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Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model for Simulating Winter Ozone Formation in the Uinta Basin
Citation:
Matichuk, R., G. Tonnesen, D. Luecken, AND R. Gilliam. Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model for Simulating Winter Ozone Formation in the Uinta Basin. 2015 AGU Fall Meeting, San Franciso, CA, December 14 - 18, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) Computational Exposure Division (CED) develops and evaluates data, decision-support tools, and models to be applied to media-specific or receptor-specific problem areas. CED uses modeling-based approaches to characterize exposures, evaluate fate and transport, and support environmental diagnostics/forensics with input from multiple data sources. It also develops media- and receptor-specific models, process models, and decision support tools for use both within and outside of EPA.
Description:
Areas with close proximity to oil and natural gas operations in rural Utah have experienced winter ozone levels that exceed EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Through a collaborative effort, EPA Region 8 – Air Program, ORD, and OAQPS used the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to understand processes leading to the formation of winter ozone in the Uinta Basin. Our project compared CMAQ results to measurement data to identify any model performance issues during the 2013 Uinta Basin Winter Ozone Study. Primary objectives included:• Enhancing knowledge of how well CMAQ performs in areas with extensive oil and natural gas development and complex terrain during winter-time cold air pool inversion conditions. • Identifying specific improvements in model processes and input data. • Developing information on ozone sources/sinks to better understand how to efficiently and effectively reduce high ozone concentrations in this area
