Observational Air Quality Monitoring in the City of Edmonton: Investigating the Patterns and Presence of Emissions in CO2 Domes

Abstract

Outputs of CO2 emissions can concentrate above a city, creating what is known as a CO2 dome. Due to Edmonton’s isolation within Alberta, it is expected that the emission concentration will be highest near the city centre and will diffuse outward as we move away from the city. This study will examine the severity of Edmonton’s CO2 dome. The discussion will primarily answer if the emission pattern is measurable by location or, if not, secondary hypotheses will attempt to identify what conditional factors disrupt, add, or interact to affect the expected CO2 pattern. This study uses observational air quality monitoring to assess seven locations five kilometres apart from the city centre to the southern outlying areas. Variables include but are not limited to time, wind speed/direction, location, vehicular activity, and AQI (air quality index), an indexed measure of various pollutants and their concentrations. Results may help identify the associations among factors in creating higher emission rates within the City of Edmonton and encourage investigating such conditions to improve local air quality.

Faculty Mentor: John Fedoruk