The Connecticut Air Quality Model (CAQM) is a RADM-based model being developed at the University of Connecticut to quantify the atmospheric cycling of mercury and nitrogen in the Connecticut region and to estimate the amounts and sources of atmospheric nitrogen and mercury deposition to the watershed of Long Island Sound through simulation studies. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of surface emissions on the seasonal variation in nitrogen deposition.

The study area encompassed a region falling within the Long Island Sound Airshed. Each run of the model used a 36 km grid to generate boundary conditions for a subsequent run using 12 km grid cell. The study time periods were one week in each of the four seasons in 1997, and hourly timesteps were used. MM5 meteorological data were obtained from Penn State University. Emissions data were from the Net96 inventory, and run through the SMOKE emissions processing system.

Both wet and dry deposition were estimated. Various emission scenarios were run in order to assess the relative contribution of Connecticut emissions to nitrogen deposition in the region.