Acidification in Europe: A Simulation Model for Evaluating Control Strategies

RAINS (Regional Acidification Information and Simulation) is an integrated model of acidification in Europe designed as a tool for evaluating control strategies. It is currently sulfur-based, but is being expanded to include nitrogen species. Emphasis of the model is on the transboundary aspects of the acidification problem. Model computations are performed on a personal computer. Linked submodels are available for SO2 emissions, cost of control strategies, atmospheric transport of sulfur, forest soil and groundwater acidity, lake acidification, and the direct impact of SO2 on forests. The model can be used for scenario analysis, where the user prescribes a control strategy and then examines the cost and environmental consequences of this strategy, or for optimization analysis, in which the user sets cost and deposition goals, and identifies an "optimal" sulfur-reduction strategy. Preliminary use of the model has pointed to 1. the importance of examining long-term environmental consequences of control strategies, and 2. the cost advantages of a cooperative European sulfur-reduction program.

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