Wfdss air quality tools

June Rorig, M. Brown, T. January Also mentioned in: Calkin, D. Wildfire risk and hazard: procedures for the first approximation.

Fort Collins, CO: U. Sponsoring Institution. Project Director Larkin, N. Non Technical Summary Newly revised clean air standards and new regional haze rules are prompting emitters and regulators states, tribes, and county or local air agencies to develop more accurate accounting of emissions and impacts. At the same time, there is an increasing use of fire in forested landscapes to help reduce hazardous fuel buildup and maintain and restore healthy ecosystems.

The result is that in many parts of the country, agriculture and forest activities are directly competing for the same air space. This project will aid in the assessment of air quality impacts from a variety of forest and agriculture emissions sources, with a particular focus on the use of controlled burning. By providing rapid assessments of alternative strategies, this project will help land managers plan activities, and help state, tribe, and regional to local air agencies plan monitoring or regulatory needs.

Animal Health Component. Research Effort Categories Basic. Next month? AQUIPT will aid in the assessment of air quality impacts from a variety of forest and agriculture emissions sources, with a particular focus on the use of controlled burning.

By providing rapid assessments of alternative strategies, AQUIPT will help land managers plan activities, and help state, tribe, and regional to local air agencies plan monitoring or regulatory needs.

By going to the AQUIPT web tool, a user will be able to select a location and emissions activity of interest and be provided with potential air quality impact concentration maps for this area and activity based on the historical meteorology of the area. These impact maps will be provided to the user within 24 hours, allowing for a rapid initial assessment of the air quality impacts of the planned activity.

By combining the power of air quality dispersion models with historical weather information over a long period of time, AQUIPT will allow users to determine likely emissions impacts beyond the 5 day forecast limit of dynamical weather models.

The initial benefits will be for agricultural burning and prescribed fire managers and air regulators, who will be able to immediately use the AQUIPT to help plan when to burn. The AQUIPT will provide them with a wealth of information not now readily accessible, allowing managers to plan on longer term horizons from weeks to seasons in advance than currently available tools. The benefits of having a fast-turnaround emissions modeling system will accrue over time.

AQUIPT will be useful for planning observational monitoring of emissions sources, estimating emission source impacts for sources where emissions information is not well known, and determining source regions that affect sensitive regions such as Class 1 wilderness areas. Additionally, AQUIPT will provide a foundation for future studies to determine links between climate patterns and dispersal patterns, which is important for understanding the future impact of biomass burning on regional haze and visibility.

In this way, AQUIPT will fill a needed gap in a suite of tools available to agricultural, forest, and air regulator users. Users will be able to create emissions scenarios at user-specified locations and see results within one day of their request. Taken together, concentration and time represent the dose of the air pollutant.

Health effects corresponding to a given dose are established by epidemiological research. Air pollutants vary in potency, and the function used to convert from air pollutant concentration to AQI varies by pollutant. Its air quality index values are typically grouped into ranges. Each range is assigned a descriptor, a color code, and a standardized public health advisory.

The AQI can increase due to an increase of air emissions for example, during rush hour traffic or when there is an upwind forest fire or from a lack of dilution of air pollutants. Stagnant air, often caused by an anticyclone, temperature inversion, or low wind speeds lets air pollution remain in a local area, leading to high concentrations of pollutants, chemical reactions between air contaminants and hazy conditions.

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