Grantee Research Project Results
Mass conservation in the Community Multiscale Air Quality model.
Citation:
Hu Y, Odman MT, Russell AG. Mass conservation in the Community Multiscale Air Quality model. Atmospheric Environment 2006;40(7):1199-1204.
Abstract:
Mass conservation errors were discovered when the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model (version 4.3) was coupled with the Fifth-Generation PSU/NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5). These errors can be severe particularly over complex terrain. A recent correction made to the vertical advection module (in version 4.4) reduces the mass conservation errors, but does not completely eliminate them. This means that the method of renormalizing concentrations according to air density, which is currently applied to address the inconsistency problem, is not an ideal solution. Reconstruction of the wind fields by adjusting the vertical wind is proposed as a simple remedy to make CMAQ strictly mass conservative.The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.