ARIES-I: a computer system for real-time modeling of atmospheric dispersion at different space and time scales

ARIES-I is a centralized computer system for the evaluation of atmospheric dispersion of inert or first-order decaying pollutants released by point sources. It has been designed for the real-time assessment of the consequences of accidental releases, but it can also be applied to evaluate the environmental impact of routine emissions. The core of the system consists of transport and diffusion models simulating atmospheric dispersion from the local scale (few km) to the continental scale (thousands of km) and from a few minutes to several days of emissions. Real-time model evaluations are performed, which require the execution of preprocessing modules. These modules prepare input data for the models using flexible criteria, based on available on-line meteorological data. Different representations of the space distribution and the time evolution of air concentration and ground deposition are produced, in order to provide useful information for decision makers.