Modelling vehicle emissions nationally

Traffic congestion is an unpleasant fact of life in Australia’s ever-expanding cities. Not only that, chronic exposure to vehicle emissions can carry major health risks. There are ways for cities to reduce traffic pollution, but first they need to better understand how emissions are distributed.

CAUL Hub researchers from the University of Wollongong’s SMART Infrastructure Facility are developing a new traffic emissions modelling framework that aims to address the lack of affordable and consistent modelling of traffic emissions across Australia. The framework design comprises a chained sequence of models, including emissions and dispersion models, as well as inputs of roads, terrain and meteorology.

The framework will be tested in Wollongong, Sydney and potentially Melbourne. Nationally consistent data will help improve comparisons of exposure between people living in different cities.

Photo by Koushik Pal on Unsplash

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