The study, led by researchers at the University of Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), put an extensive array of instruments in and around a hedge to measure the presence of various pollutants at numerous locations, identifying the effect of the hedge at different heights and distances from the road.
The study, led by researchers at the University of Surrey’s Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE), put an extensive array of instruments in and around a hedge to measure the presence of various pollutants at numerous locations, identifying the effect of the hedge at different heights and distances from the road.
This study builds a new understanding of the distribution of different air pollutants around a hedge in a shallow street canyon, where the width of the road is at least twice the height of the buildings which line it, by quantifying:
1. The overall air pollutant concentration changes behind the hedgerow;
2. The effect of wind speed and direction on pollutant variation in the presence of hedgerows; and
3. The horizontal and vertical distribution of air pollutants.
The insight gained will guide the improved design of green infrastructure barriers and validate microscale dispersion models. However, it revealed a complex picture dependent on many factors – wind speed and direction, hedge characteristics, type of pollutant and more – highlighting a need for more field studies to validate future modelling studies.
Read more at: University of Surrey
