Lumping, testing, tuning: The invention of an artificial chemistry in atmospheric transport modeling

Since the late 1950s computer simulation has been used to investigate the transport of pollutants in the atmosphere. About 20 years later also the chemical transformation of atmospheric pollutants was included in computer models of photochemical smog formation. Due to limited knowledge of atmospheric chemistry and due to limited computer capacity, chemical processes in the atmosphere were modeled with the help of simplified chemical models. In these models chemical substances are lumped together forming artificial virtual compounds with virtual characteristics. The paper aims at studying the practices developed in chemical model building and the creation of confidence in these models. Core of the paper will be the analysis of the Urban Airshed Model (UAM) for the Los Angeles region, a pioneering development in the early 1970s. The construction of the UAM involved the “lumping” of chemical processes and extensive testing and tuning. These practices led to a consistent model representation, in which diverse pieces of information fitted and were mutually stabilized. The pragmatic achievement of consistency created confidence, even though empirical tests of the models remained ambiguous and problematic.