Testing the skill of a Lagrangian dispersion model at estimating primary and secondary particulates

The Met. Officeʹs atmospheric dispersion model, NAME, has been configured to model both primary and secondary particulates, over a regional scale, for 1999. The study compares the sum of three modelled components (UK primary PM10, European (excluding UK sources) primary PM10 and secondary sulphate aerosol) with the average of three urban background measurement sites at London. A 24-h running average is applied to both data sets. The timeseries of both data sets for the year are presented with a statistical analysis. The results show the importance of including both secondary and European primary PM10 in modelling studies, and also indicates the modelling limitations imposed by lack of primary emission information.