Development and implementation of a seasonal model for regional air quality
- MCNC-North Carolina Supercomputing Center, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
- Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States). Levine Science Research Center
As part of its five Cooperative Agreements with the US EPA, the Southern Oxidant Study (SOS) Science Team has promoted the development and application of a unique regional air quality modeling system: The Seasonal Model for Regional Air Quality (SMRAQ). This paper describes the SMRAQ development process, the resulting model formulation, and model performance during an initial thirty-day simulation. The SMRAQ modeling system was developed using the Environmental Decision Support System (EDSS). The meteorological driver for SMRAQ is a modified version of the PSU/NCAR Mesoscale Model, MM5. Emissions are processed using the Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) modeling system. The SMRAQ air quality model was built using the Multiscale Air Quality SImulation Platform (MAQSIP). The unique configuration of the SMRAQ modeling system attempts to address processes important to the formation, transport, and removal of ozone on a seasonal and regional basis. An initial thirty-day SMRAQ simulation has been performed for July 7, 1995 to August 5, 1995 and the results analyzed. On average, this initial simulation shows an average error for eight-hour average ozone ranging from 20 to 25 percent. Average bias ranges from -15 to +15 percent. Both error and bias are worse than these averages in cases where observed eight-hour average ozone concentrations exceed 100 ppb. Based on the analysis of the initial simulation, modifications are being made to the SMRAQ model and a full four-month simulation of the summer of 1995 will be carried out during the spring of 1998. The successful completion of this seasonal simulation will pave the way for future modeling studies that avoid the limitations of episodic modeling. These future studies will provide a better understanding of the ozone formation process and will yield more robust and effective control strategies for abatement of the ground-level ozone problem.
- OSTI ID:
- 362014
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-980632--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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