Evaluation of Air Quality Models with Near-Road Monitoring Data: Technical Report
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TTI: 0-6943 Evaluation of Air Quality Models with Near-Road Monitoring Data: Technical Report Technical Report 0-6943-R1 Cooperative Research Program TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and the Texas Department of Transportation http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6943-R1.pdf Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA/TX-20/0-6943-R1 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date EVALUATION OF AIR QUALITY MODELS WITH NEAR-ROAD Published: October 2020 MONITORING DATA: TECHNICAL REPORT 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Reza Farzaneh, Suriya Vallamsundar, Rohit Jaikumar, Madhu Venugopal, Report 0-6943-R1 Mohammad Askariyeh, Jeremy Johnson, Wen-Whai Li, Mayra C. Chavez, and Ivan M. Ramirez 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Texas A&M Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System 11. Contract or Grant No. College Station, Texas 77843-3135 Project 0-6943 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Texas Department of Transportation Technical Report: Research and Technology Implementation Office November 2016–August 2019 125 E. 11th Street 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Austin, Texas 78701-2483 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Project Title: Evaluation of Air Quality Models with Near-Road Monitoring Data URL: http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6943-R1.pdf 16. Abstract Air dispersion models (air quality models) are used in evaluation of transportation projects to ensure their compliance with federal regulations including the National Environmental Policy Act and transportation conformity quantitative hot-spot analysis requirements. The literature indicates a wide range of variabilities involved in the modeling process for the particulate matter (PM) hot-spot analysis. Sparse real-world data have limited the ability to evaluate the variabilities involved in the PM hot-spot analysis process. Availability of near-road monitoring data has provided a new source of data to address this gap. The objective of this study was to perform a modeling evaluation of the regulatory hot spot analysis and conduct a data research of the near-road monitoring observations to evaluate the potential association between the near-road PM2.5 concentrations and the key parameters. The study was performed for two case study sites in Texas, namely Houston and Fort Worth. The modeling process evaluation consisted of investigating the model behavior and variabilities involved in the PM2.5 hot-spot process through a series of sensitivity analyses. The results of the modeling variability analysis highlighted significant variations of the estimated near-road concentrations as a result of typical modeling options and data sources used in conducting a PM2.5 hot-spot analysis. The range of variability was highest for the model options, followed by model choice, and data source. In addition to sensitivity analysis, the data exploration indicated that the background concentration is the dominating factor in estimating the near-road PM2.5 concentrations. Traffic volume and speed were found to have a relatively weak association with the near-road concentrations of PM2.5 for the two case study sites. Wind direction and speed were found to have a stronger association with the concentrations; however, the lack of hourly near-road concentration data at the time of this study prevented a detailed analysis of this potential correlation at an hourly resolution. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Near-road, Monitoring, Air Dispersion, AERMOD, No restrictions. This document is available to the public CAL3QHCR, Data Research, Particulate Matter, Hot- through NTIS: Spot Analysis, Model Evaluation, and Sensitivity National Technical Information Service Analysis, Transportation Conformity, NEPA Alexandria, Virginia http://www.ntis.gov 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 170 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized EVALUATION OF AIR QUALITY MODELS WITH NEAR-ROAD MONITORING DATA: TECHNICAL REPORT by Reza Farzaneh Associate Research Engineer Suriya Vallamsundar Assistant Research Scientist Rohit Jaikumar Associate Transportation Researcher Madhu Venugopal Associate Research Scientist Mohammad Askariyeh Graduate Assistant in Research Jeremy Johnson Research Specialist II Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Wen-Whai Li Professor Mayra C. Chavez Graduate Research Associate Ivan M. Ramirez Graduate Research Assistant The University of Texas at El Paso Report 0-6943-R1 Project 0-6943 Project Title: Evaluation of Air Quality Models with Near-Road Monitoring Data Performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration Published: October 2020 TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE College Station, Texas 77843-3135 DISCLAIMER This research was performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of the FHWA or TxDOT. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. The United States Government and the State of Texas do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was conducted in cooperation with TxDOT and FHWA. The authors thank the Project Manager, Wade Odell, and the Project Committee, Jackie Ploch and Tim Wood from TxDOT, and Michael Claggett from FHWA for their guidance and oversight during the course of this project. Authors also thank their TTI colleagues Bob Huch and Bahar Dadashova for their help on the data exploration tasks, and Tara Ramani, Jolanda Prozzi, and Joe Zietsman for their support throughout the study. Authors also thank the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), and Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) for their help with the travel demand model inputs. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ x List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Background and Research Goal .................................................................................................. 1 Project Scope and Context .......................................................................................................... 3 Research Plan .............................................................................................................................. 4 Organization of Report ............................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review and State-of-Practice ................................................................. 7 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 7 Air Quality Models and Regulatory Context .............................................................................. 7 Air Dispersion Models ............................................................................................................ 7 Regulatory Context of Dispersion Models.............................................................................. 8 CALINE3 Series and AERMOD Model Description and Evolution ..................................... 9 Review of Studies on Model Evaluation............................................................................... 10 Key Components of PM Hot-Spot Analysis ............................................................................. 16 Overall Framework ............................................................................................................... 17 Traffic Data Characterization ............................................................................................... 18 Emission Modeling ............................................................................................................... 20 Near-Road Air Quality .............................................................................................................. 25 Near-Road Pollutant Concentrations .................................................................................... 26 Near-Road Monitoring Stations and Regulatory Processes .................................................. 27 Review of Studies Focusing on Near-Road Data.................................................................. 29 Summary ................................................................................................................................... 32 Chapter 3: Study Design and Case Study Protocols ...............................................................