A third generation integrated modeling and analysis framework, Models-3, was formulated by the U.S EPA to leverage the scientific and technology advancements of other federal agencies, academia, and research institutions. The goal was a unified comprehensive approach to multi-discipline environmental modeling that simulates the transport and fate of air-borne pollutants. The Models-3 project was sponsored by the Atmospheric Modeling Division (AMD) of the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) in collaboration with the U.S. EPA’s National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL). The models that have been developed are in general use to develop emission control policies and regulations and to understand air borne pollution problems.

The intent of the Models-3 program was to provide a foundation for wider application and development of Air Quality Models (AQM) in the modeling community. This mission is expected to:

1. Improve the environmental management community's ability to evaluate the impact of air quality management practices for multiple pollutants at multiple scales, and
2. Improve the scientist's ability to better probe, understand, and simulate chemical and physical interactions in the atmosphere.

To meet the disparate requirements of these two communities Models-3 was designed as a problem solving environment built from components that are applicable to the modeling of multiple pollutants (tropospheric ozone, acid deposition, toxics, visibility and speciated particulate matter) in the atmosphere. In this third generation the models treat multiple pollutants simultaneously on multiple scales from urban to continental scales and includes feedback mechanisms between chemical and meteorological processes.

HiPERiSM Consulting, LLC, offers a service to make complex and advanced models operational for end-users in State, Local Government, Industry and Academia. As part of this service we support the publicly available releases of the respective components of the Models-3 suite and collaborate with the Community Modeling and Analysis Systems (CMAS) center.