This study establishes a basic comparison between two different simulation scenarios of surface ozone formation over the Rio Grande do Sul State. In the first simulation scenario, a 9 km resolution digital elevation model is used within the so-called Models-3 simulation interface. In the second one, a 3 km resolution model is used. For each scenario, a single simulation domain was implemented, with resolutions matching the respective model. US National Center for Environmental Prediction's data were used to simulate meteorology, as well as the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics and the Rio Grande do Sul Traffic Department's data were used to estimate emissions by the Metropolitan Area of Porto Alegre vehicle fleet, supposed as the only source of the emissions. The results present striking differences between the two scenarios: the sustained high ozone concentrations values observed at 9 km resolution dropped to half at 3 km resolution. Also, dispersion patterns had quite distinguishable features, spreading widely over the south part of the simulation domain in the first scenario and spreading in a narrower scheme over the south-west region, with a jet observed north-westwards. High levels of ozone concentration were observed as far as 500 km from the emission sources.
DEM; AQM; Ozone; Models-3
