban Kundu Chowdhury, Anupam Debsarkar and Shibnath Chakrabarty. Novel Methods for Assessing Urban Air Quality: Combined Air and Noise Pollution Approach. Journal of Atmospheric Pollution. 2015; 3(1):1-8. doi: 10.12691/jap-3-1-1

Abstract

The aim of the present review work is to critically examine the methodologies and findings of the research works which collectively treated traffic related air and noise pollution in commuting microenvironments of urban areas. It is evident from the published literatures that a moderate positive correlation between concentrations of traffic related air pollutants in terms of particulate matter; oxides of nitrogen; CO; ground level O₃ and traffic noise level are common in the commuting microenvironments of cities. This may consequence correlated exposure to these environmental stressors to the subjects (e.g., thousands of pedestrian, commuters, hawkers and street dwellers) attached with the commuting microenvironments of urban areas. Prevailing meteorological condition e.g., wind speed and states of turbulent mixing within the urban canopy layer is the most prominent factor governing the degree of correlation between these environmental stressors. In these circumstances the combined air-noise exposure model may estimate the exposure of the subjects to traffic related air and noise pollution in a holistic manner and the city Noise-Air index may represent the air quality of commuting microenvironments in a holistic manner.

Keywords:
traffic air pollution noise pollution commuting microenvironments moderate positive correlation combined air-noise exposure model city Noise-Air index

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