Mapping the causes and transmission routes of chemicals

Insight into the causes and transmission routes of a given pollutant usually requires both measurements and modelling. The most basic models construct empirical relationships between source and receptor observations and assume that these relationships hold for different times and places. Process-based models seek to describe mathematically all relevant processes influencing pollutant transmission and transformation. Spatial mapping techniques may form part of the modelling process or simply facilitate spatial interpolation between point measurements or model output.