Simulation of aerosol direct radiative forcing with RAMS-CMAQ in East Asia

Journal Article · Mon Nov 14 04:00:00 EST 2011 · Atmospheric Environment

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.08.006· OSTI ID:1031413

Han, Xiao; Zhang, Meigen; Han, Zhiewi; Xin, Jin-Yuan; Liu, Xiaohong

The air quality modeling system RAMS-CMAQ is developed to assess aerosol direct radiative forcing by linking simulated meteorological parameters and aerosol mass concentration with the aerosol optical properties/radiative transfer module in this study. The module is capable of accounting for important factors that affect aerosol optical properties and radiative effect, such as incident wave length, aerosol size distribution, water uptake, and internal mixture. Subsequently, the modeling system is applied to simulate the temporal and spatial variations in mass burden, optical properties, and direct radiative forcing of diverse aerosols, including sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, black carbon, organic carbon, dust, and sea salt over East Asia throughout 2005. Model performance is fully evaluated using various observational data, including satellite monitoring of MODIS and surface measurements of EANET (Acid Deposition Monitoring Network), AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network), and CSHNET (Chinese Sun Hazemeter Network). The correlation coefficients of the comparisons of daily average mass concentrations of sulfate, PM2.5, and PM10 between simulations and EANET measurements are 0.70, 0.61, and 0.64, respectively. It is also determined that the modeled aerosol optical depth (AOD) is in congruence with the observed results from the AERONET, the CSHNET, and the MODIS. The model results suggest that the high AOD values ranging from 0.8 to 1.2 are mainly distributed over the Sichuan Basin as well as over central and southeastern China, in East Asia. The aerosol direct radiative forcing patterns generally followed the AOD patterns. The strongest forcing effect ranging from -12 to -8 W m-2 was mainly distributed over the Sichuan Basin and the eastern China's coastal regions in the all-sky case at TOA, and the forcing effect ranging from -8 to -4 W m-2 could be found over entire eastern China, Korea, Japan, East China Sea, and the sea areas of Japan

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1031413
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-84116; KP1703010
• Journal Information: Atmospheric Environment, Journal Name: Atmospheric Environment Journal Issue: 36 Vol. 45; ISSN ATENBP; ISSN 0004-6981
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
AIR QUALITY
CARBON
CHINA SEA
COASTAL REGIONS
DEPOSITION
DISTRIBUTION
East Asia
MONITORING
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PERFORMANCE
RAMS-CMAQ
SATELLITES
SIMULATION
WATER
aerosol
radiative forcing