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Lakes Environmental Software
Volume 8 - Issue 10 Monthly Newsletter - October 2007
 
News & Events
Upcoming Courses
Monthly Modeling Tip
This Month’s Articles
Conferences & Trade Shows
About this Newsletter
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News & Events

Knowledgebase is Complete!

The Lakes Environmental Knowlegebase has gotten bigger! We’ve added new articles for AERMOD View™ and new sections for EcoRisk View™, CALRoads View™, SLAB View™, and WRPLOT View™. With the addition of these sections, the Knowledgebase covers all of our products; if you have suggestions for new articles for any of the products, please let us know! We want to make this a first-class resource for our users in current maintenance, and appreciate your help.
Look for the Login to the Knowledgebase on our website.

Lakes Environmental Offers Successful CALPUFF Course in Brazil

Lakes Environmental would like to thank all of the participants of the 3-day CALPUFF training course in São Paulo, Brazil. Because of the success of the course, Lakes Environmental will return to São Paulo in the week of March 10th, 2008 for additional training courses for AERMOD and CALPUFF.

Anyone interested in joining the waiting list for the AERMOD course (March 10-11) and/or the CALPUFF course (March 12-14) should contact our distributor in Brazil, Mr. Silvio de Oliveira, to sign up for the course. Course Outlines and Registrations will be available soon. Contact details for Mr. Silvio de Oliveira are available at https://www.weblakes.com/lakedist.html.

Lakes Environmental at the AWMA West Coast Section’s Conference in California

Dr. Jesse Thé will attend the Air & Waste Management Association - West Coast Section Annual Conference, Integration of Future Energy Demand with California Global Warming Solutions Act. The conference takes place on October 18th and 19th in Glendale, CA. More information about the conference is available on the AWMA-WCS website: https://www.eagle-pacific.com/awma-wcs/

Dr. Jesse Thé Speaks to the AWMA Golden Empire Chapter

While Dr. Thé is in California, he will also speak in Bakersfield, CA, on October 18th at the October Dinner Meeting of the AWMA - Golden Empire Chapter. Dr. Jesse Thé will give an overview of the AERMOD model and its applications for development and permitting in California. More information about the dinner meeting, including the location, is available on the AWMA-GEC website: https://www.awma-goldenempire.org/

Coming Soon! A Lakes Environmental Technical Support Survey

Lakes Environmental wants to know how we can provide the best support to our in-maintenance users. This fall, look for the survey, and a chance to win an Apple® iPod® Nano.

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Upcoming Courses

We’ve set a number of training dates for 2007, with additional courses for 2008 to be announced soon! Be sure to register for courses 30 days in advance to receive a 10% discount (where applicable).

AERMOD Courses

Oct 25-26, 2007
Just a few places left - Register now!
Phoenix, AZ
Nov 29-30, 2007 Tampa, FL
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

Randomizing Wind Directions in AERMET

The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) stations record wind directions to the nearest 10°. For air dispersion modeling studies using the U.S. EPA AERMOD model, the randomization of wind directions can be accomplished when pre-processing the meteorological data using AERMET.

The randomize option in AERMET is selected by placing the parameter RANDOM after the WIND_DIR keyword in the AERMET Stage 3 input file as shown below:

METHOD       WIND_DIR    RANDOM

Not placing a parameter after WIND_DIR or using the parameter NORAND, instructs AERMET not to randomize the wind directions.

METHOD       WIND_DIR    NORAND

What Does The Randomization Do?

The randomize procedure adds a single digit random number to each wind direction, and then subtracts 4° from the modified wind direction. This has the effect of randomizing the wind direction within a -4° to +5° window. For example, a wind direction of 270° would be randomized to a value anywhere between 266° and 275°.

A separate random number is predefined for each hour of the year; this array of numbers is static and is the EPA standard set of random numbers used to randomize wind directions.

Why Should You Randomize the Wind Directions?

NWS wind directions should be randomized because they are reported to the nearest 10° only. If the wind directions are not randomized, there will only be 36 distinct wind directions. It is probable that this will lead to an unrealistic distribution of concentrations in the AERMOD results.

On-Site Data

It should be noted that the RANDOM parameter has no effect when on-site data is available for a particular hour. AERMET assumes that all on-site wind directions are specified to the nearest degree and do not need randomizing.

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

As Arctic Ice Melts, U.S. Moves To OK Sea Treaty
October 4, 2007 - WASHINGTON -- The White House is pushing the Senate to ratify a long-spurned high seas treaty that has gained new relevance with the melting of the polar ice cap and anticipated competition for the oil that lies below.
Read Article
Another Warm Winter Seen For Much Of U.S.
October 4, 2007 - NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Long-range weather forecasts are predicting a warmer than average winter with less precipitation for much of the United States except the Pacific Northwest.

"It will be a lot like last year but the climate models are even more in agreement now than they were last fall," said Mike Halpert, head of forecast operations at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center.
Read Article
EPA Urged to Limit CO2 Pollution from Cargo and Cruise Ships
October 3, 2007 - Washington, D.C., -- A US supreme court decision has cleared the way for the Environmental Protection AGency to order shipping companies to lower the pollution caused by ships.

Today a coalition of environmental advocates filed a petition today with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking the agency to set pollution rules for large, ocean-going marine vessels. These vessels include cargo and cruise ships. Earthjustice, the leading U.S. public interest environmental law firm, filed this first ever petition on behalf of Oceana, Friends of the Earth and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Read Article
Despite Warming, Ships to Shun Northwest Passage
October 3, 2007 - OTTAWA - While there has been much talk that Arctic trade routes will open up as northern ice melts, shipping companies and experts say using the fabled Northwest Passage through Canada's Arctic archipelago would be too difficult, too dangerous and totally impractical.

In theory, the idea is tempting -- the passage cuts the distance between Europe and the Far East to just 7,900 nautical miles, from 12,600 nautical miles through the Panama Canal. Read Article
EPA: Climate bills Dependent on Global Effort
October 2, 2007 - WASHINGTON - Three competing Senate proposals calling for limits on greenhouse gases would have roughly identical success in curbing global warming, but only if other nations also significantly cut heat-trapping emissions, a government analysis says.

The Environmental Protection Agency examined the long-term impact of three climate change bills being considered in the Senate, each of which would cap carbon dioxide emissions from cars, industry and power plants with an goal of reducing greenhouse gas releases by 60 to 65 percent by mid-century.
Read Article
Building a Canadian Environmental Superpower
October 1, 2007 OTTAWA, OCTOBER 1, 2007 (GLOBE-Net) – An important step forward was taken this week with respect to achieving a national consensus on climate change with the release of a report by the Task Force on Environmental Leadership of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). The 33-member group of leading CEO’s called for aggressive global action to address the challenge of climate change, stating that Canada has the skills and the resources to become a leader in slowing, stopping and reversing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.
Read Article
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Conferences & Trade Shows

Here are a few conferences and trade shows coming up in the next few months:
October 14-18, 2007 17th Annual Conference of the International Society for Exposure Analysis
more info
Durham, NC, USA
October 18-19, 2007 AWMA West Coast Section Annual Conference
more info
Glendale, CA, USA
October 18-21, 2007 ENERGY 2007
more info
Athens, Greece
October 27-30, 2007 Eco Expo Asia
more info
Hong Kong
October 30, 2007 The Business of Climate Change Conference
more info
Ottawa ON, Canada
November 9, 2007 Environmental Markets Association: 11th Annual Fall Conference
more info
San Diego, CA, USA
November 15, 2007 Environmental Compliance Conference 2007
more info
Toronto, ON Canada
December 10-11, 2007 Global Sustainable Financial Products Summit
more info
London, UK
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About This Newsletter

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 us at: support@weblakes.com
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