Grantee Research Project Results

Mechanistic Air Quality Impact Models for Assessment of Multiple Pollutants at High Spatial Resolution

EPA Grant Number: R835873C001
Subproject: this is subproject number 001 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R835873
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions
Center Director: Robinson, Allen
Title: Mechanistic Air Quality Impact Models for Assessment of Multiple Pollutants at High Spatial Resolution
Investigators: Adams, Peter , Millet, Dylan B , Marshall, Julian D. , Pandis, Spyros N. , Coggins, Jay S. , Apte, Joshua S. , Hill, Jason
Current Investigators: Robinson, Allen , Pope, Clive Arden , Millet, Dylan B , Marshall, Julian D. , Michalek, Jeremy J. , Pandis, Spyros N. , Coggins, Jay S. , Apte, Joshua S. , Matthews, H. Scott , Burnett, Richard T , Presto, Albert , Hill, Jason , Ezzati, Majid , Brauer, Michael , Donahue, Neil , Muller, Nick , Jaramillo, Paulina , Adams, Peter , Polasky, Stephen , Hankey, Steve
Institution: Carnegie Mellon University , The University of Texas at Austin , University of Minnesota
Current Institution: Carnegie Mellon University , Brigham Young University , Health Canada - Ottawa , Imperial College , Middlebury College , The University of Texas at Austin , University of British Columbia , University of Minnesota , University of Washington , Virginia Tech
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: May 1, 2016 through April 30, 2021
RFA: Air, Climate And Energy (ACE) Centers: Science Supporting Solutions (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air , Climate Change

Objective:

Mechanistic air quality models are essential for air quality management. Chemical transport models (CTMs) are the most accurate of these models but are too computationally intensive for many applications. Reduced complexity models (RCMs) can be used to augment CTM simulations. We will advance the state-of-the-art in spatially explicit multipollutant air quality impact assessments by evaluating CTM performance at high spatial resolution, developing and evaluating next-generation RCMs, and performing multipollutant and regional source apportionment and intake fraction analyses. This project interacts with other center activities: we will evaluate CTM predictions of regional and intra-urban variability against high-resolution monitoring (Project 2), and tools developed here will evaluate future air quality scenarios (Project 4) and assessments of health outcomes (Project 5). We will also provide source and species-resolved PM_2.5 information to the land use regression (LUR) models (Project 3).

Approach:

Task 1.

CTM Assessment of near-source exposure and source-resolved PM_2.5: We perform and evaluate CTM simulations at 1 km and build on our expertise in organic aerosols and ultrafine particles. We will evaluate regional differences in the sources of PM_2.5.

Task 2.

RCM developments for augmenting air quality impact assessments: We have developed two complementary RCMs of moderate and low complexity: InMAP and EASIUR. These are derived from CTMs and easy-to-update, ensuring they reflect the state-of-the-science. We will further develop each of these models to enhance multipollutant and intra-urban capabilities.

Task 3.

Intake fraction and tools for health impact end points: We will build tools into our RCMs to calculate health outcomes specific to demographic groups, individual pollutants, and regions. We will also calculate intake fractions as a function of species and emission location. Task 4. Determining guidelines for use of RCMs: We will compare results from RCMs and CTMs and suggest best practices for RCM use by the policy community.

Expected Results:

This project will create a suite of air quality modeling tools that allow: 1) highly spatially resolved simulations of air pollutant impacts; 2) comprehensive tools for multiple species and subspecies of pollution, and 3) the computationally inexpensive simulation of many potential emissions scenarios to assess impacts of future emissions. Additionally, we will expand the usability of the RCMs developed here by hosting the models as web applications and by making source code freely available.

Publications and Presentations:

Publications have been submitted on this subproject: View all 15 publications for this subproject | View all 148 publications for this center

Journal Articles:

Journal Articles have been submitted on this subproject: View all 6 journal articles for this subproject | View all 136 journal articles for this center

Supplemental Keywords:

reduced form, evaluation, mechanistic air quality modeling;

Progress and Final Reports:

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R835873 Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R835873C001 Mechanistic Air Quality Impact Models for Assessment of Multiple Pollutants at High Spatial Resolution
R835873C002 Air Quality Observatory
R835873C003 Next Generation LUR Models: Development of Nationwide Modeling Tools for Exposure Assessment and Epidemiology
R835873C004 Air Pollutant Control Strategies in a Changing World
R835873C005 Health Effects of Air Pollution and Mitigation Scenarios