Each spring, millions of individuals with allergies prepare for symptoms such as sneezing and irritated eyes when trees disperse pollen into the atmosphere. Scientists from France and the United States have developed a system to forecast the precise paths pollen takes through urban areas when transported by wind.
The research, featured in the journal Physics of Fluids, introduces a computational modeling approach known as DF-PIBM, or direct-forcing porous immersed boundary method. Essentially, the team designed software that models a tree as a permeable entity, with airflow passing through its foliage and limbs, and then monitors the trajectory of pollen particles as breezes carry them away.
