Downscaling of Regional Air Quality Model Using Gaussian Plume Model and Random Forest Regression

Abstract

High (Formula presented.) concentrations are still a significant problem in many parts of the world. In many countries, including Poland, 50 (Formula presented.) g/m (Formula presented.) is the permissible threshold for a daily average (Formula presented.) concentration. The number of people affected by this threshold’s exceedance is challenging to estimate and requires high-resolution concentration maps. This paper presents an application of random forests for downscaling regional model air quality results. As policymakers and other end users are eager to receive detailed-resolution (Formula presented.) concentration maps, we propose a technique that utilizes the results of a regional CTM (GEM-AQ, with 2.5 km resolution) and a local Gaussian plume model. As a result, we receive a detailed, 250 m resolution (Formula presented.) distribution, which represents the complex emission pattern in a foothill area in southern Poland. The random forest results are highly consistent with the GEM-AQ and observed concentrations. We also discuss different strategies of training random forest on data using additional features and selecting target variables.