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PRELIMINARY EVALUATION STUDIES WITH THE REGIONAL ACID DEPOSITION MODEL (RADM)
Citation:
PRELIMINARY EVALUATION STUDIES WITH THE REGIONAL ACID DEPOSITION MODEL (RADM). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/3-86/024 (NTIS PB86175692), 1986.
Description:
The report focuses on the findings of preliminary evaluation studies of the NCAR Regional Acid Deposition Modeling System (RADM). Current efforts in evaluating the gas-phase chemistry submodel have met with significant success. An understanding of the smog chamber databases has also been developed. Due to the lack of adequate observation data, evaluations of aqueous-phase chemistry and dry deposition submodels have not been possible. The cloud process submodel is consistent with the available but small data set. Preliminary evaluation of the full RADM system, meteorology and chemical deposition using OSCAR data has achieved initial success, though it is far from being conclusive. Much larger and extensive databases are required to thoroughly test this system. MM4 has shown considerable skill in forecasting the OSCAR IV meteorology. RADM forecasts of sulfate and nitrate wet deposition for the first day of OSCAR IV are also quite good. The RADM-simulated three-dimensional chemical species distributions are very consistent with preliminary data measured by NCAR under a separate program. The first test of RADM's ability to analyze 'what if' studies with hypothetical reductions in sulfur emissions is demonstrated. The findings confirm the complexity of directly observing potential benefit from emissions reductions.