BAAQMD - Research and Modeling

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Recognizing that air emissions overflow political boundaries, the California Legislature created the Air District in 1955 as the first regional air pollution control agency in the country.

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Wood Burning Status

The 2009-10 Winter Spare the Air season ended on February 28. There is currently no wood burning ban in place.

The Bay Area burn status will be updated daily during the 2010-11 Winter Spare the Air season beginning November 1.

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Research and Modeling

Research and Modeling Section staff perform the following duties:

Maintain and apply state-of-the-science meteorological, emissions inventory, and air quality models to investigate the formation of atmospheric ozone and particulate matter (PM) in the Bay Area
Provide technical information to planners for preparation of State Implementation Plans
Provide technical support to various District programs including the Community Air Risk Evaluation (CARE) Program, the Rule Development Program, the Permit Evaluation Program, the Grants Program, and the Climate Protection Program.
Participate in collaborative air quality studies such as the Central California Ozone Study (CCOS) and the California Regional Particulate Air Quality Study (CRPAQS). The collaborators include the California Air Resources Board (ARB), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), universities, and neighboring districts, especially the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District the Sacramento Metro Air Quality Management District.

Both ozone and PM have known adverse health and environmental effects. The U.S. EPA and the ARB set limits (federal limits – State limits)(change to Federal/State limits? standard?)for ambient concentrations of these pollutants. Computer models are used to help the District meet and maintain these limits. In particular, models are applied to:

Study past episodes to understand causes of formation of high ozone and PM concentrations in the Bay Area
Assess effectiveness of current emissions control strategies
Weigh alternative emissions control strategies for future planning and conduct cost-benefit analysis
Study the impact of future changes (such as climate change) on levels of these pollutants
Conduct human exposure analysis for health impact
Support smart growth

Current research activities include:

Analyzing wintertime PM data and modeling PM levels in the Bay Area
Assessing the effects of climate change on the Bay Area's future ozone attainment status
Quantifying transport of ozone and PM and their precursors within the Bay Area as well as between the Bay Area and neighboring districts
Estimating ambient levels of toxic compounds for exposure assessment, and
Evaluating the effectiveness of proposed and adopted emission controls.