ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR ANALYSIS AND FORECAST OF AIR POLLUTION (APPLICATION TO SANTIAGO DE CHILE)

In Santiago de Chile and other cities in Chile, air pollution is a dramatic problem. An Environmental Information System (EIS) based on air quality models is extremely valuable in order to support users in governmental administrations and industry with forecasting and operative decision-making as well as short to long-term regional planning. Using a model-based EIS for air pollution it is possible (i) to study complex source/receptor relationships, (ii) to optimize air pollution abatement strategies either locally or in a larger region, and (iii) to forecast the air quality for urban and industrial regions. The paper presents issues of a joint project of Universidad Catolica de Chile and GMD FIRST which objectives are the exchange of know how in the fields of EIS design and the use of air quality models, the installation of a model-based EIS for air pollution for Santiago de Chile including the acquisition of necessary input data, the study of the particularities of the Santiago region and the demonstration of the functionality of the EIS in terms of analysis and forecast of air pollution.