Introduction

This volume is concerned with the physics and application of air-pollution modeling on scales up to about 50 km. Its eight chapters, comprising the diverse points of view of seven authors, remain substantially in their original, lecture-note form. The result is not a smoothly flowing monograph but instead a richly textured, lively collection of the seasoned thoughts and perspectives of experienced researchers and practitioners. My coauthor, Akula Venkatram, and I hope that the volume conveys some of the excitement of a vital, rapidly evolving field.