Harmonisation... Conferences Belgirate Outcome

The 7th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes (Belgirate, Italy, May 2001)

Outcome of discussions and announcements of common tools

Who should read this?

During the 7th Harmonisation conference there were discussions on issues related to harmonisation within modelling and model evaluation.

The present set of web page is meant as a resource of information related to these discussions. This page is addressed both to the participants who took part in the discussions and to people from outside who just wish to get some useful tips on common tools related to modelling. The discussions took place in group meetings (on Wednesday afternoon, May 30, 2001) and in the final session of the conference (Thursday, May 31).

For useful tips and an overview of various tools of common interest, see below.

For discussion summaries, go to the two discussion summary pages (Meeting on harmonisation and model evaluation | Closing discussion).

Useful tips and common tools

At the conference, various tools of common interest were announced. Here are some useful tips and an overview of tools which were mentioned:

• The proceedings of the 7th Harmonisation conference (consisting of extended abstracts, typically with a length of 5 pages) are available through the web. Go to the conference web site of the JRC in Italy or directly to the page listing the papers.
  
• The paper "Ten years of Harmonisation activities: Past, present and future" (full text available on the web) was presented by H.R. Olesen at the beginning of the conference. It can serve as a resource of information on activities and as an entry point to results of harmonisation work undertaken during the past decade. The primary focus of the paper is on how modellers and model users can make better use of each other's results and pool experiences.
  See also: Abstract | Full text (pdf, 68 kb)
• The e-mail discussion list AtmosphericDispersion has lived quietly for some years, but it presents an excellent opportunity for asking questions and receiving answers within the modelling community, thus enabling us to build upon the experiences of each other. The participants in the Harmonisation conference - as well as others - are encouraged to subscribe to the list and use it. You can subscribe through the home page of the list: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/atmosphericdispersion.html where you can also find further information.
  The list will be used to announce news of relevance to readers of the present page.
• A web site providing information on and access to experimental data sets relevant for dispersion modellers was announced by Galmarini et al. in their paper: "DAM: Datasets for atmospheric modelling". Presently, more than 100 data sets are catalogued. The scientific community is encouraged to use this site and to provide updated information for it.
  See ttp://rem.jrc.cec.eu.int/dam
• A new common point of reference for model evaluation is the ASTM "Standard Guide for Statistical Evaluation of Atmospheric Dispersion Model Performance" (D6589). The ASTM is an American Standards organisation, but it is open to members from anywhere in the world. Those interested in influencing the future development of ASTM standards are encouraged to join the ASTM. This can be done through the ASTM web site, www.astm.org, where the committee of interest is committee D22 on Sampling and Analysis of Atmospheres. The current annual membership fee is US $ 75.
  More information: the ASTM web site | The standard D6589 (first page only) | The paper "A platform for model evaluation" presented in Belgirate | web page concerning the Model Validation Kit
• Guidance to model users on aerodynamic roughness is given in a new handbook by Hanna et al. A summary of major findings and recommendations is given in the paper by Hanna and Britter: "The effect of roughness obstacles on flow and dispersion in urban and industrial areas". (The paper is part of the conference proceedings and is in PDF format, 69 kB)

Common tools under development

During the conference, mentioning was made of some common tools under development. The tools in question are not yet generally available in a final version. When the tools become mature, the present web page will be updated and provide access to the tools. Furthermore, new tools will be announced through the AtmosphericDispersion e-mail list. The tools in question are:

• In relation to the Model Validation Kit, H.R. Olesen presented a prototype version of a CD which contains video clips taken during the Kincaid experiment in 1980. The CD will include the "Data Visualisation Tool" developed by Alexandar Markoski (FYROM). This tool provides a handy way to visualise tracer data from the Kincaid experiment, as well as other experimental data.
• In relation to intercomparison of models, D.J. Hall et al. have worked with a protocol where various models (ISC, AERMOD and UK-ADMS) were run on a number of test cases. The data sets underlying the protocol are likely to become publicly available on the web.
• A list of FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) on atmospheric dispersion modelling is likely to become established in due course. For the time being, as an alternative to a proper FAQ list, one can search the archives of the AtmosphericDispersion discussion list.
• During the meeting, mentioning was made of web resources for meteorological data and terrain data, which can be useful for dispersion modellers. You are invited to submit contributions for a compilation of such resources to H. R. Olesen, NERI, Denmark).