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Volume 8 - Issue 7 |
Monthly Newsletter
- July 2007 |
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News & Events
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New Articles Added to Knowledgebase
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The Lakes Environmental Knowlegebase has gotten bigger!
We’ve added new articles for AERMOD View™ and a whole new
section for Screen View™. We would like to invite our current
users in maintenance to visit the knowledgebase and rate
its articles and make suggestions for new content. We want
to make this a first-class resource for our users, and
appreciate your help. Look for the login to the knowledgebase
on our website.
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New Modeling Data
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After adding support in CALPUFF View™ for GLCC LULC files and GTOPO30 and SRTM global terrain data
formats, Lakes Environmental has also included this global terrain and land use/land cover data on our
website. You can download it at
https://www.weblakes.com/modeling_data.html
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Lakes Environmental to Offer CALPUFF Course in Brazil
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Lakes Environmental will offer a 3-day CALPUFF training course in Brazil from September 24-29, 2007.
Anyone interested should contact our distributor in Brazil, Mr. Silvio de Oliveira,
to sign up for the course. Contact details for Mr. Silvio de Oliveira are available at
https://www.weblakes.com/lakedist.html.
More details of this course will soon be posted on our
website.
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Lakes Environmental at A&WMA 2007 Annual Conference
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Lakes Environmental, Mr. Gareth Davis, and Mrs. Julie Swatson would like to thank the organizers
of the Air & Waste Management Association 2007 Annual Conference and everyone who stopped by our
booth. We look forward to seeing you next year.
The winner of the draw for a free copy of ISC-AERMOD View was Mr. Christopher D. Powell
from Alcoa. We would like to thank all of the entrants to the draw.
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Lakes Environmental Closed for the August Civic Holiday
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Lakes Environmental will be closed on Monday, August 6, 2007 to observe the Canadian holiday.
If you have any pressing needs during that time, please email us at support@weblakes.com and we
will contact you August 7th, 2007 when we re-open.
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Upcoming Courses
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We’ve set a number of training
dates for 2007, with additional courses to be announced soon!
Be sure to register for courses 30 days in advance to receive
a 10% discount.
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AERMOD Courses
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Sep 27-28, 2007 |
Chicago, IL |
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Oct 25-26, 2007 |
Phoenix, AZ |
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Nov 29-30, 2007 |
Tampa, FL |
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For more information on the above courses, such as registration
information, location, and course outlines, please visit our
web site: https://www.weblakes.com/courses.html.
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Monthly Modeling Tip
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Using ISH Data in AERMOD
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A common format for surface meteorological data provided
by the NCDC (www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html) is the abbreviated ISH (Integrated Surface Hourly) format. This
format is not directly usable in AERMET, but may be converted into SAMSON format (which is usable in AERMET)
using a freely available application called NCDC_CNV.
NCDC_CNV is a program written by Russell Lee; it is available for download from
www.rflee.com under
the Meteorological section, and comes with detailed instructions and sample input file.
ISH Data
Abbreviated ISH data (also know as ISHWO or ISHD) is available from the NCDC for stations throughout
the world, with data as recent as a few months ago – see the station list at
ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/inventories/ISH-HISTORY.TXT.
Important notes:
- ISH data is recorded in GMT, but NCDC will convert to local
time when creating the SAMSON file.
- Abbreviated format of ISH data is different from the full archival format (also know as TD-3505) which is accepted by AERMET.
An example of ISH data is shown below:
ISH Data
SAMSON data is compatible with both the AERMET and PCRAMMET meteorological pre-processors.
After converting the above ISH file using NCDC_CNV, the following SAMSON file was created:
Missing Data
When NCDC_CNV is run, it will create two SAMSON files; one a direct conversion from the ISH data,
and the other adjusted to replace any missing values, as described in "Procedures for Substituting
Values for Missing NWS Meteorological Data for Use in Regulatory Air Quality Models" by Dennis Atkinson
and Russell F. Lee (1992) which is available on the U.S. EPA SCRAM website at https://www.epa.gov/scram001.
Notes from the Developer
Before running NCDN_CNV, please see these notes
from the developer of NCDC_CNV.
Notes:
- Aside from ISH data, NCDC_CNV also processes abbreviated DATSAV3
data (also available from the NCDC). Typically, the ISH flag should be
used in the input file when processing ISH data and the ABBRDS flag
should be used when processing the DATSAV3 data. The only difference
between these two data type indicators is that ISH assumes the data are
in GMT and converts it to local time, and ABBRDS assumes the data are already
in local time.
Sometimes the DATSAV3 data are supplied with time in GMT.
In this case, it is necessary to use ISH so that the time gets adjusted
to local time.
- In the input file, time zones are to be specified as negative in the U.S. Thus, Eastern Standard Time is
indicated with a “-5”, etc.
- Be aware that, if you use the “code to identify minutes…”, the first observation found in the range of
time you identified will be used. Thus, if you use a value of 50 minutes in the last entry of line 1 of
FILELIST.INP, then the first observation found between 50 minutes (i.e., 10 minutes before the hour) and 60
minutes will be used. This may occasionally be a “special” observation. If you know that all observations are
taken at least 56 minutes after the hour, use 56 rather than a lower number to avoid selecting too many special
observations instead of the regular observations.
- NCDC_CNV will be updated from time to time to improve it, to make it more compatible with changes in data
formats, or to fix “bugs”. Therefore, when you plan to use it, check www.rflee.com to see if there have been any
updates.
Acknowledgement:
Many thanks to Russ Lee of RF Lee Consulting for contributions to this modeling tip.
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Remember: We are currently accepting
submissions for the Monthly Modeling Tip which appears in
our newsletters. If
you have a modeling tip that may benefit a variety of people,
please send it to us at support@weblakes.com.
Your name and the name of your organization will appear below
the tip providing you with greater exposure.
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This Month's Articles
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Chinese Air Pollution Deadliest in World, Report Says
BEIJING - July 9, 2007 - China, the world's fastest growing economy, has earned another startling superlative: the highest annual incidence of premature deaths triggered by air pollution in the world, according to a new study.
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Rock Stars Tackle Cynics as Well as Climate Change
LONDON - July 6, 2007 - More famous for Learjets and limousines than green living,
pop stars performing at Saturday's Live Earth environmental concerts face widespread cynicism from fans,
commentators and campaigners alike. Built on the model of the Live Aid famine relief gigs of 1985 and
Live 8 anti-poverty concerts in 2005, Live Earth aims to raise awareness about climate change and
encourage people to live greener lives. .
Read Article
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Greenland really was green!
WASHINGTON - July 6, 2007 - Ice-covered Greenland really was green a half-million
or so years ago, covered with forests in a climate much like that of Sweden and eastern Canada today.
New Danish research shows that large parts of Greenland were once covered by forest.
An international team of researchers recovered ancient DNA from the bottom of an ice
core that indicates the presence of pine, yew and alder trees as well as insects.
Read Article
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Searching for true Carbon offsets
VANCOUVER - July 4, 2007 - The fast-growing carbon offset industry is at risk of
being discredited as operators struggle to prove their offsets are actually reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. There is unease in the sector amid growing evidence that some carbon offset schemes are
of dubious value. Some analysts believe too readily available offsets actually discourage companies
from making the investments needed to reduce their greenhouse gas outputs. While the idea of
purchasing credits to be ‘carbon neutral’ seems attractive, many are discovering that their dollars
have not been well spent. There is an urgent need for a credible standard to differentiate the good
from the bad.
Read Article
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Asia-Pacific Countries See Effects of Climate Change on Health, Brace
for More
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - July 3, 2007 - Officials from more than a dozen Asian
countries met Tuesday in Malaysia to outline health problems their populations are facing in relation
to a rise in global temperatures. Officials discussed ways to work together to limit the fallout in a
region expected to be hit hard by flooding, drought, heat waves, mosquito-borne diseases and waterborne
illnesses.
Read Article
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Conferences & Trade Shows
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Here are a few conferences and trade shows coming
up in the next few months: |
August 6-9, 2007 |
The 3rd International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology (IC-EST 2007)
more info |
Houston, TX, USA |
August 20-24, 2007 |
First International Circumpolar Conference on Geospatial Sciences and Applications
more info
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Yellowknife, NT, Canada |
September 5-6, 2007 |
The 8th International Conference on Emissions Monitoring (CEM 2007)
more info |
Zurich, Switzerland |
September 5-7, 2007 |
10th International Conference on Environmental Science
and Technology 2007
more info |
Kos, Greece |
September 9-13, 2007 |
14th IUAPPA World Congress
more info |
Brisbane, Australia |
Sep 24-26, 2007 |
6th International Conference on Air Quality
more info |
Arlington, VA, USA |
October 14-18, 2007 |
17th Annual Conference of the International Society for Exposure Analysis
more info |
Durham, NC, USA |
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About This Newsletter
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This newsletter contains information gleaned from
various sources on the web, with complete links to the sources cited. Organizations cited
are in no way affiliated with Lakes Environmental Software.
Lakes Environmental Software is a leading environmental IT company that offers a complete
line of air dispersion modeling, risk assessment, emissions inventory, and emergency
release software as well as training and custom software services. With satisfied users
located around the globe, Lakes Environmental Software will continue to revolutionize the
environmental software field.
For more information please visit our web site at: www.weblakes.com. You
may also contact us by phone at (519) 746-5995 or by fax at
(519) 746-0793.
All comments and suggestions are welcome. You can e-mail the editor
at: newsletter@weblakes.com |
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