EMEP/MSC-W model history

The chemical transport models developed at Meteorological Synthesizing Centre - West (MSC-W) are concerned with the regional atmospheric dispersion and deposition of acidifying and eutrophying compounds (S, N), ground level ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10).

Until 1998, 2-D Lagrangian Acid Deposition model was routinely used at EMEP/MSC-W. In 1989, the MSC-W of EMEP began the work on the development of an ozone model of adressing both the problem of short-term episodic ozone and long-term (growing season) ozone. The model was called in the beginning the Lagrangian Ozone model and is also known as the Lagrangian Photooxidant model.
The EMEP Lagrangian model was not explicitly designed to model particulate matter, but it calculated air concentrations of four secondary particles: sulphate, nitrate, ammonium sulphate and ammonium nitrate.

In 1997 results from the EMEP Eulerian photooxidant model were presented for the first time. In 1999 3-D Eulerian Acid Deposition Model was applied to calculate air concentration and deposition fields for major acidifying and eutrophying pollutants as well as their long-range transport and fluxes across national boundaries.
In 2002, the Unified EMEP model, was introduced; A modelling system that unified the acidifying and the oxidant versions of the eulerian model.

The Unified EMEP model code (version rv3) was released as open source under the GPL license v3 in February 2008. The release of the code included also a full input data set for 2005 and model results for comparison.
The latest EMEP/MSC-W model Open Source code with the most recent input data and model results for comparison is updated every year.

  • EMEP/MSC-W model Open Source
  • EMEP/MSC-W model (Open Source) documentation (2012)
    with model updates/developments described in EMEP Status Report 1/2013,2014,2015,2015
  • Unified EMEP Model documentation (2003)
  • EMEP Eulerian Particulate Matter (until 2001)
  • EMEP Eulerian Acid Deposition Model (until 2001)
  • EMEP Eulerian Photooxidant Model (until 2001) (Appendix B (p.98-106))
  • EMEP Lagrangian Acid Deposition Model (Appendix A1 (p.8-29))
  • EMEP Lagrangian Photooxidant Model (Appendix A (p.88-96))
  • During the development of the models the grid resolution has changed and the description of the EMEP grid both for Lagrangian model (150x150 km2) and the Eulerian model (50x50 km2) is found here:

  • The EMEP grid

  • emep.mscw@met.no