Lakes Environmental e-Newsletter

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Upcoming Courses

Date	Course	Location	Registration
Jun 23, 2013	Introductory CALPUFF	A&WMA Conference Chicago, IL	Register Now
Jun 24, 2013	Introductory AERMOD	A&WMA Conference Chicago, IL	Register Now
Sep 9-10, 2013 Sep 11-13, 2013	AERMOD CALPUFF	San Francisco, CA	Register Now
Sep 16-17, 2013	AERMOD	Toronto, ON	Register Now
Nov 4-5, 2013 Nov 6-7, 2013	AERMOD CALPUFF	São Paulo, Brazil	Register Now
Nov 18-19, 2013	AERMOD	Miami, FL	Registration Coming Soon

For more information on the above courses, including registration information, location, and course outlines, please visit our web site: https://www.weblakes.com/courses.html.

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Modeling Tip

MULTYEAR in AERMOD

The AERMOD model is capable of calculating both short-term and long-term averages for any user-defined period. One option provided to users wishing to perform an analysis across multiple years of meteorological data is the MULTYEAR keyword on the Control Pathway. The option was specifically designed for measuring impacts in association with United States ambient air quality standards of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, and SO₂, but it can be enabled for any multiple year analysis. However, processing multiple years of data can cause some differences in the way results are calculated.

Short-Term Averages

AERMOD includes 7 short-term averaging periods: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours. Whether you process a few hours or multiple years, the model reports high values across the total period.

Annual Average

ANNUAL averages require full years of meteorological data. For single year runs, the output reports the maximum values at each receptor. Multiple year runs, however, result in the average of individual years. Annual results from each receptor are summed and then divided by the number of years processed. The averaging works the same whether MULTYEAR is used or multiple years of meteorological data are included in a single file.

Period Average

The PERIOD average keyword reports the maximum concentrations over the total number of hours in the meteorological data. For example, a run for a single hour of meteorological data would return a 1-hour average. When multiple years of meteorological data are processed, the period average is the maximum over the total number of hours. This changes when MULTYEAR is used in conjunction with PERIOD – the results now reflect the maxima of each individual year carried over across multiple years.

The image below shows maximum period results across 5 years after processing the 5^th year in a 5-year MULTYEAR run:

Running MULTYEAR

Enabling MULTYEAR in AERMOD View™ is as simple as the click of a mouse.

1. Access the Control Pathway options
2. Go to Re-Start/Multi-Year Files
3. Enable the check-box for Multi-Year Analysis
   
   
4. If the run is the 1^st, select the 1^st Year radio button. For subsequent years, select that radio button and increment the year number. Also, set the Initialization File (the Save File from the previous year’s run).
   
   
5. Define the Data Period to model in the Meteorology Pathway. If the meteorological data file only contains the single year of data you want to run, you can leave the Read Entire Met Data File? option set to Yes. In the example image below, a five-year met data file is being used so the Data Period is set to a single year.
   
   

When you run the subsequent years, the model will grab the initialization file to populate results from the previous runs.

Note:

We are currently accepting submissions for the Monthly Modeling Tip section that appears in our newsletters. If you have a modeling tip that may benefit our readers, please send it to us at support@webLakes.com. Your name and the name of your organization will appear below the tip providing you with an opportunity for increased exposure.

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Articles

Good News About Los Angeles Air Pollution

June 5, 2013 - The emission reduction requirements on automobiles and trucks are resulting in improving air quality in the Los Angeles area. They have significantly reduced Ozone concentrations, a principal component of the smog that has been so common in the area.

Another benefit is that these reductions have altered the pollution chemistry in the atmosphere, making the eye-stinging "organic nitrate" component of air pollution plummet, according to a new study led by a scientist from NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Read Full Article Here

Scientific Consensus on Anthropogenic Climate Change

May 15, 2013 - A comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed articles on the topic of global warming and climate change has revealed an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-caused.

His study is the most comprehensive yet and identified 4000 summaries, otherwise known as abstracts, from papers published in the past 21 years that stated a position on the cause of recent global warming -- 97 per cent of these endorsed the consensus that we are seeing human-made, or anthropogenic, global warming (AGW)

Led by John Cook at the University of Queensland, the study has been published 16 May, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters.

Read Full Article Here

Denmark's NOx Tax

June 7, 2013 - Denmark's tax on nitrogen oxide emissions, which was raised during the financial crisis, could be scrapped if it's proven to have a negative impact on jobs and competitiveness.

The centre-left Danish government, which was formed in October 2011, decided at the end of that year to raise the tax from 5 to 25 Danish crowns (from €0.7 to 3.4) per kilo of nitrogen oxide NOx emissions. The tax was introduced on 1 July 2012.

The increased NOx tax was adopted after long debates in the Danish parliament where opposition parties warned it would be expensive not only for companies emitting NOx, but for all businesses.

Read Full Article Here

EPA Reports on 2011 European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register for Large Industrial Facilities

June 5, 2013 - The EU Commission has published data submitted by the EPA for the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR). The European e-Register is available on their External linkwebsite. Ireland’s national Pollutant Release and Transfer Register website has also been updated and provides easily accessible key environmental data from industrial facilities in Ireland. The map based website provides information to raise awareness among citizens about local air and water emissions, and waste transfers.

A total of 376 large scale industrial facilities in Ireland are covered by E-PRTR reporting requirements. These facilities come from various industrial sectors which include energy, chemical, minerals & cement, food & drink, intensive agriculture, waste and wastewater sites. The list of up to 91 PRTR substances which is reported by individual industrial facilities (point sources) is available on the PRTR websites.

Read Full Article Here

Methane Across the Country

May 17, 2013 - Methane is created naturally near the Earth's surface, primarily by microorganisms by the process of methanogenesis. It is carried into the stratosphere by rising air in the tropics. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, stronger than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timescale, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, though on a century timescale, carbon dioxide is far stronger. "This research suggests significant benefits to slowing climate change could result from reducing industrial methane emissions in parallel with efforts on carbon dioxide," said Ira Leifer, a researcher with UC Santa Barbara's Marine Science Institute. Doing a a cross-continent drive, a UC Santa Barbara scientist has found that methane emissions across large parts of the U.S. are higher than is currently known, confirming what other more local studies have found. Their research is published in the journal Atmospheric Environment.

Read Full Article Here

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Upcoming Conferences & Trade Shows

Date	Conference	Location
Jun 25-28, 2013	A&WMA Annual Conference and Exhibition More Info	Chicago, IL, USA
Jul 15-17, 2013	3rd International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation (ICEPR 2013) More Info	Toronto, ON, Canada
Aug 19-22, 2013	2013 Tribal Lands and Environment Forum More Info	Santa Ana Pueblo, NM, USA
Sep 5-7, 2013	13th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology More Info	Athens, Greece
Sep 10-12, 2013	Traversing New Terrain in Meteorological Modeling, Air Quality and Dispersion More Info	Davis, CA, USA
Sep 25-27, 2013	Clean Energy Expo Asia More Info	Bangkok, Thailand
Oct 3-4, 2013	Science for the Environment Conference More Info	Aarhus, Denmark
Oct 16-18, 2013	Remediation Technologies Symposium (RemTech) 2013 More Info	Banff, AB, Canada
Dec 3-6, 2013	Pollutec Horizons 2013 More Info	Paris, France

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About this Newsletter

This newsletter contains information gleaned from various sources on the web, with complete links to the sources cited. Organizations cited are in no way affiliated with Lakes Environmental Software.

Lakes Environmental Software is a leading environmental IT company that offers a complete line of air dispersion modeling, risk assessment, emissions inventory, and emergency release software as well as training and custom software services. With satisfied users located around the globe, Lakes Environmental Software will continue to revolutionize the environmental software field.

For more information please visit our web site at: www.webLakes.com.  You may also contact us by phone at (519) 746-5995 or by fax at (519)746-0793.

All comments and suggestions are welcome.  You can e-mail us at: support@webLakes.com.

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