Impact of traffic flows and wind directions on air pollution concentrations in Seoul, Korea

Vehicle emissions are responsible for a substantial share of urban air pollution concentrations. Various integrated air quality modeling systems have been developed to analyze the consequences of air pollution caused by traffic flows. However, the quantitative relationship between vehicle–kilometers–traveled (VKT) and pollution concentrations while considering wind direction effects has rarely been explored in the context of land-use regression models (LUR). In this research, VKTs occurring within circular buffers around air pollution monitoring stations are simulated, using a traffic assignment model, and weighted by eight wind directions frequencies. The relationships between monitored pollution concentrations and weighted VKTs are estimated using regression analysis. In general, the wind direction weighted VKT variable increases the explanatory power of the models, particularly for nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. The case of ozone is more complex, due to the effects of solar radiation, which appears to overwhelm the effects of wind direction in the afternoon hours. The statistical significance of the weighted VKT variable is high, which makes the models appropriate for impact analysis of traffic flow growth.