About this website
Facilitate the dissemination of information, data and results from different source apportionment studies at all levels
What and why
This website is a communication and dissemination tool targeted to air quality experts and authorities involved in air quality management interested in the output of source apportionment studies to develop air quality plans.
The aim of this Website is to facilitate the dissemination of information and data for and results from different source apportionment studies at all levels of application, including electronic interfaces, databases, workshops, seminars and common projects/activities.
One of the main features of the websites is the database SPECIEUROPE which contains valuable information to support source apportionments studies in Europe.
This European Reference Website for Source Apportionment is linked to the FAIRMODE Working Group 1 on Source Apportionment to support air quality management and to the CEN TC265/ WG 44 “Ambient Air – Source apportionment”.
How
This website includes some general sections:
- Publications: provides access to scientific and technical information for modellers dealing with the identification of pollution sources such as reports and scientific papers;
- News and updates: announcement of relevant meetings and publications;
- SpeciEurope Database: a repository of particulate matter (PM) source profiles available from the scientific literature and technical reports by public authorities or experts in the field. It includes both chemical profiles deriving from measurements at the source and source/factor profiles derived from source apportionment studies. (More info on SpeciEurope)
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Delta SA: is an on-line tool to assess source apportionment model outputs. It works in two different modes. The first is the source chemical profiles similarity test (CPS) accomplished by comparing those obtained by the user with more than one thousand PM10/PM2.5 source measured chemical profiles from the online SPECIATE (US-EPA) and SPECIEUROPE repositories. This configuration is intended to support practitioners in the identification of factors during the execution of factor analytical tools. The second mode consists in a complete test of the model performance (MP) using a testing dataset and reference values generated in the framework of inter-comparison exercises organized by the European Commission- JRC.
The methodology used in Delta SA is fully in line with the CEN Technical Specification 17458:2020 (a normative document) Ambient air — Methodology to assess the performance of receptor oriented source apportionment modelling applications for particulate matter (More info on DeltaSA)
JRC initiative on source apportionment
In order to improve the comparability of results from different approaches and to constrain the output's uncertainty, the JRC launched an initiative for the harmonisation of source apportionment, initially focused on receptor models in collaboration with the European networks in the field of air quality modelling (FAIRMODE) and measurements (AQUILA).
Since 2010, workshops involving experts from different European research groups gathered once a year to present new developments in the field, discuss about controversial aspects of receptor models, present the progress of the activities and plan future work. Later on, the activity converged in FAIRMODE WG3 (now WG1) and was extended to source oriented models.
The activities carried out were:
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Review of the methodologies used in Europe for source identification
- Critical review and meta-analysis of ambient particulate matter source apportionment using receptor models in Europe
- Enhancing source apportionment with receptor models to foster the air quality directive implementation
- Current trends in the use of models for source apportionment of air pollutants in Europe
- Intercomparison exercises for the quantitative assessment of the performance of SA
- Drafting European Common Protocol for source apportionment
- Contribute to the activity of FAIRMODE and CEN TC264 WG 44