Development and case study of a science-based software platform to support policy making on air quality

Yun Zhu; Yanwen Lao; Carey Jang; Chen-Jen Lin; Jia Xing; Shuxiao Wang; Joshua S Fu; Shuang Deng; Junping Xie; Shicheng Long

doi:10.1016/j.jes.2014.08.016

Development and case study of a science-based software platform to support policy making on air quality

J Environ Sci (China). 2015 Jan 1:27:97-107. doi: 10.1016/j.jes.2014.08.016. Epub 2014 Nov 26.

Authors

Yun Zhu¹, Yanwen Lao², Carey Jang³, Chen-Jen Lin⁴, Jia Xing⁵, Shuxiao Wang⁵, Joshua S Fu⁶, Shuang Deng⁷, Junping Xie², Shicheng Long²

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, College of Environmental and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
² College of Environmental and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.
³ USEPA/Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards, RTP, NC 27711, USA.
⁴ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, College of Environmental and Energy, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China; Department of Civil Engineering, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77710-0024, USA.
⁵ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Sources and Control of Air Pollution Complex, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
⁶ Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996-2010, USA.
⁷ Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing 100012, China.

PMID: 25597667
DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2014.08.016

Abstract

This article describes the development and implementations of a novel software platform that supports real-time, science-based policy making on air quality through a user-friendly interface. The software, RSM-VAT, uses a response surface modeling (RSM) methodology and serves as a visualization and analysis tool (VAT) for three-dimensional air quality data obtained by atmospheric models. The software features a number of powerful and intuitive data visualization functions for illustrating the complex nonlinear relationship between emission reductions and air quality benefits. The case study of contiguous U.S. demonstrates that the enhanced RSM-VAT is capable of reproducing the air quality model results with Normalized Mean Bias <2% and assisting in air quality policy making in near real time.

Keywords: Air quality; Data visualization; Emission control scenarios; Policy making; Response surface modeling.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Environmental Policy*
Models, Theoretical
Policy Making*
Software
Spatial Analysis
United States
User-Computer Interface*

Substances

Air Pollutants