Pollutant-tracking software developed

Pollutant-tracking software developed

Jayesh Limaye, Dec 09, 2008 1138 hrs IST

It is capable of modeling any local-scale environmental application using its meteorological and pollution components.

The Air Pollution Model or TAPM is a software used to model air pollution and its newer version can predict the direction and concentration of odors and pollutants. The earlier versions have been in wide usage by 190 research institutions in 25 countries around the world.

The software created by Peter Hurley of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organization(CSIRO) of Australia in the mid-1990s, started as a one-dimensional model has now evolved into a complex environmental modeling tool. It is capable of modeling any local-scale environmental application using its meteorological and pollution components.

TAPM increases our ability to pinpoint pollutant behavior in a wider range of atmospheric conditions. Over the coming years the new model will continue to fill a gap between simple air pollution dispersion models and the much more complex earth system models such as Australian Community Climate and Earth-System Simulator (ACCESS) says Peter Hurley.

According to a CSIRO release, TAPM has been recently used in Australia at Launceston, where strong temperature inversions trap particulate emissions from wood fires, vehicles and industry. It can predict local meteorology help assess the likely pathway and concentration of pollutants as they are dispersing.