A case study of atmospheric stability pattern at Kudankulam site and its correlation with suspended particulate matter

Atmospheric stability plays a very important role in the transport and dispersion of air pollutants. It can be defined as the atmospheric tendency to reduce or intensify vertical motion or alternatively, to suppress or augment existing turbulence. It is related to the change in temperature with height (the lapse rate) and also wind speed. The degree of stability of the atmosphere must be known to estimate the ability of atmosphere to disperse pollutants. Depending upon the particle sizes, they may deposit on surfaces by the process of impaction or gravitational settling. This paper attempts to study the different atmospheric weather category prevalence at Kudankulam site on short term and long term basis and also tries to explore the correlations between atmospheric weather category and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) estimated at site