RAINS-Asia: Scenario Analysis Mode
The RAINS-Asia model
To create a practical tool for scenario analysis, the model defines simplified
relationships between input data (e.g., economic development for the energy
module, annual emissions of pollutants for the atmospheric sub-module and
deposition for the effects sub-module) and the output variables (annual
emissions from the energy module, deposition from the atmospheric sub-module,
and potential ecosystem damage from the effects sub-module).
The model uses these relationships to develop an overall assessment framework,
allowing the comparative analysis of alternative energy and emission reduction
strategies. The RAINS-Asia model consists of various modules, each of which
addresses a different part of the air pollution/acidification process:
- the Regional Energy Scenario Generator (RESGEN)
module, which estimates energy consumption patterns based on socio-economic and
technological assumptions;
- the Energy and Emissions (ENEM) module, which
uses these energy scenarios to calculate sulfur emissions, and the costs of
selected control strategies;
- the Deposition and Critical Loads (DEP) module,
which:
- calculates the levels and patterns of sulfur deposition resulting from
a given emission scenario, using source/receptor relationships calculated using
an atmospheric transport/deposition model;
- assesses the environmental effects of these sulfur deposition patterns
by comparing them with the ecosystem critical loads.
Return to RAINS-Asia/Model
characterization
Return to RAINS-Asia
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis