Sensitivity of the Industrial Source Complex Model to Input Deposition Parameters

Abstract

The Industrial Source Complex model has recently been revised to include algorithms for estimating dry and wet deposition of particles in addition to air concentration. This study examines the sensitivity of the maximum model predictions to changes in input parameters controlling deposition, such as the shape of the particle size distribution, resolution of the size distribution, and scavenging coefficients. The modeled deposition values are more sensitive than the concentrations to changes in these parameters. The model is particularly sensitive to the use of the plume depletion option, with deposition values lowered by up to 40% when the depletion option is selected. Changes in the specification of the particle size distribution affected the highest deposition values by as much as 25%. Neither concentration nor deposition seem particularly sensitive to the use of gridded terrain data.