The transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Town

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dc.contributor.advisorAbiodun, Babatunde Josephen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorPieterse, Edgaren_ZA
dc.contributor.authorJenner, Samantha Louiseen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-08-15T14:13:50Z
dc.date.available2014-08-15T14:13:50Z
dc.date.issued2013en_ZA
dc.description.abstractCape Town experiences unpleasant pollution (called the Brown Haze) in winter. Sulphur is a major constituent of this haze. To reduce sulphur pollution, and its negative impact on health in Cape Town, air quality management has focussed on identifying local sources and reducing the local emissions of sulphur. Meanwhile, the transport of sulphur pollutants from areas outside Cape Town can contribute to ambient sulphur concentrations. This work studies the transport of sulphur pollutants over South Africa and examines whether Cape Town is a net source of or sink for the pollutant. It shows the link between sulphur emissions on the Mpumalanga Highveld (the most polluted area in South Africa) and sulphur pollution in Cape Town. Two atmosphere chemistry-transport models (RegCM-Chem and WRF-Chem) were used for this study. The models were applied to simulate the atmospheric flow and chemistry transport over South Africa for two years (2001 and 2002), and the results were validated with observations within Cape Town. The models reproduced observed seasonal variability in atmospheric wind flow and sulphur concentrations over Cape Town. Results from both models show a transport of sulphur pollutants from the Mpumalanga Highveld to Cape Town. While the sulphur pollutants from the Mpumalanga Highveld are transported eastward (toward the Indian Ocean) at middle atmospheric levels, the pollutants are transported south-westward (towards Cape Town) at lower atmospheric levels. In addition, the pollutants are transported from the Mpumalanga Highveld to Cape Town, following the south coast of South Africa, in April. During an extreme sulphur pollution event in Cape Town, there is formation of either a col or a converging flow over the city. These features encourage the accumulation of sulphur over Cape Town. The sulphur flux budget analysis shows that Cape Town can be a net source of or sink for sulphur during an extreme pollution event. This study has application potential in developing policies to reduce sulphur pollution in Cape Town and in other areas of South Africa.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationJenner, S. L. (2013). <i>The transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Town</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6567en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationJenner, Samantha Louise. <i>"The transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Town."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6567en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationJenner, S. 2013. The transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Town. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Jenner, Samantha Louise AB - Cape Town experiences unpleasant pollution (called the Brown Haze) in winter. Sulphur is a major constituent of this haze. To reduce sulphur pollution, and its negative impact on health in Cape Town, air quality management has focussed on identifying local sources and reducing the local emissions of sulphur. Meanwhile, the transport of sulphur pollutants from areas outside Cape Town can contribute to ambient sulphur concentrations. This work studies the transport of sulphur pollutants over South Africa and examines whether Cape Town is a net source of or sink for the pollutant. It shows the link between sulphur emissions on the Mpumalanga Highveld (the most polluted area in South Africa) and sulphur pollution in Cape Town. Two atmosphere chemistry-transport models (RegCM-Chem and WRF-Chem) were used for this study. The models were applied to simulate the atmospheric flow and chemistry transport over South Africa for two years (2001 and 2002), and the results were validated with observations within Cape Town. The models reproduced observed seasonal variability in atmospheric wind flow and sulphur concentrations over Cape Town. Results from both models show a transport of sulphur pollutants from the Mpumalanga Highveld to Cape Town. While the sulphur pollutants from the Mpumalanga Highveld are transported eastward (toward the Indian Ocean) at middle atmospheric levels, the pollutants are transported south-westward (towards Cape Town) at lower atmospheric levels. In addition, the pollutants are transported from the Mpumalanga Highveld to Cape Town, following the south coast of South Africa, in April. During an extreme sulphur pollution event in Cape Town, there is formation of either a col or a converging flow over the city. These features encourage the accumulation of sulphur over Cape Town. The sulphur flux budget analysis shows that Cape Town can be a net source of or sink for sulphur during an extreme pollution event. This study has application potential in developing policies to reduce sulphur pollution in Cape Town and in other areas of South Africa. DA - 2013 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2013 T1 - The transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Town TI - The transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Town UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6567 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/6567
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationJenner SL. The transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Town. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, 2013 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6567en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Environmental and Geographical Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.titleThe transport of pollutants over South Africa and atmospheric sulphur in Cape Townen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMPhilen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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