6913G626Q300017_SOW.pdf

RFQ No. 6913G626Q300017

U. S. Department of Transportation

Volpe National Transportation Systems Center

Environmental Measurement and Modeling Division, V324

LiDAR Datasets Analysis for Aircraft Exhaust Plume Rise Behavior

STATEMENT OF WORK

Project Background

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) is leading a broad airport air quality assessment effort as part of support to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Environmental Design Tool (AEDT) program. An essential component of this effort includes modeling aircraft emissions impacts on air quality in the vicinity of an airport, which utilizes the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Agency Regulatory Model (AERMOD). Prior to version 23132, AERMOD predicted artificially elevated pollutant concentrations near airport neighborhoods. It treated aircraft emissions as a series of AREA sources which ignored Plume Rise (PR) due to buoyancy of the aircraft exhaust, thereby did not account for the effects of PR on ground-level concentrations. In response, FAA sponsored ASCENT Project 19, in which the University of North Carolina (UNC) developed a plume rise algorithm that was implemented in AERMOD version 23132 as an ALPHA option, and now a reformulated PR algorithm is being implemented in the upcoming release of AERMOD version 26xxx. FAA is working with EPA in providing the PR algorithm as a BETA option in AERMOD version 26xxx to allow its use in regulatory applications such as National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) compliance modeling. UNC completed model assessment and demonstrated that the inclusion of the plume rise algorithm improves accuracy for modeling high pollutant concentrations near airports. However, no model validation of the plume rise algorithm was possible without the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurement data. Although measurements were taken at Los Angeles International (LAX), Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), and Denver International (DEN) airports in 2001, a thorough analysis of the data was not performed.

Scope of Work

Objective:

The objective of this research is to analyze the LiDAR data and develop a series of parameters necessary for the validation of the revised plume rise algorithm as implemented in AERMOD version 24142.

Requirements

This research must utilize the LiDAR data collected at LAX, ATL, and DEN for the development of parameters needed to analyze the plume rise algorithm as implemented in AERMOD version 24142.

These data are in the possession of a lead scientist at AECOM.

Government-Furnished Information

• None

Tasking

Task 1: Analysis of LiDAR Datasets

To validate the plume, rise algorithm as implemented in AERMOD version 24142, the LiDAR data must be formatted to match currently available aircraft and airport information. The contractor shall reformat the data as necessary to match current information, including, at a minimum, airframe, engine model, engine location, and meteorology. This reformatting will include cleaning the data and providing quality control to ensure that there are no errors in the dataset.

The contractor shall analyze the data and compute a set of parameters that can be used for the validation of the plume rise model. At a minimum, the following data are required:

• Height of plume and changes with time, aircraft category, and meteorology

• Width of plume and changes with time, aircraft category, and meteorology

• Center of plume and changes with time, aircraft category, and meteorology

• Standard deviation of plume in the horizontal plane with time, aircraft category, and meteorology

• Standard deviation of the plume in the vertical plane with time, aircraft category, and meteorology

Where practical, the contractor will provide figures illustrating plume evolution over time.

Deliverables:

• Raw LiDAR dataset (without cleaning, quality control, or reformatting) – Due May 31, 2026

• Processed LiDAR dataset (with cleaning, quality control, and reformatting) – Due July 15,

• Draft technical report on the LiDAR dataset, data processing, and analysis of the required parameters – Due August 31, 2026

• Final technical report on the LiDAR dataset, data processing, and analysis of the required parameters – Due September 30, 2026

• All pertinent data and analysis documentation – Due October 15, 2026

• All project review completed December 31, 2026

Period of Performance and Deliverable Due Dates

Below please find a table of deliverables with due dates. It is expected that all project work will be completed by December 31, 2026.

CLIN Task No.

Description Deliverable* Format Due Date

00100 1

Raw LiDAR dataset (without cleaning, quality control, or reformatting)

Data PLT, CSV, etc. 5/31/2026

00200 1 Processed LiDAR dataset (with cleaning, Data PLT, CSV, etc. 7/15/2026

CLIN Task No.

Description Deliverable* Format Due Date quality control, and reformatting)

00300 1

Draft technical report on the LiDAR dataset, data processing, and analysis of the required parameters

Report

PDF,

DOCX, etc.

8/31/2026

00400 1

Final technical report on the LiDAR dataset, data processing, and analysis of the required parameters

Report

PDF,

DOCX, etc.

9/30/2026

00500 1 All pertinent data and analysis documentation Documentation

PLT, CSV,

PDF,

DOCX, etc.

12/31/2026

00600 1 Weekly teleconferences Notes

Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, etc.

Weekly through 12/31/2026

*All electronic deliverables will be emailed to the Volpe Center technical point of contact (TPOC).

Acceptance Criteria

To be accepted, deliverables shall be emailed to the project TPOC. The deliverables will be reviewed by the Government for compliance with the SOW, timeliness, and format. The TPOC will acknowledge acceptance of each deliverable by email and will review draft deliverables within two weeks of acceptance.