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Southeast Atmosphere Studies Workshop 2015
Citation:
Mao, J., A. Carlton, L. Horowitz, R. Cohen, H. Pye, S. Ng, M. Trainer, L. Mickley, E. Leibensperger, AND R. Mathur. Southeast Atmosphere Studies Workshop 2015. IN: IGAC News, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, (55):22-23, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory′s (NERL′s) Atmospheric Modeling and Analysis 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:
Concentrations of atmospheric trace species in the United States have changed dramatically over the past several decades in response to pollution control strategies, shifts in domestic energy policy, and economic development (and resulting emission changes) elsewhere in the world, in particular developing countries. Reliable projects of the future atmosphere require models to not only accurately describe current atmospheric concentrations, but do so for the right reasons. Only through incorporation of the correct chemical mechanisms can models reliably project the impacts of future policy, energy, and climate scenarios. Efforts to properly identify and implement the fundamental and controlling mechanisms in atmospheric models benefit from intensive observation periods (IOPs), during which co-located measurements of diverse, speciated chemicals in both the gas and condensed phases are obtained. the summer of 2013, in particular the Southeast Atmosphere Studies, provides an unprecedented opportunity for the atmospheric modeling community to come together to evaluate, diagnose, and improve the representation of fundamental climate and air quality processes in models of varying temporal and spatial scales.