A bayesian inference procedure based on inverse dispersion modelling for source term estimation in built-up environments

In atmospheric physics, reconstructing a pollution source is a challenging and important question. It provides better input parameters to dispersion models, and gives useful information to first-responder teams in case of an accidental toxic release. Various methods already exist, but using them requires an important amount of computational resources, especially when the accuracy of the dispersion model increases which is necessary in complex built-up environments. In this paper, a Bayesian probabilistic approach to estimate the location and the temporal emission profile of a pointwise source is proposed. More precisely, an Adaptive Multiple Importance Sampling (AMIS) algorithm is considered and enhanced by an efficient use of a Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model (LPDM) in backward mode. Twin experiments empirically demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed inference strategy in very complex cases.