Integrated modelling system for air quality assessment
Current air quality assessment systems have tended to rely on the use of one core model linked with user-interfaces facilitating the input of data and graphical display of the results. The OSCAR project has adopted a different philosophy, leading to the development of a new modelling system to assess air quality and emissions in and around streets. Underpinning this multi-model approach has been the need to provide options for conducting assessments at different levels of complexity, determined by the nature of the problem, the availability of input data, and the output detail that is required. The OSCAR Air Quality Assessment System incorporates a modular architecture that integrates a suite of models supported by a toolkit containing a meteorological pre-processor, an emissions module and a scenario analysis tool. In addition, it has a visualisation capability that employs embedded routines or enables off-line analysis of the output with GIS or other packages, such as PAVE or VIS5D. The OSCAR System includes several models including CAR II, CAR-FMI, PEARL and processors for calculating emissions and meteorological parameters.
Example OSCAR output for the TRANSPHORM (www.transphorm.eu) project: A map of London showing the total modelled PM2.5 concentration (left) and traffic increment (right), showing the importance of vehicular traffic upon PM2.5 concentrations.
Acknowledgements & collaborations:
This work was funded by the European Commission (OSCAR FP5 project). BADC and DEFRA are thanked for providing access to meteorological and air quality data respectively.
Selected references
R. S. Sokhi et al., 2008. An integrated multi-model approach for air quality assessment: Development and evaluation of the OSCAR Air Quality Assessment System. Env. Modelling & Software 23, 261-281.