AERMAP is the terrain preprocessor program for incorporating terrain elements into air dispersion modeling analyses conducted using the AERMOD dispersion modeling system. Natively, AERMAP reads two types of terrain data:
In 2010, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) revised the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for short-term nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Due to the unique forms of these standards – which are based on annual distributions of daily maximum hourly concentrations as opposed to the distribution of all hourly values – the AERMOD air dispersion model had to be updated to perform calculations accordingly.
One limitation of the CALPUFF air dispersion model is that it can only be executed on a single processor (i.e., serially). Previous modeling tips have discussed ways around this limitation. For example, executing CALPUFF with a single source will run faster than attempting to model multiple sources at a time. Modelers can then employ CALSUM to assess cumulative impacts. This approach has the added benefit of providing a way to assess individual source contributions.
Lakes Software recently announced its acquisition of the CALPUFF modeling system from Exponent. Because Lakes’ CALPUFF View interface is well known throughout the modeling community, some modelers were not aware of the differences between this application and the stand-alone modeling system. This tip will explain the relationship between the modeling system and the CALPUFF View interface.
We previously discussed a fundamental limitation of the CALPUFF modeling system which places finite limits on how many objects and calculations the various system executables can handle in a single project.
Lakes Software’s commercial applications all feature a similar look and feel. This familiarity allows users to easily execute a variety of air dispersion models even when accessing a brand-new product for the first time. The image below uses AERMOD View to demonstrate the key components of each Lakes Software application.