Simulated Regional PM_(10) Dispersion from Agricultural Tilling Operations Using HYSPLIT

摘要

Particulate matter (PM) of aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 mu m (PM_(10)) is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This article reports on the calibration and evaluation of the HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) version 4.9 model to simulate regional dust dispersion from a disking operation. Disking operations in a cotton field in Las Cruces, New Mexico, were conducted, and boundary layer PM_(10) concentrations were sampled using a DustTrak sampler on an airplane flown at altitudes between 200 and 500 m and several kilometers downwind. Using North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast meteorological data (NAM12km, 12 km resolution) with vertical profiles, the model is capable of reasonably simulating regional PM_(10) dispersion (simulated data = 1.048 X measured data with R~2 - 0.85).