Intercomparison between three receptor-oriented models applied to acidic species in precipitation

Three different receptor-oriented models have been tested on the precipitat ion chemical data of a background station in France from 1992 to 1995. Thes e models which allowed the identification of source-receptor relationships for acidic species (non-sea salt SO42-, NO3- and NH4+) in rain have been co mpared. The receptor-oriented methodologies are based on the same construct ion scheme. Precipitation data and air parcel backward trajectories were co mbined in the model calculations to produce probability or concentration ma ps of likely contributing sources. The regions of Europe identified by the three models generally coincide well with the location of known emission so urces. Using non-parametric Spearman rank-order correlation, the computed c oncentrations provided by these three models were compared with the Europea n emissions established by EMEP. A good correlation was found between compu ted ionic concentrations and the emissions of SO2, NOx and NH3. Each model shows its own advantages to examine the source regions that give high conce ntrations of acidic species at a receptor site. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B .V. All rights reserved.