Chapter 45
Overview of the 2018 Canadian
Operational Regional Air Quality
Deterministic Prediction System: New
Features and Performance Improvements
Verica Savic-Jovcic, Michael Moran, Radenko Pavlovic, Hugo Landry,
Qiong Zheng, Junhua Zhang, Alexandru Lupu, Sylvain Ménard,
Ayodeji Akingunola, Sylvie Gravel, Mourad Sassi and Didier Davignon
Abstract Since the last ITM in October 2016, the Canadian operational Regional
Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System (RAQDPS) has been ported to a new
high-performance computing system and has been updated to use a new meteorological initialization method, a new meteorological “piloting” model, a new and faster
version of the GEM-MACH code, and a new set of input emissions files and to
produce an expanded set of output fields. These updates are briefly described and
some examples are given of their impact on RAQDPS forecast performance, including improved NO 2 forecasts and a large reduction (~10 ppbv) in summertime ozone
overpredictions for the eastern United States.
45.1 Introduction
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System (RAQDPS) became operational in 2001. Since then, the
RAQDPS has switched to a completely new chemical transport model (CTM) and
undergone frequent updates to improve its capabilities and performance. The current
system is built on a limited-area version of the GEM-MACH (Global Environmental Multi-scale—Modeling Air quality and Chemistry) CTM, which consists of an
in-line chemistry model embedded in ECCC’s multi-scale meteorological forecast
model, GEM. GEM-MACH’s forecast grid covers North America with horizontal
V. Savic-Jovcic (B) · M. Moran · Q. Zheng · J. Zhang · A. Lupu · A. Akingunola
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada
e-mail: verica.savic-jovcic@canada.ca
R. Pavlovic · H. Landry · S. Ménard · M. Sassi · D. Davignon
Air Quality Modelling Applications Section, ECCC, Montreal, QC, Canada
S. Gravel
Air Quality Research Division, ECCC, Montreal, QC, Canada
© Crown 2020
C. Mensink et al. (eds.), Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XXVI,
Springer Proceedings in Complexity, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22055-6_45
285
Overview of the 2018 Canadian
Operational Regional Air Quality
Deterministic Prediction System: New
Features and Performance Improvements
Verica Savic-Jovcic, Michael Moran, Radenko Pavlovic, Hugo Landry,
Qiong Zheng, Junhua Zhang, Alexandru Lupu, Sylvain Ménard,
Ayodeji Akingunola, Sylvie Gravel, Mourad Sassi and Didier Davignon
Abstract Since the last ITM in October 2016, the Canadian operational Regional
Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System (RAQDPS) has been ported to a new
high-performance computing system and has been updated to use a new meteorological initialization method, a new meteorological “piloting” model, a new and faster
version of the GEM-MACH code, and a new set of input emissions files and to
produce an expanded set of output fields. These updates are briefly described and
some examples are given of their impact on RAQDPS forecast performance, including improved NO 2 forecasts and a large reduction (~10 ppbv) in summertime ozone
overpredictions for the eastern United States.
45.1 Introduction
Environment and Climate Change Canada’s (ECCC) Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System (RAQDPS) became operational in 2001. Since then, the
RAQDPS has switched to a completely new chemical transport model (CTM) and
undergone frequent updates to improve its capabilities and performance. The current
system is built on a limited-area version of the GEM-MACH (Global Environmental Multi-scale—Modeling Air quality and Chemistry) CTM, which consists of an
in-line chemistry model embedded in ECCC’s multi-scale meteorological forecast
model, GEM. GEM-MACH’s forecast grid covers North America with horizontal
V. Savic-Jovcic (B) · M. Moran · Q. Zheng · J. Zhang · A. Lupu · A. Akingunola
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada
e-mail: verica.savic-jovcic@canada.ca
R. Pavlovic · H. Landry · S. Ménard · M. Sassi · D. Davignon
Air Quality Modelling Applications Section, ECCC, Montreal, QC, Canada
S. Gravel
Air Quality Research Division, ECCC, Montreal, QC, Canada
© Crown 2020
C. Mensink et al. (eds.), Air Pollution Modeling and its Application XXVI,
Springer Proceedings in Complexity, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22055-6_45
285