Level of Education of Students Involved
Graduate
Faculty Sponsor
Sonja Streuber
College
Arts and Sciences
Discipline(s)
Computer Science
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-25-2024
Abstract
Reducing CO2 emissions is currently one of the most pressing challenges in the effort to prevent climate change. In the United States, transportation accounts for 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that decreasing CO2 emissions from automobiles should be a priority. In this analysis, I examine the factors that influence traffic CO2 emissions using a traffic model built in NetLogo, an agent-based modeling language. Although other studies have sought to understand the factors that influence traffic emissions, most have done so using observational methods. Although there are certain benefits to these observational studies, my traffic model is advantageous because it allows for direct manipulation of variables of interest. My analysis finds that the most important contributor to traffic CO2 emissions is the speed limit. According to my model, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 16.7% by decreasing the speed limit from 120 to 80 kph. Obviously, there are plenty of situations where this is not feasible, but my analysis shows that even slight decreases in high speed limits can lead to significant decreases in emissions. Additionally, my model finds that increasing the number of lanes from one to two decreases CO2 emissions by 2.8% on average. When traffic density was high, adding a second lane reduced CO2 emissions by 6.5%. These takeaways are corroborated by other research, meaning that this model stands as an effective tool to better understand traffic patterns and their effects on CO2 emissions.
Recommended Citation
VanArragon, Caleb, "Using Agent-Based Modeling to Reduce Traffic Emissions" (2024). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1289.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1289
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Caleb VanArragon is a graduate student in the Analytics and Modeling program. Last year, he received his undergraduate degree from Valpo as a double major in biology and statistics. He is a member of the Valpo men’s golf team and is interested in data science and biostatistics.