MINNI: integrated assessment model for air quality in Italy
MINNI (National Integrated Model to support International Negotiation on Air Pollution issues) was developed on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (formerly the Ministry of Ecological Transition).
MINNI is a set of models and pre/post processors to select and evaluate the effectiveness of air quality policies at national and regional level, consisting of two main modelling systems: the Atmospheric Modelling System (SMA) and GAINS – Italy.
The SMA consists of models that provide for the reconstruction of meteorological fields and calculate the transport, diffusion and chemical transformations in the atmosphere of gases and aerosols. The ability to describe chemical reactions translates into the possibility of treating both primary and secondary pollutants (both in the gaseous and particulate phases) and, for secondary pollutants, in the possibility of providing indications on the relationships with their precursors. The heart of the system is FARM, a chemical transport model developed in collaboration with Arianet s.r.l., which simulates the description of chemical-physical processes in the atmosphere and provides the concentrations and deposition of pollutants as a function of space and time starting from given weather conditions and emissions.
The MINNI atmospheric modelling system provides meteorological and air quality data with hourly temporal resolution and over a long period, typically one year (the reference years currently available are the period 2003-2010 and 2015). All data is provided at 4km x 4km resolution. Vertically, the computing domain extends up to a height of 10 km, above ground level.
On the basis of the SMA, the FORAIR-IT forecasting system was developed, which provides forecasts of pollutant concentrations over three days, throughout the National territory.
The MINNI modelling system, as an integrated modelling suite, represents a powerful tool that integrates atmospheric science, emission reduction measures and cost assessment to support choices in the field of air quality management.
The data produced by MINNI are available through the ENEA air quality portal.