In the context of regional atmospheric modelling, emission inventories are datasets that contain information on annual emissions by activity (e.g., space heating, light-duty diesel vehicles, etc.) that occur over a relatively large geo-political region (e.g., province, state, county, etc.).  Emission processing involves the manipulation of aggregated, annual emission data to produce: hourly emissions of unique chemical species on a grid-cell-by-grid-cell basis for the specific period being modelled.  Emission processing is a complex task and usually involves the preparation of a large number of model-specific inputs and the need to run a number of pre-processors.  Emission models (e.g., SMOKE, EMS-95, MEPPS, EPS2.0) are used to: 1) spatially allocate aggregated emissions to a pre-defined model grid, 2) temporally allocate annual emissions to hour-by-hour emissions based on activity data; and, 3) disaggregate lumped pollutant species (e.g., VOCs) into the individual chemical species or groups of species needed to model chemical processes in the atmosphere.  RWDI staff have performed a wide range of services related to emission inventory preparation and processing.  We have an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of emission modelling, from the generation of emission inventories from first-principles / engineering calculations, to the use of emission models (e.g., MOBILE6, NONROAD), to emission modelling at continental scales.  Relevant Projects RWDI has been involved in a number of projects related to emission inventory preparation and modelling.  In particular, RWDI has been retained by government and industry clients alike to perform regional emission processing using models such as SMOKE and MEPPS as part of larger-scale air quality modelling projects.  RWDI has also been hired to perform only certain portions of the emission modelling task, such as the preparation of spatial surrogates using in-house developed GIS techniques, converting raw emission data into model-ready regional emission inventories, etc.  As part of this work, RWDI staff have created a number of unique software utilities for the purpose of streamlining certain processes.  Studies involving emission models have ranged from relatively straight-forward base case and business-as-usual growth scenarios, to more complicated power plant emission displacement scenarios involving complex start-stop cycles and hourly emission profiles based on continuous emission monitoring data. Alberta Oilsands Emission Inventory Preparation for Input to SMOKE, Athabasca Oilsands Region, Alberta, Canada Environment Canada Prairie and Northern Region retained RWDI to prepare improved, up to date emission inputs associated with the Heavy Oil and upstream oil and gas industry in the Athabasca Oilsands Region of northeastern Alberta.  The focus of the work was to convert RWDI's in-house Emission Source Database into SMOKE-ready format. Development of Spatial Surrogates for the U.S. Portion of the CWEI Domain, South Western Canada RWDI was retained by Environment Canada to generate gridded spatial surrogate data for the U.S. portion of the 4-km resolution CWEI model domain covering south-western Canada and the northwestern U.S. Spatial surrogates were developed for input to the Sparse Matrix Operating Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) modelling system using in-house developed GIS-based approach.  Edmonton Emission Inventory Improvement and VKT Spatial Surrogate Development, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Environment Canada retained RWDI to perform the following tasks to improve their ability to model emissions in the Edmonton area: update and improve temporal profiles for point source emissions based on facility-specific telephone surveys, review and improve VOC and PM2.5 speciation profiles, and developed Edmonton specific spatial surrogates for on-road vehicles using traffic demand (EMME/2) model inputs based on total vehicle kilometers traveled (VKT) data as opposed to road segment length.  Projecting the 1996 U.S. National Emission Inventory (Point, Area, Mobile) to 1999 and 2001 for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Energy, Ontario, Canada RWDI was retained by Environment Canada to perform forecasting of the US EPA's 1996 NEI to the years 1999 and 2001 using EGAS for the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Energy.  RWDI used growth and projection factors by SCC code and county derived from the US EPA's EGAS model in conjunction with software developed by RWDI for this specific purpose.  For energy generating units (EGUs), facility-specific Continuous Emission Monitoring (CEM) data were used to generate the 1999 and 2001 data as opposed to using the projection factors provided in EGAS.  Canada West Emission Inventory (CWEI) Project - in Support of the Canada / U.S. International Air Quality Modelling Project (IAQMP), Western Canada RWDI was retained by Environment Canada to prepare input files in SMOKE-ready format for the emission inventory processing component of a multi-national, multi-stakeholder modelling project.  As part of this project, RWDI created a SMOKE emission data import, analysis and export software utility called SMOKE-In.  SMOKE-In can import SMOKE IDA files (ASCII) and Environment Canada's RDIS NET database files.  Once imported, the user can view, edit, filter and manipulate emission data using provided queries and forms, or built-in MS ACCESS database functions.  The user can then export their results to SMOKE Emission Inventory files, or for plotting using RWDI's EI-View GIS software utility.  Mapping the 1995 Criteria Air Contaminants Point, Area, Mobile, and Biogenic Source Emission Inventory RWDI West Inc. was retained by Environment Canada to create thematic emission maps by census division for all of Canada on a province-by-province basis using the Canadian 1995 Criteria Air Contaminants (CAC) emission inventory for point, area, mobile, and biogenic source emissions.  In excess of 200 emission maps were generated using GIS software for NOX, VOC, SOX, PM2.5, and NH3. Emission Inventory Preparation and Modelling of the Canadian 1995 Criteria Air Contaminants Point Source Emission Inventory RWDI West Inc. was retained by Environment Canada to perform SMOKE modelling for the "REMSAD 36-km" national domain for the entire year of 1996 using the Canadian 1995 Criteria Air Contaminants (CAC) emission inventory for point sources.  SMOKE modelling was performed by RWDI West Inc. with assistance from Mr. Jeff Vukovich.  Emission Inventory Preparation and Modelling of Forecasted Canadian 2010 and 2020 Point Source Emission Inventories As a follow-up to SMOKE modelling performed for Environment Canada using the 1995 Criteria Air Contaminants (CAC) emission inventory for point sources, RWDI West Inc. was retained by Environment Canada to perform SMOKE modelling for the "REMSAD 36-km" national domain using forecasted year 2010 and 2020 emission inventories for point sources.  SMOKE modelling was performed by RWDI West Inc. with assistance from Mr. Jeff Vukovich.  Gridding Agriculture Emission Source Activity Data, Southwestern Canada RWDI was retained by Environment Canada to improve upon the existing spatial surrogate information available to modellers for allocating agricultural emissions to their model grids.  Environment Canada purchased agricultural activity data from Statistics Canada for this purpose.  RWDI created gridded ratios for 34 different activities on a 4-km model grid covering much of southwestern Canada.  Emission Inventory Processing for the Province of Alberta, Canada Canada's 1995 CAC national emission inventory was adapted to provide a graphical presentation of annual emissions in the Province of Alberta and also provide gridded, temporalized and chemically speciated emissions for a selected smog event.  Various GIS products, including digital land use maps and road network maps were adapted and used to allocate county?wide emission data to the model grid. Greenhouse Gases from On-Road Vehicles in Taipei, Taiwan This three-year, three-phase project performed for the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration involved the development of a standard methodology specific to Taiwan for compiling inventories of annual emissions from on-road motor vehicles.  Control strategies applicable to Taiwan were also assessed, and options for dispersion modelling were reviewed.  The methodology was then applied to the City of Taipei, and the resulting inventory was used to assess transportation strategies for reducing emissions.  Transportation demand modelling was also performed to evaluate control measures set out by the Department of Transportation of Taipei in its "Year 2000 Transportation Policy Guide."  Source Apportionment of Fine Particulate Matter in Canada, Environment Canada This project, funded by Environment Canada, was aimed at synthesizing the current knowledge on the source apportionment of particulate matter relevant to Canada; and, identifying the emission sources that make the greatest contribution to ambient particulate matter concentrations for each region of the country in support of discussions on implementation strategies for achieving Canada Wide Standards for PM10 and PM2.5.  Related Publications Boulton, J.W., M.F. Lepage, X. Qiu, and M. Gauthier (2002), Recent Applications of MM5, SMOKE, and CMAQ in Canada, 2002 Models-3 Users' Workshop, Raleigh, North Carolina, October, 2002. Lepage, M, X. Qiu and J. W. Boulton, (2002), Regional Air Quality Model Sensitivity to Power Plant Emissions in Southern Ontario, A&WMA 95th Annual Conference and Exhibition, Boston, MA, 2002. Boulton, J.W., K.A. Siriunas, M.F. Lepage, and S.K. Schill, (2002), Developing Spatial Surrogates for Modelling Applications, US EPA 11th Annual Emission Inventory Conference, Arlington, Virginia, June, 2002. Boulton, J.W., M. Lepage, M. Vanderheyden, A. Davies, and D. Yeung, (2001), Regional Airshed Studies in the Pearl River Delta, 2001 International Conference and Exhibition on Sustainable Development and Green Enterprises, Macao, November, 2001. Lepage, M. F., and M. Van Altena (2001), The Effect of Electric Vehicles on Air Quality in Canada: A Regional Air Quality Study, A&WMA 94th Annual Conference and Exhibition, Orlando, Florida, June, 2001. Qiu, X. and M. F. Lepage (2001), The SMOKE Emission Processor and Community Multi-Scale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) Applied to Southern Ontario, US EPA 10th International Emission Inventory Conference, Denver, Colorado, May, 2001. Boulton, J.W., M. Lepage, and W. Jiang, (2000), Application of the Models-3 Framework to a Canadian Urban Airshed, A&WMA 93rd Annual Conference and Exhibition, Salt Lake City, Utah, June, 2000. Boulton, J.W., and  M. Lepage, (2000), Application of the Models-3 Framework to a Canadian Urban Airshed, US EPA's First Annual Models-3 Workshop, Arlington, Virginia, June, 2000.