Conventional air pollutant source determination using bivariate polar plot in Black Sea, Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to identify and characterize individual sources of pollutants such as PM10, SO2, NOx, and CO in the urban area in Karadeniz (Turkey) using the bivariate polar plots method. In addition, the relationship between the meteorological conditions and the pollutants was determined based on correlation analysis in the region. Bivariate polar plots are a graphical method used to demonstrate the dependence of pollutant concentrations on wind direction measured at stations. Thanks to these graphics, resource types and properties can be determined. Wind flow and pollution data were used to provide information on wind and pollutant interactions in the study area. As a result of the study, it was founded that the main source of pollutants is intensive anthropogenic activities such as urban, street traffic, agricultural activities, and natural resources. It has been concluded that the highway in the region is not an important source of pollutants. In addition, the pollutant relations were examined with meteorological data, and it was discovered that temperature and relative humidity were effective for all pollutants. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.