Home – Home – Jornals – Geography and Natural Resources 2026 number 2

The problem of atmospheric pollution in a large industrial city is considered. The relevance of using spatial modeling for identifying urban areas most susceptible to atmospheric air pollution and developing measures to improve the atmo-ecological situation is shown. The article substantiates the proposition that the degree of pollution of the ground layers of the atmosphere in an industrial city, as well as the resistance of the urban environment to air pollution, are determined by the effect of opposing processes: atmospheric pollution by emissions from transport and industrial enterprises, on the one hand, and self-purification of the atmosphere due to natural conditions and built-up area patterns, on the other. The degree of resistance of the urban environment to atmospheric pollution depends on the character of interaction between natural and anthropogenic factors, the most significant of which are topographic features, wind regime, climatic characteristics, the actual amount of pollutant emissions, and built-up area patterns. These factors are described in the created analytical models, reflecting three blocks of data: the natural ventilation potential of the territory, stable zones of actual pollution, and the aeration potential of the built-up area. Based on analytical models, a polystructural atmo-ecological model of the urban environment of Saratov was constructed, reflecting the territory’s resistance to atmospheric pollution, taking into account the natural ventilation potential of the city’s territory, the aeration potential of the existing urban development, and the formed permanent halos of atmospheric pollution. The model identifies four categories of urban areas according to the degree of resistance to atmospheric pollution (highly resistant, resistant, non-resistant, extremely non-resistant), for each of which measures are proposed to improve the atmo-ecological situation.