Mass balances are calculated for the four bulk media of air (gas + aerosol), water (solution + suspended sediment + biota), soil, (solids + air + water), and sediment (solids + pore water). Equilibrium exists within, but not between media. For example, sediment solids and pore water are at equilbrium, but sediment is not necessarily at equilibrium with the overlying water.
Physical-chemical properties are used to quantify a chemical's behaviour in an evaluative environment. Three types of chemicals are treated in this model: chemicals that partition into all media (Type 1), involatile chemicals (Type 2), and chemicals with zero, or near-zero, solubility (Type 3). The model can not treat ionizing or speciating substances. The Level III model assumes a simple, evaluative environment with user-defined volumes and densities for the following homogeneous environmental media (or compartments): air, water, soil, sediment, suspended sediment, fish and aerosols.
This model gives a more realistic description of a chemical's fate including the important degradation and advection losses and the intermedia transport processes. The distribution of the chemical between media depends on how the chemical enters the system, e.g. to air, to water, or to both. This mode of entry also affects persistence or residence time.
Three persistences are calculated, an overall value, TO, and individual persistences attributable to reaction only, TR, and advection only, TA. Note that 1/TO equals the sum of 1/TR and 1/TA.
The rates of intermedia transport are controlled by a series of 12 transport velocities. Reaction half-lives are requested for all 7 media. The advective residence time selected for air also applies to aerosols and the residence time for water applies to suspended sediment and fish. The advective residence time of aerosols, suspended sediment and fish cannot be specified independently of the air and water residence times.
Features of the Level III Program:
Provides a database of chemicals and chemical properties.
Permits temporary additions/changes of chemicals and their
properties to a simulation.
Permits permanent additions, changes and deletions of
chemicals and their properties to the database.
Provides a database of environments and environmental properties.
Permits temporary additions/changes of environments and their
properties to a simulation.
Permits permanent additions, changes and deletions of
environments and their properties to the database.
Provides context-sensitive Help.
Displays and prints the Level III model calculations, as
performed by the program.
Allows the printing of simulation tables, the summary
diagram, and a small selection of charts.
Allows the program results to be saved as a comma separated value file, readable by spreadsheet programs such as Excel.
This program was based on the following publication:
Mackay, D.2001. "Multimedia Environmental Models: The Fugacity Approach - Second Edition", Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, pp.1-261.
The required input data are:
Chemical Properties:
Environmental Properties:
Emissions:
Model Output:
This program is only available in compiled form. A "readme.txt" file with more detailed technical information is included in the zipped file.
Minimum sytem requirements:
Pentium-75MHz with 8 Mb of RAM running Windows 95. On some systems it may be necessary to adjust your screen resolution.
For non-Windows users the BASIC, evaluative, Level I, II and III fugacity models are available.
Please read the LEVEL III SOFTWARE LICENSE before downloading the software. Use of the software constitutes your agreement to abide by the terms and conditions set out in the license agreement.
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Last updated August 12, 2011.