Review of the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management
“Air Quality Modeling
in the Gulf of Mexico Region”
Study
Committee for the Review of the BOEM “Air Quality Modeling in the Gulf of
Mexico” Study
Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate
Division on Earth and Life Studies
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Environmental Studies Program, Washington, D.C., under Contract Number 140M0119D0001. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-49880-7
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-49880-5
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25600
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Review of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “Air Quality Modeling in the Gulf of Mexico Region” Study. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25600.
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COMMITTEE FOR THE REVIEW OF THE BOEM “AIR QUALITY MODELING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO” STUDY
ARMISTEAD RUSSELL (Chair), Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
KIRAN BHAGANAGAR, University of Texas, San Antonio
BART CROES, California Air Resources Board (retired), Sacramento
JOOST DE GOUW, University of Colorado, Boulder
ROBERT YAMARTINO, Sigma Research Corporation (retired), Portland, ME
QI YING, Texas A&M University, College Station
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
KATHARINE THOMAS, Study Director
MICHAEL HUDSON, Program Assistant/Research Assistant
RITA GASKINS, Administrative Coordinator
ROB GREENWAY, Program Associate
BOARD ON ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES AND CLIMATE
A. R. RAVISHANKARA (Chair), Colorado State University, Fort Collins
SHUYI S. CHEN (Vice Chair), University of Washington, Seattle
CECILIA BITZ, University of Washington, Seattle
MARK A. CANE, Columbia University, Palisades, NY
HEIDI CULLEN, Climate Central, Princeton, NJ
ROBERT DUNBAR, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
PAMELA EMCH, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, CA
ARLENE FIORE, Columbia University, Palisades, NY
PETER FRUMHOFF, Union of Concerned Scientists, Cambridge, MA
WILLIAM B. GAIL, Global Weather Corporation, Boulder, CO
MARY GLACKIN, The Weather Company, Washington, DC
TERRI S. HOGUE, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
EVERETTE JOSEPH, SUNY University at Albany, NY
RONALD “NICK” KEENER, JR., Duke Energy Corporation, Charlotte, NC
ROBERT KOPP, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
L. RUBY LEUNG, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA
JONATHAN MARTIN, University of Wisconsin–Madison
JONATHAN OVERPECK, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
ALLISON STEINER, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
DAVID W. TITLEY, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
DUANE WALISER, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena
Ocean Studies Board Liaison
DAVID HALPERN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
AMANDA STAUDT, Director
LAURIE GELLER, Senior Program Officer
KATHERINE THOMAS, Senior Program Officer
LAUREN EVERETT, Program Officer
APRIL MELVIN, Program Officer
AMANDA PURCELL, Program Officer
RITA GASKINS, Administrative Coordinator
SHELLY FREELAND, Financial Associate
ROB GREENWAY, Program Associate
MICHAEL HUDSON, Senior Program Assistant
ERIN MARKOVICH, Senior Program Assistant/Research Assistant
Acknowledgments
The committee thanks Dan Baker, EnTech Consulting Corp., Elmer P. Danenberger, and Thomas A. Readinger for sharing their reviews of the BOEM “Air Quality Modeling in the Gulf of Mexico Region” Study with the Committee. The Committee also thanks the following individuals for providing additional context and perspectives through presentations to the committee:
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Jared Cohon, Carnegie Mellon University, and S.T. Rao, North Carolina State University. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
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Contents
Chapter 2: Committee’s Review of the Study
Review of the Executive Summary
Review of Chapter 1: Introduction
Review of Chapter 2: WRF Model Performance Evaluation
Review of Chapter 3: Emissions Inventory for the Cumulative and Visibility Impacts Assessment
Review of Chapter 4: Cumulative and Air Quality Impacts Analysis
Review of Chapter 5: Emission Exemption Threshold Evaluation
Review of Chapter 6: Uncertainty and Recommendations
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