Study of the impact of natural sources on the air quality – Evaluation of a natural emissions model

A Natural Emissions MOdel (NEMO) driven by the meteorology of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model has been used in order to estimate particle emissions from windblown dust, sea salt and primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) as well as Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds (BVOCs) emissions from vegetation. NEMO is applied on a 30km spatial resolution grid, which covers Europe for the year 2009. NEMO emissions results of dust, sea salt and BVOCs were incorporated in a photochemical modelling system consisted of the WRF model and the Comprehensive Air Quality model with extensions (CAMx). Anthropogenic emissions data have been taken by the Netherlands Organization (TNO). The modelling system is implemented for different emission scenarios, which concern the exclusion of natural sources in the simulations in order to study their impact on the European air quality. A model evaluation indicated a good model performance.