Spatial Allocation in the Canadian Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System: Updates and Analysis for a Key Emissions Sector

摘要

In this study, we showed that it is feasible to obtain spatially distributed RWC emissions at 2.5 km for all of Canada despite the technical challenges due to the modelling domain and data sizes. The updated RWC spatial allocation showed an improvement over large DAs, where emissions are allocated only to inhabited areas rather than being spread uniformly over the entire DA. Although the trends of RWC emissions spatial distribution were in agreement with the assumptions behind the proposed methodology, improvements are still needed for the spatial allocation over urban centers, which showed higher levels than in the current methodology. Given the lack of data regarding the number of wood-burning appliances for each dwelling type for all Canada, a sensitivity analyses with changing the weighting factors could provide more insight regarding the contribution of each dwelling type in terms of RWC emissions. This is currently being investigated along with the possibility of accounting for current and upcoming bylaws (or local regulations) as well as voluntary measures to control RWC in urban centers.