Robin Ormerod

30+ years as an environmental consultant with primary focus on air quality and meteorology. Certified with American Meteorological Society as a Consulting Meteorologist.

Co-founded Pacific Air & Environment in 1995 and Pacific Environment in 2006 and developed a respected air quality consultancy with Australia-wide and international projects.

Currently Chair of the Modelling Special Interest Group ('ModSIG' - a forum within the Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand www.casanz.org.au). Previous role as Chair of the Odour SIG 2001-04. Organising technical workshops and facilitating knowledge transfer is the main focus.

Goal is to help develop Pacific Environment's consulting and technology capability and contribute to improving shareholder value.

Specialties: Air quality and meteorology
Peer review
Teaching
Business direction

• Odour impact of a waste management plant in the Barcelona area, characterised by VDI3940 field observations, Gaussian ISCST modelling and CALPUFF modelling

  • Water Practice and Technology, Vol 4, No.2
  • 2009
  Authors: Robin Ormerod, Joan Feliubadaló, Ton Van Harreveld

  From May 2006 to December 2006 an odour exposure study using field panel observations according to German standard EN3940 was carried out around an installation for reception and sorting of urban solid waste and treatment of the organic fraction using anaerobic digestion and composting, with a capacity of 240.000 tonnes of waste annually.
  The exposure study covered an area of 2000 x 4000 meters, including the residential area of Ripollet, the Can Salvatella industrial estate and a rural area with various animal production facilities. The results were compared with the German criteria for residential and industrial areas of 10% and 15% odour hours respectively. These criteria were exceeded in the vicinity of the installation, including part of the industrial area of Can Salvatella, but not exceeded in the residential area of Ripollet.
  The odour impact was also modelled using dispersion modelling. Two models were applied, ISCST as an example of the more traditional Gaussian plume model and CALPUFF in 3 dimensional mode as an example of more advanced modelling.
  The meteorology in the area is challenging, from the modelling point of view, with frequent calms and low wind velocities, combined with a pronounced day/night circulation pattern. The results of the three methods of odour impact assessment are applied and the model results are compared and validated against the observed odour frequencies over the six month period of the study. The Gaussian ISCST model proved to be unable to effectively predict the odour footprint as determined by direct field observations of exposure, overestimating the distance of impact substantially in the direction of prevailing winds. The CALPUFF model in 3D mode did predict the area of measurable odour hour frequencies quite well. The 98 percentile for 3 ouE•m-3 appears to be a bit more restrictive than the German <10% odour hours criterion applied in German regulation.
  

• Speciated Hydrocarbon Emissions from Road Traffic

  • 16th International Clean Air and Environment Conference of the Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand, Christchurch, New Zealand
  • September 22, 2002
  Authors: Robin Ormerod, , Robin Smit

  Internationally, speciated hydrocarbon emissions from road traffic are of growing environmental importance due to their significant contribution to several key air pollution problems. The group of hydrocarbons covers a broad range of individual species. The extent to which emission measurement data for each compound is available varies widely, depending on the compound. However, even in the case that an abundant source of information is available, direct use of this data in (urban) emission inventories should be carefully considered. The reason for this is that
  speciated hydrocarbon emissions are sensitive to many factors that underly the emission data, including vehicle technology, emission type, measurement methodology, fuel composition and driving conditions among others. Qualitative and possibly quantitative impact assessment of these issues could lead to improved (use of) emission inventories for speciated hydrocarbon emissions from road traffic.

• Improving Odour Assessment by Using Better Dispersion Models

  • Water Science & Technology Vol 44 No 9
  • 2001
  Authors: Robin Ormerod

  A critical aspect of odour assessments is modelling to define exposure characteristics in affected communities, and to examine the effects of odour control options. In many cases odour dispersion is influenced by complex or non-steady-state meteorology that cannot be represented by the commonly used dispersion models, such as ISC3 and AUSPLUME. These models are based on a steady-state Gaussian plume assumption, which is often inaccurate
  
  Recent developments in modelling of local meteorology and plume dispersion have enabled far more realistic predictions of odour dispersion. Three-dimensional models have been successfully applied to improve the predictions of odour impact and to better define the parameters for odour control options. These models more accurately represent features such as drainage flows along valley floors and around hills, and strong wind shear that can develop in stable conditions. Such conditions are often critical for a proper assessment of odour impact.
  
  Second-by-second fluctuations in odour concentrations can now be simulated using the KSP model developed by Yamartino et al. (1999). This model avoids the use of arbritrary methods of determining peak-to-mean ratios. New models can also provide detailed micro-scale windfields, suitable for odour modelling in urban areas where odour dispersion is affected by very complex flows.
  

• Risk Based Assessment of Acute Air Quality Impacts

  • Clean Air, 29 (2)
  • May 1995
  Authors: Robin Ormerod, Kristin Zeise

• On Predicting the Onset of the Wet Season at Darwin

  • Monthly Weather Review, 110 (1): 14-17
  • 1982
  Authors: Robin Ormerod, Neville Nicholls, John McBride

• Wind tunnels vs. flux chambers: area source emission measurements and the necessity for VOC and odour correction factors.

  • Proceedings of 19th International Clean Air and Environment Conference. Perth, Australia, Sept, 6-9, 2009
  • September 2009
  Authors: Robin Ormerod, D.B Parker, N.A. Cole, K.D. Casey, Geordie Galvin

  Wind tunnels and flux chambers have been used to measure fluxes of volatile organic compounds (VOC), odour, and ammonia (NH3) with little regard to air velocity or sweep air flow rates. As a result, flux measurements have been highly variable and scientists have been in disagreement as to the better methodology. Over five years we have conducted a multitude of laboratory and field experiments to compare flux measurements at varying sweep air flow rates with a variety of chamber configurations including the ‘USEPA’ flux chamber, modified USEPA flux chamber, NCSU flux chamber, UNSW wind tunnel, and WTAMU mini wind tunnel. Flux of gas-film limited compounds increased with increasing airflow rate in all chamber configurations. Through mass balance studies, we have learned that chamber methods most often underestimate the true flux for gas-film limited compounds. Emissions of compounds commonly found at feedlots are linearly correlated with measured evaporation rates. The two-film model with empirically-derived, evaporation-based, chamber-specific reference gas-film transfer coefficient effectively modelled emission rates at a variety of air flow rates. We show that wind speed and temperature adjustments corresponding to equivalent field evaporation rates are a justified method for making flux corrections to those gas-film limited compounds responsible for odour at feedlots. Post-measurement corrections show promise to correct chamber measurements to real-world emissions.

Interests:

Helping the team produce excellent work, be great consultants and make work both rewarding and fun. Learning as broadly as possible, while practising as a specialist. Teaching and training in the fields of air quality, atmospheric science and quality in scientific practice.

Groups and Associations:

American Meteorological Society (Certified Consulting Meteorologist) Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand (life member) Air & Waste Management Association Australian Meteorological & Oceanographic Society American Association for the Advancement of Science

• 
  Air & Waste Management Assoc (AWMA)
• 
  Air Quality Dispersion Modeling
• 
  Air Quality Professionals
• 
  CALPUFF Dispersion Model
• 
  CASANZ (Clean Air Society of Australia and New Zealand
• 
  CASANZ Modelling Special Interest Group (ModSIG)
• 
  CASANZ Odour Special Interest Group (OdourSIG)
• 
  Data Carbon: Software-Strategy-Sustainability
• 
  Nuisance Concerns - Air, Odor, Dust, and Noise
• 
  Odor Impact Assessment Network

Honors and Awards:

Distinguished Service Award, Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand