RAINS Europe

RAINS is a tool for analyzing alternative strategies to reduce acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone in Europe.

RAINS combines a variety of information relevant for the development of cost-effective emission control strategies in Europe:

• projections of future economic, agricultural and energy development in 38 European countries,
  
• the present and future emissions of SO₂, NO_x, VOC and NH₃ resulting from these activities,
  
• the options for reducing emissions and the costs of these measures,
  
• the atmospheric dispersion characteristics of sulfur and nitrogen compounds and the formation of ground-level ozone, and
  
• the environmental sensitivities of ecosystems towards acidification, eutrophication.and ground-level ozone.

RAINS integrates latest scientific findings, up-to-date databases and advanced systems-analytical (optimization) tools.

• Model description
• Technical documentation

As far as technically possible, the RAINS software package is operational in a standard PC environment and/or on the Internet. At the moment the following versions are publicly available:

• PC version 7.2 (released early 1997)
• RAINS Web Version
  • RAINS PM Web Module giving access to particulate matter databases
  • On-line ozone/acidification scenario analyses
• For South-east Asia, the RAINS-Asia PC software

Work is underway to transfer, as far as technically possible, the full RAINS model to the Internet and to enable permanent general access to up-to-date databases.

The RAINS model is the outcome of a multi-year scientific effort of an interdisciplinary and international team of researchers at IIASA.

• The history of RAINS in IIASA's Options magazine
• The versions of the RAINS model since 1985 (the RAINS Museum)
• Scientists involved at IIASA in the development of the RAINS model

May 26, 2000