MERCURE is an atmospheric dispersion modeling

Atmospheric dispersion modeling

Atmospheric dispersion modeling is the mathematical simulation of how air pollutants disperse in the ambient atmosphere. It is performed with computer programs that solve the mathematical equations and algorithms which simulate the pollutant dispersion...

 CFD

Computational fluid dynamics

Computational fluid dynamics, usually abbreviated as CFD, is a branch of fluid mechanics that uses numerical methods and algorithms to solve and analyze problems that involve fluid flows. Computers are used to perform the calculations required to simulate the interaction of liquids and gases with...

 code developed by Électricité de France

Électricité de France

Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...

 (EDF) and distributed by ARIA Technologies, a French company.

MERCURE is a version of the CFD software ESTET, developed by EDF's Laboratoire National d'Hydraulique. Thus, it has directly benefited from the improvements developed for ESTET. When requested, ARIA integrates MERCURE as a module into the ARIA RISK software for use in industrial risk assessments.

Features of the model

MERCURE is particularly well adapted to perform air pollution dispersion modelling on local or urban scales. Some of the models capabilities and features are:

• Pollution source types: Point or line sources, continuous or intermittent.

• Pollution plume types: Buoyant or dense gas plumes
  Air pollution dispersion terminology
  Air pollution dispersion terminology includes the words and technical terms that have a special meaning to those who work in the field of air pollution dispersion modeling...
  
  .

• Deposition: The model is capable of simulating the deposition or decay
  Air pollution dispersion terminology
  Air pollution dispersion terminology includes the words and technical terms that have a special meaning to those who work in the field of air pollution dispersion modeling...
  
   of plume pollutants.

Users of the model

There are many organizations that have used MERCURE. To name a few:

• Électricité de France (EDF)
• Laboratoire de Mécanique des Fluides et d’Acoustique (LMFA) de l'École Centrale de Lyon
  École Centrale de Lyon
  The École Centrale de Lyon, founded in 1857, is one of the oldest universities in France. It is considered as one of the most prestigious French Grandes écoles of engineering continuously ranking as one of the Top 6 French Engineering research institutions for the post Bachelor study...
  
  , France
  France
  The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
  
  
• Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire
  Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire
  The French Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire is a public official establishment with an industrial and commercial aspect created by the AFSSE Act and by the February 22, 2002 decreed n°2002-254...
  
   (IRSN), Fontenay
  Fontenay
  Fontenay can refer to:a person*Charles L. Fontenay, journalist and science-fiction writer*Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay I, French paintera battle* Battle of Fontenay , during the Carolingian civil war...
  
  , France
• The Italian National Agency for New Technology, Energy and the Environment
  ENEA (Italy)
  The L'Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l'energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile is an Italian Government sponsored research and development agency...
  
   (ENEA), Bologna
  Bologna
  Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
  
  , Italy
  Italy
  Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
  
  
• Queensland University of Technology
  Queensland University of Technology
  Queensland University of Technology is an Australian university with an applied emphasis in courses and research. Based in Brisbane, it has 40,000 students, including 6,000 international students, over 4,000 staff members, and an annual budget of more than A$750 million.QUT is marketed as "A...
  
  , Brisbane
  Brisbane
  Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
  
  , Australia
  Australia
  Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
  
  

See also

• Bibliography of atmospheric dispersion modeling
• Atmospheric dispersion modeling
  Atmospheric dispersion modeling
  Atmospheric dispersion modeling is the mathematical simulation of how air pollutants disperse in the ambient atmosphere. It is performed with computer programs that solve the mathematical equations and algorithms which simulate the pollutant dispersion...
  
  
• List of atmospheric dispersion models

Further reading

For those who are unfamiliar with air pollution dispersion modelling and would like to learn more about the subject, it is suggested that either one of the following books be read:
www.crcpress.com www.air-dispersion.com

External links

• ARIA Technologies web site (English version)
• EDF website (English version)