Ms. Popovic has 12 years of experience in the application of meteorological and air quality models, with an emphasis on using the CALPUFF model to conduct visibility assessments in Class I areas such as national parks, national forests, wilderness areas, and wildlife refuges. These analyses involved preparing CALMET meteorological fields for 12-km grid resolution domains for regional screening simulations and 4-km grid resolution domains for refined analyses, as well as studying the effects of terrain resolution on model performance. Ms. Popovic has conducted more than 50 visibility studies, some needed for the Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) requirements. In addition, she has performed air quality modeling studies using the EPA models AERMOD, SACTI (for cooling towers), and the complex terrain screening model CTSCREEN. She has provided litigation support in cases involving air dispersion modeling to examine visibility effects, as well as herbicide drift, and she studied the characterization of fugitive sources caused by wind erosion. Ms. Popovic produced daily forecasts of air quality impacts from oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. She has developed meteorological and pollutant data sets for CALMET for the eastern United States. As part of a cumulative environmental impact assessment (EIA) in Bahrain, Ms. Popovic compiled emission data and modeled all the major stationary industrial sources and mobile sources within the country. She also has assisted with the weather forecasts for the Sydney-Hobart sailing race in preparation for the Volvo Ocean Race. Ms. Popovic is also experienced in web page development.
Popović J. Recommendations for source characterization. Proceedings and presentation at the 19th International Clean Air and Environment Conference, Perth, Australia, September 2009.
Popović J, Escoffier-Czaja C, Scire J. CALPUFF Modeling for BART sources in VISTAS Region. Presentation at the 11th Annual Energy & Environment Conference, Tucson, AZ, January 2008.
Popović J. Breath of life. AmCham Perspective, Magazine of the American Chamber of Commerce in Serbia 2006; 16:36–37.
Popović JM, Plumb RA. Eddy shedding in the upper troposphere. Journal of Atmospheric Science 2001; 58:93–104.
Popović JM, Ničković S, Gavrilov MB. Frequency of quasi-geostrophic modes on hexagonal grids. Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics 1996; 58:41–49.
Dacić M, Telenta B, Ničković S, Popović M, Popović J. Modeling of atmospheric flow field: A transport case study. Proceedings, Chemistry and the Environment 1995; 383–386.
Conducted a cumulative impact assessment of the carrying capacity in air, water, and land in Bahrain. Compiled the emission inventory for all major pollution sources such as power plants, oil refinery, aluminum plant, and water desalination plants, as well as emissions from the mobile sources, including airport, ships, and vehicle fleet in Bahrain. Helped manage other elements of the EIA work with wastewater as a major component, and navigation, solid and hazardous waste, ecology, and noise as secondary elements of the study.
Modeled the impact of wind erosion from grassland treated with herbicides to farmlands located a few tens kilometers downwind. Characterized a large surface-area source affected by wind erosion for modeling in CALPUFF.
Performed CALMET and CALPUFF modeling to assess the ambient air quality impacts at four Class I areas. Analyzed modeling techniques used by another consultant on the same project and evaluated the assumptions used.
Modeled air quality impacts evolving from an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Produced daily forecasts of VOC, NOX, CO, SO2, and PM10 concentrations.
Helped forecast weather for the Sydney-Hobart sailing race (December–January 2000/2001) in preparation for the Volvo Ocean Race. Created SURFER scripts to graphically present wind and pressure fields for three MM5 domains used in the modeling.
Developed regional CALMET modeling domain on a 12-km horizontal resolution covering all VISTAS (Visibility Improvement State and Tribal Association of the Southeast) states. Ran CALMET in no-observation mode for three modeling years, 2001–2003. Analyzed the meteorological fields produced by these regional model runs. Developed five subregional CALMET modeling domains with higher resolution of 4 km, each covering 1–3 VISTAS states and surrounding Class I areas. Ran CALMET in refined mode on subregional domains for the same three years. Performed screening and refined CALPUFF modeling of the sources that are subject to Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART). Examined the impacts of more than 100 BART sources on the Class I areas within 300 km from the sources in the VISTAS states (total of 24 Class I Areas). Studied the particle speciation of primary particulate matter, PM10.
Developed a set of 16 CALMET domains for use in CALPUFF modeling of the prescribed fires in the southeastern U.S. Recommended the best combination of all available meteorological observations and prognostic modeling data for this purpose. Recommended the most efficient and most cost-effective horizontal resolution for each of the domains. Used nesting feature of the CALMET modeling system.
Conducted CALMET/CALPUFF modeling to assess the ambient air quality impacts in the near field of the facility and in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Assessed the impacts of particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrogen fluorides, and a number of toxic air pollutants. Evaluated the effects of these pollutants on visibility, air quality, and deposition in the Class I area. Performed both National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) increment analysis in the near field. Modeled extensive set of background sources, along with the numerous sources from the facility. Shown equivalence between the AERMOD and CALPUFF model in the steady state. Performed additional analysis in the hot spots—areas of high impact—and demonstrated that the facility was not contributing significantly in those areas.
Studied the effects of air pollution from the industrial sources to the Class I Areas within 300 km of the facilities. Studied the effects of terrain resolution on the model’s performance and found that the horizontal resolution in the complex terrain areas can dramatically influence the plume path and, hence, the final modeling results. Carried out the Cumulative Impact Analysis for the PSD sources. Performed the lake acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) analysis to examine the impact of the proposed facility on the lakes in the Class I areas where sulfur and nitrogen deposition exceed the threshold values.
In estimating impacts on visibility, applied the refined analysis that employs the boundary condition module of CALPUFF to account for the NH3 limitation effect. Examined effects of natural fog, rain, and snow on days with predictions of extinction changes above 5%. Performed cumulative PSD increment impact analysis for SO2.
Performed CALPUFF modeling to assess the air quality impacts of emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Planned a field experiment in a steep-walled river valley. Conducted CALPUFF modeling to determine the optimal positions for receptors of the SF6 tracer as part of planning the field experiment. Performed quantitative evaluation of the proposed methods for analyzing the results of the experiment.
Developed a standard data set for air quality modeling in the Gulf of Mexico area and in the eastern half of United States. Standard data set include surface and upper air stations, buoy and precipitation data, and ozone data. Developed FORTRAN routines to process data.
Performed AERMOD modeling for a number of industrial facilities and fugitive sources. Developed SURFER scripts to graphically present the results.
Performed complex-terrain modeling using the CTSCREEN model, in support of a permit application. Conducted Class I impact analyses.
Performed SACTI modeling for evaluating the salt deposition from cooling towers.
Analyzed atmospheric data by applying a variety of statistical techniques to vector time series (correlation analysis, empirical orthogonal functions, spectral analysis, data filtering). Developed an analytical model for the atmospheric modes of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Developed computer programs for modeling mathematical and physical problems that can be applied to the atmosphere.
Developed numerical algorithms and software as a part of the research project on modeling of the atmosphere on global, synoptic, and meso scales.