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Diagnostic Evaluation of Carbon Sources in CMAQ
Citation:
Napelenok, S., P. Bhave, H. Simon, G. Pouliot, M. Lewandowski, AND R. Sheesley. Diagnostic Evaluation of Carbon Sources in CMAQ. Chapter 78, Air Pollution Modeling and it Application XXII. Springer, Heidelburg, Germany, 2014:463-467, (2013).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL′s)Atmospheric Modeling Division (AMAD) conducts research in support of EPA′s mission to protect human health and the environment. AMAD′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. AMAD 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 AMAD 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:
Traditional monitoring networks measure only total elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) routinely. Diagnosing model biases with such limited information is difficult. Measurements of organic tracer compounds have recently become available and allow for more detailed diagnostic evaluation of CMAQ modeling results, which allow for more explicit representation of secondary organic aerosols. An enhanced version of the model makes it possible to track contributions from various sources of primary organic aerosols and elemental carbon, providing more in-depth evaluation of model biases. An ambient PM2.5 measurement campaign conducted in four Midwestern U.S. cities in March 2004 February 2005 allows for direct comparison of modeled and measured organic carbon concentrations by primary and secondary source category.