Vertical and horizontal experimental dispersion of diesel related pollutants within urban blocks

In the city of Barcelona, as in many other cities around the globe, traffic emissions are the most important source of PM and NO2 pollution. While exposure to traffic pollutants may be significantly reduced with the distance from the curb, the very dense urban architecture hampers such reduction. Moreover, the building height reduces significantly the dispersion of pollutants. We have investigated the horizontal variability of Black carbon (BC) (29 profiles) with distance from the curb, and the vertical variability of NO2 (28 profiles) and BC (4 profiles) with height from the road surface, given that a great share of people live and work at higher height than that of air quality network inlets. These inputs can be useful for assessing population exposure, air quality policies and for validating 2D and street canyon simulations..