An urban scale model for pollutant dispersion in Rome

A Gaussian model software (Atmospheric Dispersion Model System -ADMS-Urban) is used to forecast the carbon monoxide concentrations in the Urban Boundary Layer (UBL) of the city of Rome, Italy. The simulations refer to 14 days during 2002. Two data set inputs were considered in order to evaluate the urban background concentration and the effects of the main roads surrounding the monitoring stations. Results show that the background concentration plays a fundamental role in the whole balance of the pollution and that sometimes it overcomes the level associated to the local emissions. Finally, the background concentration appears to be strongly non-homogeneous within the urban area.