MODELING OF AIR QUALITY AND REGIONAL CLIMATE INTERACTIONS

Abstract:

A series of pioneer modeling efforts have been undertaken to study the interactions of air quality and regional climate as part of USEPA’s “Intercontinental Transport and Climatic Effects of Air Pollutants” (ICAP) project. First, we have conducted a modeling assessment to study the potential impacts of future climate change on U.S. national air quality and on the efficacy of USEPA’s national emissions control programs. We used current and future meteorology (five current years of 1999-2003 and five projected years of 2048-2052) to drive the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model with 2002 base emission and 2030 future emission scenarios. The impact of future climate on air quality, particularly ozone and PM2.5, will be presented. Second, we are developing an integrated regional modeling framework coupled with meteorology and chemistry to assess the impact of air pollution on regional climate using the WRF/CHEM (Weather Research and Forecasting/ with Chemistry) model, which is the next generation of CMAQ model. The preliminary modeling results of direct, semi-direct, and indirect effects of air pollutants (particularly PM2.5 and ozone) on regional climate (e.g., radiation, temperature, vertical mixing, precipitation, etc.) will be given in this presentation.