Transport of Airborne Pollutants from Industry and Traffic Sources and Absorption by Forest Environments

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Airborne pollutants and greenhouse gases emitted from vehicle traffic and industrial sites interact with surrounding forest and vegetation. The forest can modify pollutants or store them within the canopy to be released later. In some cases, the forest can appear to be a source of pollution, due to the release of previously stored particles and the growth of new particles within the canopy. Hence the net effect of the forest on the transport of gas and aerosol pollutants requires further study. It is proposed to study the emission of pollutants from vehicles and industry and the interaction of these pollutants with the forest environment. Research will focus primarily on aerosols, although key primary gas-phase pollutants and greenhouse gases such as NOx, SO2, CO, and CO2 will also be investigated. The research program will have a two-fold objective: firstly to characterize the emissions, mixing, and transport of pollutants at the source; and secondly to analyze the absorption, mixing, and evolution of these pollutants within a forest canopy. The proposed research will comprise two field study areas. The first is the south-central Ontario region which includes Toronto, Highways 401 and 400, and the Borden Forest Research Station (BFRS), which is located in a mixed forest. The BFRS is a 44-m high tower operated by Environment Canada which is instrumented to measure many pollution and climate-related variables. The second field study area is the Alberta Athabasca oil-sands region, which is situated in the Boreal forest. Aircraft and ground-based pollutant measurements were made in the Athabasca region in 2013 as part of the Joint Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring Program (JOSM). It is proposed to use this publicly available data and to collect ongoing measurements in collaboration with Environment Canada during further studies in the area. This proposed research aims to provide an accurate start-to-finish overview of pollutant emission by traffic and industry and absorption by forests. This is especially relevant to Canada given the country's enormous forest cover and the proximity of these forests to industrial and urban areas. This research will lead to increased understanding of the forest's role in the processing of pollutants, which will improve regional and global air pollution models and allow for more effective policy and pollutant regulation.