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CERC News pre 2008

October 2007
A draft agenda is now available for the ADMS-Urban & ADMS-Roads User Group meeting to be held at The Studio, Birmingham on Wednesday 10th October, to download the agenda click here.

September 2007: Technical Workshop
CERC is hosting a Technical Workshop on Atmospheric Dispersion and ADMS 4 on Wednesday 28th November 2007 at The Studio, Birmingham. For more details click here.
The Workshop follows the ADMS 4 User Group Meeting to be held at the same venue on Tuesday 27th November 2007. Further details of the User Group Meeting will be available here soon.

September 2007: ADMS 4 brochure
To download an ADMS 4 brochure, please click here.

August 2007: ADMS-Urban & ADMS-Roads User Group
This year's ADMS-Urban & ADMS-Roads User Group Meeting will be held on 10th October 2007, at The Studio, Birmingham. Further details are available from http://www.cerc.co.uk/UserGroupMeetings.htm.

August 2007: Harmonisation Conference
The proceedings from the 11th Harmonisation Conference held in Cambridge on the 2nd-5th July, are now available on-line.

July 2007: Harmonisation Conference
The 11th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes, was held on the 2nd-5th July in Cambridge. More details on the Conference are available on the HARMO11 Conference website.

January 2007: airTEXT
airTEXT is a service for Londoners with health problems affected by air pollution. Ideal for people with asthma, COPD and other illnesses, airTEXT will alert by email, SMS or voicemail a day before elevated air pollution is expected. A prototype service has been operating in Croydon since May 2005, and this will be extended to cover all of London in 2007, with 20 London authorities and agencies co-operating to deliver the service, which will be operated by CERC. For more details click here.

January 2007: User Group Meetings
Summaries of recent User Group Meetings are now available to download, including the ADMS meeting held on 22nd November 2006, and the ADMS-Urban & Roads meeting held on 4th October 2006.

January 2007: Harmonisation Conference
CERC is organising the 11th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes. For further details click here.

November 2006: Changing the primary NO2 fraction of NOx emissions from traffic
The UK’s Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) report Trends in Primary Nitrogen Dioxide in the UK projected increases in the fraction of NOx that is emitted as NO2 (f-NO2) from road traffic. These increases will have significant impact on NO2 concentrations and the achievement of NO2 objectives.

You can change the value of f-NO2 used in ADMS-Urban or ADMS-Roads for a single road or group of roads using EMIT for data input into ADMS-Urban or ADMS-Roads, or by adjusting f-NO2 directly in ADMS-Roads. A technical note is available from our User Area or by emailing enquiries@cerc.co.uk.

November 2006: Major upgrade, ADMS 4
The major upgrade to the industrial source model ADMS 4 will be released early in 2007 with many new features. Click here to read more details.

November 2006: Changing the primary NO2 fraction of NOx emissions from traffic
The UK’s Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) report Trends in Primary Nitrogen Dioxide in the UK projected increases in the fraction of NOx that is emitted as NO2 (f-NO2) from road traffic. These increases will have significant impact on NO2 concentrations and the achievement of NO2 objectives.

You can change the value of f-NO2 used in ADMS-Urban or ADMS-Roads for a single road or group of roads using EMIT for data input into ADMS-Urban or ADMS-Roads, or by adjusting f-NO2 directly in ADMS-Roads. A technical note is available from our User Area or by emailing enquiries@cerc.co.uk.

October 2006: ADMS 3 User Group
A draft agenda is now available for the 2006 ADMS User Group meeting, to be held on Wednesday 22nd November 2006 at The Orange Studio in Birmingham, UK. Further details.

October 2006: Harmonisation Conference 2007
CERC are pleased to make the second announcement for the 11th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes, to be held 2-5 July 2007 in Cambridge, UK. This includes a call for abstracts, to be submitted no later than 11th December 2006. Further details are available from the Harmonisation web site. Those wishing to receive further information on the conference are encouraged to complete the no-commitment on-line registration form.

September 2006: ADMS 3 User Group
The next ADMS 3 User Group meeting will be held on Wednesday 22nd November 2006 at The Orange Studio in Birmingham, UK. Further details are available, including a brochure and registration form.

September 2006: ADMS-Urban and ADMS-Roads User Group
A draft agenda is now available for the 2006 ADMS-Urban and ADMS-Roads User Group meeting, to be held on Wednesday 4th October 2006 at The Orange Studio in Birmingham, UK. Further details.

August 2006: European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change
A useful tool to compare air dispersion model characteristics, is now available on the European Environment Agency (EEA) Topic Centre website:
http://pandora.meng.auth.gr/mds/strquery.php?wholedb

July 2006: ADMS-Urban and ADMS-Roads User Group
The next ADMS-Urban and ADMS-Roads User Group meeting will be held on Wednesday 4th October 2006 at The Orange Studio in Birmingham, UK. Further details including a brochure and registration form are available online.

June 2006: Vapour Detection System
CERC is delighted to have reached an agreement with ARID to publicise ARID's UVIC Mk II, the advanced High Sensitivity Vapour Detection System. UVIC Mk II is a state of the art photo-ionisation detector and has applications including atmospheric dispersion investigations, indoor ventilation studies, leak detection, pollution monitoring and health and safety evaluation. Further details.

June 2006: Harmonisation Conference 2007
CERC are pleased to make the first announcement that we are organising the 11th International Conference on Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes, to be held 2-5 July 2007 in Cambridge, UK. Further details are available from the Harmonisation web site. Those wishing to receive further information on the conference are encouraged to complete the no-commitment on-line registration form.

January 2006: Training News
Training dates for all standard courses are scheduled for 2006. Please refer to the Training page for dates and booking information. Two new options for ADMS-Urban support are now available. The support options are a, b, c, d and e as shown in the Table below. Support items c and e are the new options, whereby two or three days of customised/consultancy for up to two people can be arranged. These options can either be taken at the CERC offices or off-site.

The new training costs will take place as of 1st April 2006.

January 2006: ADMS-Urban, ADMS-Roads and EMIT new releases
January 2006 sees the release of version 2.2 of ADMS-Urban, ADMS-Roads and EMIT. The new ADMS versions incorporate the latest improvements to the modelling of NOx chemistry and near road dispersion that have arisen from studies carried out recently for DEFRA (modelling of London, investigation of the effect of vehicle exhaust characteristics) and DfT (Heathrow airport). The models have a new link to ArcGIS, as well as maintaining their links to ArcView and MapInfo.

ADMS-Urban and ADMS-Roads user group meeting 2005
The user group meeting was held on 11th October 2005. A summary of the meeting is now available to download.

ADMS-3 user group meeting 2005
The user group meeting was held on 29th November 2005. A summary of the meeting is now available to download.

ADMS 3 and ADMS-Roads training to organisations from overseas
There has been growing interest in the last 6 months in the use of ADMS 3 in South Africa. Interest has particularly come from within the power industry, the nuclear industry and in university research. Staff from the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) (Pty.) Ltd. based in Pretoria, attended the CERC offices in Cambridge for ADMS 3 training in April of this year.

ADMS 3 and ADMS-Roads have been taken up by organisations in Spain. Delegates from the Environmental Division of CARTIF in Valladolid (northern Spain) attended the CERC offices in Cambridge for customised training using ADMS 3 and ADMS-Roads in April of this year.

CERC trains scientists in Italy to use ADMS-Urban and EMIT
Environmental scientists from the districts of the Veneto Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPAV) spent a week in Mestre at the beginning of July learning how to use ADMS-Urban and EMIT. ARPAV intend to use the software to investigate scenarios to improve air quality management and set up air quality strategies in the main cities of this northern region Veneto in Italy.

Atmospheric Dispersion and ADMS-Urban training in South Africa
A week-long workshop/course titled ‘Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling and ADMS-Urban’ was presented in May 2005 by the Climatology Research Group (at The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg), Gondwana Environmetal Solutions (Pty.) Ltd. and CERC. Dr. Tricia Gilmour from CERC spent a week in Johannesburg helping to carry out the workshop.

Delegates attending the workshop were from a broad range of organisations and disciplines within South Africa. Some of these organisations included the University of the North West, University of Johannesburg, University of the Witwatersrand, Gondwana Environmental Solutions (Pty) Ltd, Matla Power Station, Sasol, Anglogold Ashanti, Xstrata Alloys, Airshed, Johannesburg City Council, Kwazulu Natal Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, Gauteng Provincial Government and Ekurhuleni Municipality.

Delegates carrying out case studies and exercises at the Gondwana Training Centre in Johannesburg.

Some of the delegates attending the week-long workshop/course in May 2005. Dr Stuart Piketh (head of the Climatology Research group), one of the presenters and organisers of the event, is pictured furthest to the left, and Dr. Tricia Gilmour (trainer from CERC) is pictured furthest to the right in the photograph.

Dr David Carruthers, Speaker for British day at CIEPEC 2005, Beijing
With the support of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), the 9th China International Environmental Protection Exhibition and Conference (CIEPEC 2005) is regarded as the leading international environment event in China. During the 4-day exhibition, a ‘British Day’ was launched at the UK Pavilion on the 8th of June, the key theme of the Day reflected the purpose of the CIEPEC to enhance co-operation between the UK and China in Environmental industry.

Dr David Carruthers of CERC was invited as the speaker for ‘British day’ at CIEPEC, Beijing, 7-10 June 2005 (http://211.167.68.243/ciepec2005/english/brief.asp). David gave a talk entitled “The Urban Environment - Managing Pollution, Heat and Climate Change”.

Dr Xiangyu Sheng at British Environmental Technologies Seminar, China
Dr Xiangyu Sheng, representing the air pollution control technology sector, recently gave talks at the British Environmental Technologies Seminar in Shenzhen and Chongqing, China, on the 11-18th May 2005, organised by the UK Trade & Investment. Her talks focused on “Monitoring, Modelling & Managing Air Quality in Industrial and Urban Environments”.

Over the past five years, China has become increasingly concerned with its economic development and the consequental environmental impact. During the current Five Year Plan (2001 - 2005), China has pledged to invest US$85bn into environmental protection across a broad range of projects, including e-waste (WEEE), sludge treatment, waste management, and vehicle emission control, which were the focus of the seminar.

Preparation of national emission reduction and ambient air quality assessment programmes
CERC is part of a consortium which has been awarded an 18 month EU supported project to assist the Republic of Lithuania in developing their system for emission control, air quality assessment and management, according to EU requirements. For more details please download this document.

CERC participating in EU climate change project
CERC are participating in the EU project QUANTIFY (www.pa.op.dlr.de/quantify/), which aims to quantify the impact of emissions from transport systems (road, shipping and aviation) on climate. The project, which began at the start of March 2005, will last five years and involves over 30 research institutes, universities and companies. Activities within the project include the production of past, present and future global emission inventories for transport sources, assessment of the chemical impact of these emissions in the atmosphere and their impact on the production of clouds, determination of the impact on climate change, and presentation of the results using metrics that are useful to policy-makers. CERC's role is in parameterising small and regional scale processes for input to global climate models, with an emphasis on the modelling of the impact of road traffic emissions.

1st China International Forum on Environmental Impact Assessment
Dr. Christine McHugh and Dr. Xiangyu Sheng of CERC attended the 1st China International Forum on Environmental Impact Assessment which took place between 13-15 December 2004 in Boao, Hainan, China. They gave two presentations entitled: "Comparison between Chinese EIA Guidelines for Air Dispersion Modelling and Advanced Air Dispersion Model ADMS and "Using ADMS Models for Air Quality Assessment and Management in China ".

Expert Visit to Kunming, China
Dr. Christine McHugh was invited, as a UK expert, to visit China by Yunnan Province Foreign Experts Bureau and Kunming Environmental Monitoring Centre. During her visit in December 2004, Christine gave various presentations on emergency response modelling and the use of ADMS-Urban in Kunming.

ADMS-Roads Training courses
One or two day courses now available - Either a one-day course or a two-day course is now available for ADMS-Roads. The one-day course covers preliminary aspects of ADMS-Roads and dispersion modelling. The two-day course extends the work of the one-day course and builds on the complexity of modelling scenarios.

ADMS 3 Training courses
Two new optional Units are now available on Day 2 of the ADMS 3 training course: one on area sources and buildings, and one on odours. Refer to the ADMS 3 course outline for further information.

New ADMS-Urban support package
The ADMS-Urban annual licence now has the option of including a 3 days training package for 2 people. The training has been extended from the 2 day training package with a view to incorporating emissions inventory training with the ADMS-Urban training. More details of the training content of the courses are given in the training pages. To see the prices of the different options, follow this link.

'Your Air' Air Quality forecast
CERC now provide air quality forcasts for Central London. Current forcasts can be seen by following this link. CERC is able to provide air quality forecasting at the urban and local scale throughout the UK and in other countries. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about what we can offer for your particular area.

ADMS-Urban user group meeting 2004
This year's user group meeting was held on Tuesday 28th September 2004. A summary of the meeting is now available to download.

ADMS-3 user group meeting 2004
This year's user group meeting was held on 21st July 2004. A summary of the meeting is now available to download.

Update of NETCEN gridded emissions from 2000 to 2002
It has come to our attention that NETCEN are in the process of updating the gridded emissions data on the LAQM website from the year 2000 to the year 2002. This change in gridded emissions data was first noticed in the week ending 27th August 2004. The 2002 VOC dataset, required for NO₂ chemistry calculations using ADMS-Urban, is currently unavailable. NETCEN have informed us that these data will be available by the end of the first week in September. Please note that the gridded emissions data for the year 2000 have been removed from the LAQM website and only data for 2002 are now available – this may affect you if you have already begun a study using 2000 gridded emissions data. From our own studies we have found some significant changes in emissions between these two datasets.

EMCP JINAN DELEGATION VISIT CERC
The EU-China Environmental Management Cooperation Programme (EMCP) is one of the most prominent EC-funded projects in the environment field in China. The general objective of the programme is to develop and improve environmental management in China and to strengthen the national capacities in this field through increased contacts and exchanges between China and the European Union, with the ultimate objective of promoting sustainable development. One of the four components of the programme is the Local and Municipal Development Project (EMCP/LMD). EMCP/LMD has selected projects at the local level to demonstrate practical, innovative approaches to solving key environmental issues in China. One of these projects is to assist the city of Jinan, Shandong Province, in setting up an Air Quality Management System (AQMS). CERC is involved in providing expert advice to the AQMS in Jinan. A delegation consisting 10 people from Jinan have visited CERC, as shown below.

NEW ADMS-URBAN USERS IN CHINA
Following the purchase of ADMS-Urban by Beijing Environmental Monitoring Centre and Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences, we are pleased to welcome Chongqing Environmental Research Institute, Hangzhou Environmental Research Institute, Harbin Environmental Monitoring Centre and Beijing Normal University as new ADMS-Urban users. ADMS-Urban is used in China for air quality planning and air quality capacity calculations. An ADMS-Urban training workshop was held 22-25 June 2004 in Beijing with over 20 participants. Feedback from the workshop was very positive.

ADMS 3 Upgrade
A new upgrade of the ADMS 3 model, ADMS 3.2, is now available. This upgrade includes a number of new features as well as developments and improvements. Testing of the new release included comparisons with ADMS 3.1 using a set of test cases produced by the Environment Agency. ADMS 3 users can find full details of these tests, and more information about the release, on the user area.

PROMOTE
A project on air quality and UV forecasting at the European, National and Local scales. The project is sponsored by the European Space Agency/Framework 6 Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security Programme (GMES). The forecasts will make use of satellite and ground based measurements and a range of models for different spatial scales. ADMS-Urban is being used to provide high resolution local forecasts. For further information see the GMES website, http://earth.esa.int/gmes/services.html.

TRAMAQ
The TRAMEC emissions calculator, developed for the Department for Transport under their TRAMAQ (Traffic Management and Air Quality) research programme, is now at the beta testing stage.
TRAMEC is a software tool for local authority air quality and traffic management teams that uses detailed measurements of HGV emissions under different traffic management scenarios. It will be a useful tool in drawing up Air Quality Action Plans.The project team comprised TTR (Transport and Travel Research Ltd.), CERC and Millbrook. For further details about the TRAMAQ research programme see the DfT web site: www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_508003.hcsp. To request a copy of TRAMEC when it is released in June email enquiries@cerc.co.uk

CERC participating in CIEPEC 2003
The 8th China International Environmental Protection Exhibition and Conference (CIEPEC) took place on the 15th to 18th of December, 2003. More details can be downloaded here.

ADMS-Urban training in South Africa
In June 2003 Dr. Tricia Gilmour spent a week in Johannesburg with Environmental Health Officers from Johannesburg City Council.  During the week she installed ADMS-Urban and provided training in ADMS-Urban and EMIT and in the compilation of emission inventories.  Johannesburg City Council is to conduct an air quality assessment of the City with a view to improving the air quality climate.  The University of Witwatersrand may also be involved in the modelling studies and also attended some of the training sessions.

The training was held at the offices of WSP Walmsley who are acting as partners to CERC in South Africa.

Shanghai purchases ADMS-Urban
Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences has recently purchased ADMS-Urban (Chinese language version).  They are using the model to investigate the strategies for air quality in Shanghai as part of their tenth five-year plan.  They will also send three air quality scientists to CERC for ADMS-Urban training in September 2003.

CERC trains scientists in Italy
Environmental scientists from eight districts of the Emilia-Romagna Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA) spent 3 days in Bologna (13th-15th May) learning how to use ADMS-Urban and EMIT. ARPA intend to use the software to investigate scenarios to improve air quality management and set up air quality strategies in the main cities of the highly populated and industrialised Po valley region, in this part of Italy.

ADMS Urban 2 launched
CERC is delighted to report the release of the new version of ADMS-Urban, version 2.  ADMS-Urban has been used for over 60% of the first round of local authority Air Quality Review and Assessment work in the UK.  ADMS-Urban 2 provides an even more powerful tool for air quality management in the second round of Review and Assessment.  A brief description of the changes in ADMS-Urban version 2 are given in the document 'what’s new in ADMS-Urban 2'.

CERC trains Beijing experts using ADMS
Air quality specialists from Beijing Environmental Monitoring Centre, part of Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau, have spent a week from 31st March to 4th April learning how to use ADMS-Urban and EMIT at CERC. They are now using the software to investigate options for continuing air quality improvements to Beijing to be implemented before the 2008 Olympic Games as part of the Chinese Government’s drive towards a ‘Green Olympics’.

ADMS-Urban and EMIT new releases ideal for 2^nd round of Review of Assessment
The combination of EMIT and ADMS-Urban proved a powerful tool for the first round of Review and Assessment work and is expected to do so again in the second round. Upcoming releases of ADMS-Urban and EMIT are fully compatible with the requirements set for the second round.
ADMS-Urban 2 and EMIT 2.1 both incorporate the new DMRB vehicle emission. The new version of EMIT also contains much enhanced features for calculating greenhouse gas emissions and compiling greenhouse gas inventories, as well as new features to improve its links with noise models.

Second round of LAQM Review and Assessment
In the previous round of LAQM R&A CERC was involved in many local authority studies and our air dispersion model ADMS was used in well over half of all studies.  CERC is well equipped to undertake both the updating and screening assessment and detailed assessment for the second round.  More details of the services we provide are given under our Consultancy web pages.

ADMS-3 at Imperial
As part of their MSc course in Environmental Technology, students at Imperial College  in London will be having hands-on teaching sessions with ADMS-3.  This module forms part of the Health and Environment option currently taught by the Department of Environmental Science and Technology (DEST) in the Faculty of Life Sciences.

ADMS-Urban in Thailand
ADMS-Urban is being used on a joint project between Middlesex University and the Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) Town Planning Office to carry out air quality studies for the city of Chiang Mai.

2002 Harmonisation Conference
The 8th International Conference on the Harmonisation within Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling for Regulatory Purposes took place in Sophia, Bulgaria from 14-17 October 2002. CERC's Dr David Carruthers presented a paper entitled 'Dispersion of Air Pollution in Urban Areas in the UK', which is available to download as a PowerPoint presentation (2.4MB).  The presentation shows modelling assumptions and results for London, and compares results obtained by CERC, ERG and NETCEN.  Maps of calculated concentrations of PM₁₀ and NO_x over the Greater London area calculated by CERC using ADMS-Urban 1.7 are included.

Hands-On Training Scheme for Overseas Decision Makers (HOTS)
CERC in partnership with Trade Partners UK held a Hands-On Training Scheme for Overseas Decision Makers (HOTS), for senior managers from China's National Environmental Monitoring Centre, Beijing Environmental Monitoring Centre, Shanghai Academy of Environmental Sciences and Kunming Environmental Monitoring Centre in China. A five-day Advanced Air Quality Management Training program ran from 7th-11th October 2002.

Buying Online
CERC have now started to sell the following software products online:
EMIT; FLOWSTAR; GASTAR and ADMS-Screen.
To order visit the buy online page and follow the Buy Now links.
 

LEAF Conference
Following London's Environment And Future (LEAF) conference, Nature have issued an article which includes details of CERC's presentation, http://www.nature.com/nsu/020909/020909-14.html.  CERC have used up-to-date noise mapping software CadnaA (developed by Datakustik GmbH) to produce a free-field noise map of Greater London using road traffic data from the London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory.  Noise maps can help planners see the affect of proposed new road schemes and developments, and also find solutions to current noise problems.

ADMS Urban for the Beijing Olympics
The Beijing Environmental Monitoring Centre has recently acquired the Chinese language version of ADMS-Urban air quality management system. They are now using the software to investigate options for continuing air quality improvements to Beijing to be implemented before the 2008 Olympic Games as part of the Chinese Government’s drive towards a ‘Green Olympics’. In Beijing a combination of industrial emissions of sulphur dioxide and particulates due to coal burning, increased traffic pollution and intense summer sun resulting in a high level of photochemical activity pose major air pollution problems. The Beijing Environmental Monitoring Centre will use the system extensively to examine the full range of options available.

The study is likely to be one of many such applications in China with ADMS already being used in Shanghai, Hong Kong and cities of Liaoning Province in north east China and with the recent formal acceptance of ADMS by the State Environment Protection Administration of China (SEPA); see http://www.china-eia.com.

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