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The Effect of Hetrogeneous Reactions on Model Performance for Nitrous Acid
Citation:
SARWAR, G., R. L. DENNIS, AND B. Vogel. The Effect of Hetrogeneous Reactions on Model Performance for Nitrous Acid. Chapter 4, Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XIX. Springer, New York, NY, , 349-357, (2008).
Impact/Purpose:
National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL′s) Atmospheric Modeling Division (AMD) conducts research in support of EPA′s mission to protect human health and the environment. AMD′s research program is engaged in developing and evaluating predictive atmospheric models on all spatial and temporal scales for forecasting the Nation′s air quality and for assessing changes in air quality and air pollutant exposures, as affected by changes in ecosystem management and regulatory decisions. AMD is responsible for providing a sound scientific and technical basis for regulatory policies based on air quality models to improve ambient air quality. The models developed by AMD are being used by EPA, NOAA, and the air pollution community in understanding and forecasting not only the magnitude of the air pollution problem, but also in developing emission control policies and regulations for air quality improvements.
Description:
Recent studies suggest that emissions, heterogeneous reactions, and surface photolysis of adsorbed nitric acid may produce additional nitrous acid in the atmosphere. The effects of these sources on nitrous acid formation are evaluated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system. Predicted nitrous acid with and without these sources are compared with observed data from northeast Philadelphia. The incorporation of these sources greatly improved the model performance for nitrous acid. It also increases the average hydroxyl radical and ozone by 10% and 1.7 ppbv, respectively.