A Performance Analysis of the CMAQ Model and Its Sensitivity to Ozone Precursors in East Tennessee

This paper presents the results of sensitivity analyses and its effect on ozone concentrations in East Tennessee. The objective of this research was to conduct a sensitivity analysis on ozone precursor emissions. In this research, the Models- 3/Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) and Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) models were utilized to predict base case ozone concentrations based on 1999 National Emission Inventory (NEI) in East Tennessee from August 27th to September 9th, 1999. The modeling domain consisted of a three tiered nested domain with grid resolutions of 36 km, 12 km and 4km. The 4 km domain covered the entire State of Tennessee. Performance analysis of the CMAQ model followed by sensitivity analyses of ozone precursors were conducted to determine the possibility of attaining the federal 8-hr ozone standard in East Tennessee. The results showed that substantial NOx reductions and moderate VOC reductions are needed in mobile and point sources.