Multiscale Modeling of Atmospheric Pollution Formation and Feedbacks: Air and Energy Research at the United States EPA

In order to support both robust enforcement of clean air regulations and effective management of air quality in the United States, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency charges scientists in its Office of Research and Development with maintaining a comprehensive atmospheric research program, building tools for air quality analysis, and anticipating future problematic air pollution issues. This seminar will cover a number of ongoing research projects featuring the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, developed at EPA, which are designed to better understand regional- and hemispheric-scale pollution formation and transport. Topics include 1) trends in direct aerosol feedbacks on boundary layer meteorology, 2) new particle formation and growth, 3) anthropogenic impacts on biogenic organic aerosol yields, and 4) intercomparison studies of North American and European models of ozone and PM. Finally, the talk will discuss the future of CMAQ development in terms of coupling its chemical and microphysical algorithms to the state-of-the-art meteorological model MPAS (Model for Prediction Across Scales).