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Resumo A poluição atmosférica proveniente das atividades antropogênicas tem provocado incômodo à população da Região Metropolitana da Grande Vitória (RGV), Espirito Santo, Brasil. Muitos pacientes como asmáticos, alérgicos, químico sensíveis, cardiacos, pessoas com acidente vascular cerebral (AVC), diabetes, grávidas, idosos e crianças são especialmente suscetíveis a uma pobre qualidade do ar. As complexas interações dos poluentes atmosféricos podem ser entendidas usando modelos de transporte químico, os quais necessitam de inventários de emissões para prover a alocação espacial e temporal das emissões. Na RGV, o Instituto Estadual do Meio Ambiente (IEMA) disponibilizou o inventário de emissões da região para o ano de 2010. Nesse artigo foi realizada uma adaptação do inventário de fontes regional para o Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) de modo a ser utilizado em modelos de qualidade do ar (MQA) como o Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modeling System e outros modelos fotoquímicos. Foram obtidos valores simulados elevados referentes às emissões de ressuspensão em vias, apontando uma possível falha do inventário neste tipo de fonte. Utilizando os fatores de emissão médios de Abu-Allaban et al. (2003) para a ressuspensão das vias locais, foram obtidos resultados mais condizentes aos atuais níveis de concentrações de partículas monitorados na RGV. Abstract Atmospheric pollution from anthropogenic activities has been bothering the population of Great Vitoria Region (GVR), Espírito Santo, Brazil. Some people are particularly vulnerable to poor air quality: those affected by health conditions such as asthma, allergies, chemical sensitivity, heart disease, stroke and diabetes, as well as pregnant women, children and people of advanced age. Atmospheric pollutants complex interactions can be understood by using chemical transportation models, which require emissions inventories to provide spatial and temporal allocation of emissions. The emissions inventory of GVR on 2010 has been provided by the State Institute of Environment (IEMA). On this study, the regional sources inventory has been adapted to Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE) in order to be used on Air Quality Models (AQM) such as Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system and other photochemical models. Simulation results obtained for road dust resuspension were high, which indicates a possible error on the inventory for this type of emission source. By using average emission factors from Abu-Allaban et al. (2003) for road dust resuspension instead of the original inventory data, the results obtained were closer to measured particle concentration on VGR.

Three atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) schemes and two land surface models that are used in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, version 3.4.1, were evaluated with numerical simulations by using data from the north coast of France (Dunkerque). The ABL schemes YSU (Yonsei University), ACM2 (Asymmetric Convective Model version 2), and MYJ (Mellor–Yamada–Janjic) were combined with two land surface models, Noah and RUC (Rapid Update Cycle), in order to determine the performances under sea-breeze conditions. Particular attention is given in the determination of the thermal internal boundary layer (TIBL), which is very important in air pollution scenarios. The other physics parameterizations used in the model were consistent for all simulations. The predictions of the sea-breeze dynamics output from the WRF model were compared with observations taken from sonic detection and ranging, light detection and ranging systems and a meteorological surface station to verify that the model had reasonable accuracy in predicting the behavior of local circulations. The temporal comparisons of the vertical and horizontal wind speeds and wind directions predicted by the WRF model showed that all runs detected the passage of the sea-breeze front. However, except for the combination of MYJ and Noah, all runs had a time delay compared with the frontal passage measured by the instruments. The proposed study shows that the synoptic wind attenuated the intensity and penetration of the sea breeze. This provided changes in the vertical mixing in a short period of time and on soil temperature that could not be detected by the WRF model simulations with the computational grid used. Additionally, among the tested schemes, the combination of the localclosure MYJ scheme with the land surface Noah scheme was able to produce the most accurate ABL height compared with observations, and it was also able to capture the TIBL.

In the present study, the physical parameterizations of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are verified for making accurate inferences about the dynamics of the Thermal Internal Boundary Layer (TIBL) generated by sea breeze in an urban center with an island in a bay along a coastal region with rugged topography. The simulations were performed using parameterizations from Yonsei University (YSU), Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ) and Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2) for the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and Noah and Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) for the Land Surface Model (LSM). The data inferred by the WRF model were compared with those obtained by a Surface Meteorological Station (SMS) and by measurements generated using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), Sonic Detection and Ranging (SODAR) and radiosonde. The simulations showed that although the object of this research was a region with high geographical complexity, the YSU parameterization set (non-local closure) for the ABL and the Noah parameterization for the LSM presented satisfactory results in determining ABL height generated by the sea breeze on the day in question.