Workshop to examine pollution studies of two similar regions

Workshop
to examine pollution studies of two similar regions

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A workshop on
“Air Pollution Modeling in Urban Coastal Areas”
will be held Oct. 4 in Anne and Charles Duncan Hall’s
Martel Hall at Rice University and Oct. 5 at the University
of Houston.

The workshop
will compare two recent pollution studies and their results.
Texas AQS 2000 is a pollution study conducted in the Houston-Galveston
region, while the study it will be compared to, called “ESCOMPTE,”
was made over the summer in the French southern region of
Marseilles-Etang de Berre. There are several similarities
between the two regions, including the industrial emission
area, the coastal geographical localization and their warm
and sunny climates in summer.

While comparing
the two studies, the workshop will address important questions
and topics, including:

• What
is the specific role played by each dynamic or chemical
process in the pollution episodes?
• How can regional or global models account for the
impact of urban emissions?
• Is it possible to develop an operational forecasting
system of pollution episodes?
• What kind of strategy should be devised to reduce
the concentrations of photochemical oxidants and particulates?

The Texas study
was conducted by a national team of researchers in August
and September 2000. With a goal of understanding factors
controlling the formation and transport of air pollutants
along the Gulf Coast of southeastern Texas, it pulled together
experts in meteorology, atmospheric chemistry and urban
air pollution from national laboratories, universities,
private industry and regulatory bodies. Through measurements
at more than 20 ground locations and across the entire state
of Texas with the aid of five aircraft, the formation, composition
and transport of ozone and fine particles were investigated.
Ongoing efforts are focused on incorporating these new insights
into computer models that simulate pollutant formation,
and the lessons from Texas AQS will be used to develop effective
strategies to improve air quality in the region.

During June
and July, the ESCOMPTE study brought together French and
foreign researchers in the Marseilles-Etang de Berre area
to measure air pollution. The principal aim of the program
was to provide a comprehensive three-dimensional database
concerning the emission of primary pollutants in order to
develop and validate pollution models. It established the
composition and dynamics of the atmosphere during air-pollution
episodes. The models covered by the survey are more specifically
devoted to photochemical pollution. This type of pollution
is linked to emissions of nitrogen oxide and volatile organic
compounds resulting from human activity and produces high
levels of ozone and other toxic elements.

The studies
and the workshop are important because even though there
have been recent advances in the field, including reduction
of sulfur dioxide emissions and industrial emissions and
elimination of lead in fuels, surveys continue to highlight
the breathing and heart problems caused by urban air pollution,
which also affects ecosystems and the environment.

In addition
to more research efforts, there also must be measures to
improve or develop new tools and approaches aimed at a better
understanding of phenomena linked to pollution. These include
atmospheric pollution modeling tools, since models make
it possible to understand the interactions between pollutant
emissions, meteorological conditions and pollution levels
in urban or rural zones.

Speakers at
the workshop will include researchers and scientists from
Rice, the University of Houston, The University of Texas
at Austin and Cal Tech. Mark Wiesner, professor of chemical
engineering and director of Rice’s Energy and Environmental
Systems Institute, will give opening remarks at 8:30 a.m.
Oct. 4. Matt Fraser, assistant professor in civil and environmental
engineering, will talk about the Texas AQS 2000 study at
11:30 a.m. Oct. 4.

The workshop
is co-sponsored by the Energy and Environmental Systems
Institute of Rice University, the University of Houston
and the French Consulate in Houston. For information, including
the full workshop schedule, contact (713) 348-4700 or <eesi@rice.edu>.