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A fine-resolution, meso-urban meteorological model was updated and applied, using new data and techniques in this study, in driving fine-resolution photochemical simulations to evaluate the air-quality impacts of urban heat island mitigation. The drag-force-based formulation of the model improves the simulation of fine-resolution meteorological and air-pollutant concentration fields in the urban canopy layer. Compared to the meso scale, the meso-urban modeling of heat island mitigation produces larger localized impacts on meteorology and ozone air quality and captures phenomena of interest that are typically not detectable at the coarser scale. These include, for example, cool islands, heat islands, flow convergence associated with heat island circulation, flow divergence at the leading edge of urban areas, and vertical variation in turbulent kinetic energy budget components within the canopy layer in response to vertical changes in densities of buildings and vegetation. They also include fine-resolution features in the simulated ozone concentration field and its response to surface modifications. Model results show that heat island mitigation is effective in reducing local ozone concentrations. This paper presents results from Sacramento, California, as an example using increased urban albedo as the control mechanism. For the region, episodic conditions, and surface modification scenarios examined in this paper, air temperature is decreased by up to 3°C. Changes in ozone consist overwhelmingly of decreases but can also involve increases with the latter being confined to small areas and short time intervals. While larger reductions in ozone are detected, decreases of up to 5–10ppb are more representative and the daily maximum 8-h average can be decreased by up to 13%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper reports on the development and evaluation of a new modelling system for studying air quality on local scales. A multi-model approach has been adopted to develop the OSCAR Air Quality Modelling System to conduct assessments at different levels of complexity. This work focuses on the evaluation of the performance of two of the models, CAR II (semi-empirical, annual averaged model) and CAR-FMI (line-source Gaussian model for hourly predictions), as integrated into the OSCAR System and employing consistent emissions and meteorological inputs. The models have been evaluated using measured NOx, NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 data for 2003 from the Vallila (Helsinki) and Cromwell Road (London) monitoring stations; both of these stations are located in urban roadside environments. The evaluation consists of comparisons of annual averaged and hourly predicted and measured data, as well as detailed statistical analysis of the model performance. Overall, closer agreement between the modelled and measured data is observed for the Vallila site, where traffic levels are medium, but the models show significant underestimation for Cromwell Road which is subject to high traffic levels. The paper also discusses possible reasons for this underestimation. The wider implications of the work are also stated for development and evaluation of environmental models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]