A coupled modeling system integrating pollutant dispersion with the BIDIM-GSOM traffic simulation model

This study introduces an innovative methodology that couples the BIDIM-GSOM (Bi-dimensional Model – Generic Second Order Model) integrated traffic model (Heni, et al., 2022) with a pollutant dispersion model to estimate emissions of key pollutants, namely carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO₂), generated by traffic in extensive urban areas where traffic data is limited. The proposed approach involves three main stages: first, determining fundamental traffic variables utilizing the BIDIM-GSOM model; second, estimating vehicle unit emissions through a macroscopic emission model (COPERT), where emission factors are derived based on average traffic speed and specific characteristics of the traffic (Heni, et al., 2024); and third, implementing a Gaussian dispersion model to calculate pollutant concentrations at a significant urban scale, as demonstrated in the case of Marne-la-Vallée and the A4 highway in France. The findings of this research underscore the crucial influence of input data quality on the precision of pollutant concentration estimations and validate the effectiveness of the developed framework for modeling emissions and their dispersion across large-scale urban networks with sparse instrumentation.