Black Box: On the Education of Air Dispersion Modelers

摘要

The atmospheric dispersion modeling field has experienced continual advancement in the past 80-90 years. Presently, the field is advancing again to address the challenges of new ambient air quality standards leading to updates to the tools used to demonstrate standard compliance and the underlying rules of that compliance. The U.S. EPA has publically stated an expected timeline of less than 1 year before revisions to the Guideline are made public for comment.12 During a time of flux, it is imperative that the modeling community participate in the name of science. Modelers must be technically proficient in the models. Model GUIs present many advantages such as speed, visual appeal, and improvement of data collection, but they can obfuscate the model workings itself. Extensive documentation is available on model formulation and execution, but modelers must make a personal investment to study this information. This leads directly to a need for scientific education. Many modelers are consultants with specialized knowledge in atmospheric transport, but a new generation of modelers is entering the field that learned modeling entirely within the confines of GUIs. Inexperienced modelers should take advantage of their colleagues' experience while elder statesmen freely discuss their findings. Participation in community activities and meetings is an excellent way to stay connected to each other, where new research and understanding can be imparted to a broad audience. As stated above, GUIs tend to focus on a small subset of models with very large consumer bases. These regulatory-approved models come with extensive guidance in their application. Modelers must stay abreast of ongoing developments while also using their scientific knowledge to assess the changes. Simultaneously, the regulatory community must also engage the modelers through timely guidance in addition to direct communication through workshops and meetings. It is important to remember that modelers make up a community of users. Despite occupational competition, the community must communicate in order to maintain the high level of scientific prowess that has dominated this field for many decades.