The interest in air pollution modelling has shown substantial growth
over the last five years. This was particularly evident by the
increasing number of participants attending the NATO/CCMS International
Technical Meetings on Air Pollution modelling and its Application. At
the last meeting 118 papers and posters were selected from an abundance
of submitted abstracts divided over five modelling topics: (i) model
assessment and verification, including policy applications, (ii) air
pollution modelling in coastal areas with emphasis on the mediterranean
region, (iii) accidental atmospheric releases, including warning systems
and regulations, (iv) modelling of global and long-range transport and
(v) new developments in turbulent diffusion. A round-table discussion
chaired by John Irwin (USA) and Jan Kretzschmar (Belgium) on the
harmonization of air pollution models was attended by more than 50
scientists and is reported in these proceedings. The opening paper
addressed the main issue of this conference: modelling over complex
terrain. Of particular interest were coastal areas where the surface
inhomogeneities introduce small-scale circulation and varying
atmospheric stability, often combined with a complex topography. As the
conference was located on the beautiful island of Crete, problems faced
by the host nation, particularly Athens and its environs were obvious
examples for consideration. These together with other regions with
similar geographical features were addressed. Heavily populated and
industrialized as they often are, air quality is generally poor there
and emission regulations are desired. Obviously, a major task of air
pollution dispersion modelling is to assist policy makers in formulating
sensible regulations.
