1. DAPPLE Dispersion of Air Pollutants and Penetration into the Local
Environment
A Consortium Research Project funded by the UK EPSRC Engineering for Health, Infrastructure and the Environment Programme, building on the research agendas defined by the APRIL Network & the EUROTRAC‑2 SATURN project.
Project overview May 2002
What controls the amount of pollution to which people are exposed:
the interaction between the urban buildings and wind,
the distribution of traffic emissions,
their variability,
the vehicle types and the manner in which they are driven, or
where people spend their time?
Can we get cleaner air at the same time as improving traffic flow, or do these objectives inevitably conflict?
What kind of tools do we need to assess localised pollution hotspots?
Can the same tools be used for assessing emission from light industrial or the impact of accidental or terrorist releases of toxic or flammable gases?
Why DAPPLE?
DAPPLE brings together leading UK university expertise in a £1.5M research project that will answer important fundamental and practical questions about air quality near busy urban roads; e.g.:
University of Surrey Prof Alan Robins: project management, wind tunnel measurements and computer modelling.
University of Leeds Prof Margaret Bell, Dr Alison Tomlin, Dr James Tate: traffic micro-simulation and field measurements.
Imperial College Dr Roy Colvile, Dr Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, Prof Helen ApSimon: human exposure measurement and assessment, operational and advanced dispersion modelling, field campaign management.
Universities of Bristol and Cambridge Dr Dudley Shallcross, Prof Peter Simmonds, Dr Graham Nickless, Prof Rex Britter: tracer dispersion field measurements, experiment design.
University of Reading Dr Stephen Belcher: advanced modelling and urban meteorology, supported by field measurements.
University of Cambridge Prof Rex Britter: advanced and operational modelling and interface with user community.
APRIL Network: application of results to operational modelling and interface with user community, including Transport for London, local authorities, Greater London Authority.
Who’s involved?
The pollutant distribution calculated by current operational dispersion modelling software.
The pollutant distribution measured in a wind tunnel - the lower left building is a little taller than the others.
Examples of pollution at a street junction
When & Where?
April 2002: project start
Spring 2003: first field trials
Autumn 2003 or Spring 2004: main field measurement campaign
2004/5: interim results; workshop, conference, presentations
April 2006: project end, final report and presentations
Field measurements will be made around the junction of Marylebone Road and Gloucester Place in Central London.
The applicability of the understanding gained at this site will be assessed for other locations throughout London, and in other UK and overseas cities.
Site of field experiments
How to get involved
DAPPLE has a project advisory group to ensure awareness of:
the needs of users of the research output, and
the relationship between DAPPLE and related work elsewhere.
Interested parties should contact Alan Robins, the project leader, at phone , or fax
DAPPLE is funded by the EPSRC, but there are opportunities for sponsorship of related work. Please contact the relevant Principle Investigator or the APRIL Network co-ordinator, Linda Davies at phone , or fax
The DAPPLE field campaigns will include opportunities for other research groups, separately funded, to co-locate experiments. Please contact Roy Colvile at phone , or fax
The DAPPLE wind tunnel and field data will provide excellent opportunities for comparison with related work elsewhere, especially modelling work. Please contact Alan Robins (as above) to discuss possibilities.
We plan to link DAPPLE to other projects to provide a complete picture of determinants of air quality throughout London.
This will involve London-wide studies of meteorology and air quality, and the effects of pollution on human health and vegetation.
What else?
DAPPLE will naturally act as a focus for smaller, associated projects. These will include activities specifically designed to help generalise DAPPLE’s results.
Imperial College’s development of the Urban Scale Integrated Assessment Model (USIAM) is to be linked to DAPPLE.
Cyclist carrying sampler to measure exposure to fine particles
Contacts (see for further details)
Alan Robins, University of Surrey, Roy Colvile, Imperial College