Tuesday, 22 January 2008: 8:45 AM
The impact of global changes on the long-range transport of Asian emissions to the western United States, and the implications on regional air quality
230 (Ernest N. Morial Convention Center)
The long-range transport (LRT) of Asian emissions to the western U.S. is a well documented phenomena that can alter the background concentrations of ozone and its precursors, along with a host of other airborne pollutants entering the region. As Asian emissions grow, their potential impact on regional air quality in the U.S. is expected to increase. In addition, the impact of Asian emissions may also be influenced by potential changes in synoptic circulation patterns, as a consequence of global climate change. To examine the role of Asian emissions on air quality in the western U.S., we conducted decade long nested global and regional scale simulations for the present-day time period (1990-1999) and a future time period (2045-2054) based on the IPCC A2 scenario. On the global scale, output from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)/U.S. Department of Energy Parallel Climate Model (PCM) and the NCAR Model for Ozone and Related Chemical Tracers (MOZART) chemical transport model are being used. The Fifth-Generation Mesoscale Model (MM5) / Sparse Matrix Operating Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) processor / Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system are then used to downscale global model outputs to simulate regional scale air quality. Specifically, we examine how the number and severity of LRT events are projected to change in the future, and the potential implications these changes have on regional air quality in the western United States.
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