Air quality modeling as a tool for adjusting emission inventories

Air pollution is big concern in Colombian cities where concentrations of particulate matter (PM) frequently do not meet air quality standards. Bogota emission inventory (EI) shows resuspended particulate matter (RPM) from paved and unpaved roads as the largest fraction of PM emissions. Previous air quality modeling exercises show poor PM
₁₀
performance due to overestimation of RPM emissions created using US-EPA-AP-42 methods. In this work, we update RPM emissions from paved roads in the PM
₁₀
EI by applying a novel methodology developed by the Spanish Research Council (CSIC), and we assess EI improvements with an air quality model. The CSIC approach reduces RPM emissions from paved roads by 97% compared to the EPA-AP-42 approach and leads to better PM
₁₀
model performance. This methodology based on a model performance evaluation allows us to evaluate and adjust local emission inventories, establishing a tool that did not exist in the past for Bogotá.