Study on wet scavenging of atmospheric pollutants in south Brazil

The present paper presents the study of in-cloud and below-cloud SO(2) and SO(4)(2)-scavenging processes by applying numerical models in the Candiota region, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, South Brazil. The BRAMS (Brazilian Regional Atmospheric Modeling System) model was applied to simulate the vertical structure of the clouds, and the B.V.2 (Below-Cloud Beheng Version 2) scavenging model was applied to simulate in-cloud and below-cloud scavenging processes of the pollutants SO(2) and SO(4)(2-). Five events in 2004 were selected for this study and were sampled at the Candiota Airport station. The concentrations of SO(2) and SO(4)(2-) sampled in the air and the simulated meteorological parameters of rainfall episodes were used as input data in the B.V.2, which simulates raindrop interactions associated with the scavenging process. Results for the Candiota region showed that in-cloud scavenging processes were more significant than below-cloud scavenging processes for two of the five events studied, with a contribution of approximately 90-100% of SO(2) and SO(4)(2-) concentrations in rainwater. A few adjustments to the original version of B.V.2 were made to allow simulation of scavenging processes in several types of clouds, not only cumulus humilis and cumulus congestus. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.