Modeling of air quality with a modified two-dimensional Eulerian model: A case study in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China

A modified two-dimensional Eulerian air quality model was used to simulate both the gaseous and particulate pollutant concentrations during October 21-24, 2004 in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, China. The most significant improvement to the model is the added capability to predict the secondary organic aerosols (SOA) concentrations because of the inclusion of the SOA formation chemistry. The meteorological input data were prepared using the CALMET meteorological model. The concentrations of aerosol-bound species such as NO3−, NH4+, SO42-, and SOA were calculated in the fine particle size range (<2.5 μm). The results of the two-dimensional model were compared to the measurements at the ground level during the PRD Intensive Monitoring Campaign. Overall, there were good agreements between the measured and modeled concentrations of inorganic aerosol components and O3. Both the measured and the modeled results indicated that the maximum hourly O3 concentrations exceeded the China National Air Quality Standard. The predicted 24-h average SOA concentrations were in reasonable agreement with those predicted by the method of minimum OC/EC ratio.