US EPA Released Revised "AERMOD Implementation Guide"

On March 19th, 2009, the US EPA released a revised AERMOD Implementation Guide with important information related to sources of terrain data for use in AERMAP. This follows on the recent update to AERMAP dated 09040, which expanded the options available for terrain data sources. The new version of the document is available on the SCRAM website.

Regulatory Status of Lakes Environmental AERMOD Parallel Version

On February 20th, AERMOD View 6.1 was released, and along with it, AERMOD MPI 1.1. AERMOD MPI is Lakes Environmental’s parallel version of the US EPA AERMOD model.

In response to proprietary versions of the AERMOD executable, the US EPA has issued statements about their regulatory status. Those directives state that proprietary versions should be considered alternative models unless they receive approval from the US EPA.

Accordingly, Lakes Environmental has discussed the new parallel version with the US EPA and has been notified that Lakes Environmental's AERMOD MPI can be considered a regulatory model as long as:

• it provides identical results to the original executable for a number of test cases, and
• the test results are well documented.

Lakes Environmental completed the required tests, which achieved identical results to the original US EPA AERMOD executable in all cases. A full report of the validation of AERMOD MPI is available to all in-maintenance users of AERMOD View from our update site.

Lakes Environmental Offering AERMOD Modeling Run Services

Lakes Environmental has recently acquired a CRAY® Supercomputer, which, combined with AERMOD MPI, can complete complex multi-hour runs in a matter of minutes. With this powerful capability, we now offer a modeling input file run service. To complete your modeling project quickly, submit your completed AERMOD projects to Lakes, which will be run on our supercomputer in a fraction of the time required for a traditional model run. Please contact support@weblakes.com if you have any questions or need a quote for this service.

AERMOD Course - Toronto, April 2-3 - A Few Spots Available!

The AERMOD course in Toronto on April 2-3, 2009 has a few open spots. Course outline and registration form available on our website. For additional information please contact us at training@weblakes.com.

AERMOD & CALPUFF Courses - Calgary, May 4-8

Lakes Environmental will be in Calgary this May to present a full week of training. We will be presenting our popular AERMOD course from May 4-5, and our CALPUFF course from May 6-8. These courses consistently receive high ratings by participants. If you do air dispersion modeling in Alberta or British Columbia, you’ll want to take part in these courses.

Course outline and registration form available on our website. For additional information please contact us at training@weblakes.com.

ArguSoft Offers AUSTAL View Workshop in Cologne, Germany

ArguSoft, our German partner, is offering a 2-day AUSTAL View Workshop on September 21-22, 2009 in Cologne, Germany. The workshop will be presented in German and will cover all aspects of AUSTAL View, including an emphasis on:

• SRTM terrain data features
• UTM coordinate systems and projections
• Export to Google Earth™
• Odor compound support

For more information about this workshop, please view the course brochure, or contact ArguSoft at info@argusoft.de.

Join Us At A&WMA - CPANS 2009 Annual Conference and Win MM5 Data

Dr. Jesse Thé will be representing Lakes Environmental at the CPANS 2009 Annual Conference and AGM in Edmonton, Alberta on April 2-3, 2009. CPANS is the Canadian Prairie and Northern Section of the Air & Waste Management Association. The conference offers many interesting sessions, and you can visit our booth to enter a draw for one year of CALMET-ready MM5 processed data!

Lakes Environmental Closed for Good Friday

Lakes Environmental will be closed on Friday, April 10th to observe the Canadian Good Friday holiday. If you have any pressing needs during that time, please email us at support@weblakes.com and we will contact you April 13th, 2008 when we re-open.

We’ve set a number of training dates for 2009. Please be sure to register in advance as spots are limited.

AERMOD Courses

CALPUFF Courses

AUSTAL Course

For more information on the above courses, including registration information, location, and course outlines, please visit our web site: www.weblakes.com/course.

Cooling Tower Modeling with AUSTAL2000 & VDISP

AUSTAL2000, the official German Federal Environmental Agency air dispersion model, is a Lagrangian particle model that simulates the dispersion of air pollutants and has capabilities for building effects, complex terrain, pollutant plume depletion by dry deposition, and cooling tower plume rise and dispersion.

When modeling cooling towers, the AUSTAL2000 evokes the external program VDISP.EXE. The VDISP program calculates the plume rise of the cooling tower according to the German regulation “VDI 3784 part 2 - Environmental meteorology; dispersion modeling for the discharge of flue gas via cooling towers”.

VDISP Input File – VDIIN.DAT

During the run, the AUSTAL2000 model will automatically create the input file “VDIIN.DAT” necessary to run the VDISP.EXE program. This input file is updated by the AUSTAL2000 model for every hour of meteorological data to be processed. See a sample of the VDIIN.DAT input file below:

The first row in the VDIIN.DAT input file contains the following cooling tower source parameters:

1. Diameter of the exiting plume (m)
   
   
2. Height of the cooling tower (m)
   
   
3. Exit velocity of the plume (m/s)
   
   
4. Exit temperature of the plume (deg Celsius)
   
   
5. Relative humidity of the plume (%)
   
   
6. Liquid water content of the plume (kg/kg)
   
   

The second row in the VDIIN.DAT input file contains the following parameters:

1. Ambient wind velocity (m/s) from the met file
   
   
2. Klug-Manier dispersion class (I = 1.0, II=2.0, III/1 = 3.1, III/2 = 3.2, IV=4.0, and V = 5.0) derived from the met file parameters and according to TA-Luft
   
   
3. Step-length parameter which is a fraction of the exit diameter. AUSTAL2000 writes the recommended value of 0.01.
   
   
4. This variable specifies that results are listed in “n” exit diameter distances. AUSTAL2000 writes the recommended value of 0.3.
   
   
5. This variable specifies that calculation should stop after a distance of “n” exit diameters from the tower. AUSTAL2000 writes here the recommended value of 30.

VDISP Output File – VDIOU.DAT

During the dispersion calculation, AUSTAL2000 reads the calculated plume rise from the VDIOUT.DAT file (output from VDISP.EXE) which calculates the plume rise above the tower at several distances from the tower. See sample of the VDIOUT.DAT file below:

Warnings

• Make sure to assign a non-zero value for the cooling tower diameter, height, and exit velocity parameters. The VDISP program will not be able to calculate the plume rise without these parameters.
  
  
• If the plume relative humidity is 0.0, VDISP program assumes a “dry” plume. If the plume relative humidity is > 0.0 the program assumes an ambient relative humidity of 77% (mid Europe annual average).

VDISP Program Assumptions

One of the limitations of the VDISP.EXE program is that it contains two fixed parameters within the VDISP source code. The VDISP program assumes:

• An annual mean ambient temperature at 2m height above ground of 10^oC (degrees Celsius).
  
• An ambient relative humidity of 77% (percent).

The above fixed parameters are based on Mid Europe’s annual meteorological conditions. If you are modeling cooling towers in a region which the above meteorological conditions do not apply, then you must change these parameters within the VDISP FORTRAN source code and recompile the model to get a new executable that is applicable to your modeling region.

Solution

If you are a user of AUSTAL View in maintenance and requires such a change in the meteorological parameters within the VDISP program, please contact Lakes Environmental at support@weblakes.com or Argusoft at info@argusoft.de and we will be glad to assist you.

Remember: We are currently accepting submissions for the Monthly Modeling Tip that 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.

U.S., China Worlds Apart on Climate Change Curbs

March 17, 2009 - WASHINGTON -- China's top climate negotiator's visit to Washington Monday sent a fresh signal that the two countries, which account for about half the world's greenhouse gas emissions, have a long way to go to reach a common agreement on how to cut emissions to prevent serious climate change.

China wants to become a "low-carbon society," but can't say when that will be achieved. And it doesn't want to be held accountable for emissions it produces to make goods for export, said Li Gao, the director of China's climate change office.
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Northeast Warned of New Source of Rising Seas

March 16, 2009 - WASHINGTON - The northeastern U.S. coast is likely to see the world's biggest sea level rise from man-made global warming, a new study predicts.

However much the oceans rise by the end of the century, add an extra 8 inches or so for New York, Boston and other spots along the coast from the mid-Atlantic to New England. That's because of predicted changes in ocean currents, according to a study based on computer models published online Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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Growing Pollution Leads to 'Global Dimming'- Study

March 16, 2009 - Visibility on clear days has declined in much of the world since the 1970s thanks to a rise in airborne pollutants, scientists said on Thursday.

They described a "global dimming" in particular over south and east Asia, South America, Australia and Africa, while visibility remained relatively stable over North America and improved over Europe, the researchers said. Aerosols, tiny particles or liquid droplets belched into the air by the burning of fossil fuels and other sources, are responsible for the dimming, the researchers said.
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California Counts Costs from Projected Warming

March 12, 2009 – SACRAMENTO, Calif. - From flooded coastlines to drought and wildfires, California can expect hundreds of billions of dollars in costs from global warming in the decades ahead, according to estimates being compiled for the state's interagency Climate Action Team.

AThe impact from warming could translate into annual costs and revenue losses throughout the economy of between $2.5 billion and $15 billion by 2050. A summary of cost analyses was presented to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's climate advisers.
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Clean Technologies Projects Announced

GLOBE-Net (March 10, 2009) - The Canadian economy became cleaner today as 16 new projects that develop and demonstrate emerging clean technologies were awarded $53 million.

The clean technology projects included in this funding round offer technological solutions to many of the challenges Canada faces in strengthening the economy while responding to environmental issues.

The breadth of technologies and the cross-country representation of this funding round address multiple sectors of the Canadian economy.
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Here are a few conferences and trade shows coming up in the next few months:

* Lakes Environmental is attending CPANS, CANECT and AWMA