skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Improvements to the WRF-Chem 3.5.1 model for quasi-hemispheric simulations of aerosols and ozone in the Arctic

Journal Article · · Geoscientific Model Development (Online)
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [2]
  1. Inst. Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris (France). Lab. Atmospheres, Environments, Spatial Observations (LATMOS); Total S.A., Paris (France)
  2. Inst. Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris (France). Lab. Atmospheres, Environments, Spatial Observations (LATMOS)
  3. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

In this study, the WRF-Chem regional model is updated to improve simulated short-lived pollutants (e.g., aerosols, ozone) in the Arctic. Specifically, we include in WRF-Chem 3.5.1 (with SAPRC-99 gas-phase chemistry and MOSAIC aerosols) (1) a correction to the sedimentation of aerosols, (2) dimethyl sulfide (DMS) oceanic emissions and gas-phase chemistry, (3) an improved representation of the dry deposition of trace gases over seasonal snow, and (4) an UV-albedo dependence on snow and ice cover for photolysis calculations. We also (5) correct the representation of surface temperatures over melting ice in the Noah Land Surface Model and (6) couple and further test the recent KF-CuP (Kain–Fritsch + Cumulus Potential) cumulus parameterization that includes the effect of cumulus clouds on aerosols and trace gases. The updated model is used to perform quasi-hemispheric simulations of aerosols and ozone, which are evaluated against surface measurements of black carbon (BC), sulfate, and ozone as well as airborne measurements of BC in the Arctic. The updated model shows significant improvements in terms of seasonal aerosol cycles at the surface and root mean square errors (RMSEs) for surface ozone, aerosols, and BC aloft, compared to the base version of the model and to previous large-scale evaluations of WRF-Chem in the Arctic. These improvements are mostly due to the inclusion of cumulus effects on aerosols and trace gases in KF-CuP (improved RMSE for surface BC and BC profiles, surface sulfate, and surface ozone), the improved surface temperatures over sea ice (surface ozone, BC, and sulfate), and the updated trace gas deposition and UV albedo over snow and ice (improved RMSE and correlation for surface ozone). DMS emissions and chemistry improve surface sulfate at all Arctic sites except Zeppelin, and correcting aerosol sedimentation has little influence on aerosols except in the upper troposphere.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Inst. Pierre Simon Laplace, Paris (France)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Association of Research and Technology (ANRT) (France); French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1430725
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-125184
Journal Information:
Geoscientific Model Development (Online), Vol. 10, Issue 10; ISSN 1991-9603
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 21 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (77)

Halogen activation via interactions with environmental ice and snow in the polar lower troposphere and other regions journal January 2012
A parameterization of aerosol activation: 2. Multiple aerosol types journal March 2000
Understanding high wintertime ozone pollution events in an oil- and natural gas-producing region of the western US journal January 2015
Introducing subgrid‐scale cloud feedbacks to radiation for regional meteorological and climate modeling journal December 2012
Arctic air pollution: Challenges and opportunities for the next decade journal May 2016
Biomass burning influence on high-latitude tropospheric ozone and reactive nitrogen in summer 2008: a multi-model analysis based on POLMIP simulations journal January 2015
Technical Note: Evaluation of the WRF-Chem "Aerosol Chemical to Aerosol Optical Properties" Module using data from the MILAGRO campaign journal January 2010
A Simple Parameterization Coupling the Convective Daytime Boundary Layer and Fair-Weather Cumuli journal June 2005
A new WRF-Chem treatment for studying regional-scale impacts of cloud processes on aerosol and trace gases in parameterized cumuli journal January 2015
Bounding the role of black carbon in the climate system: A scientific assessment: BLACK CARBON IN THE CLIMATE SYSTEM journal June 2013
DMS atmospheric concentrations and sulphate aerosol indirect radiative forcing: a sensitivity study to the DMS source representation and oxidation journal January 2003
The scavenging processes controlling the seasonal cycle in Arctic sulphate and black carbon aerosol journal January 2012
A global three-dimensional model of tropospheric sulfate journal August 1996
Current model capabilities for simulating black carbon and sulfate concentrations in the Arctic atmosphere: a multi-model evaluation using a comprehensive measurement data set journal January 2015
Description and evaluation of the Model for Ozone and Related chemical Tracers, version 4 (MOZART-4) journal January 2010
The POLARCAT Model Intercomparison Project (POLMIP): overview and evaluation with observations journal January 2015
Evolution of ozone, particulates, and aerosol direct radiative forcing in the vicinity of Houston using a fully coupled meteorology-chemistry-aerosol model journal January 2006
Fully coupled “online” chemistry within the WRF model journal December 2005
Estimates of global terrestrial isoprene emissions using MEGAN (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) journal January 2006
Importance of deposition processes in simulating the seasonality of the Arctic black carbon aerosol journal January 2010
Radiative forcing by long-lived greenhouse gases: Calculations with the AER radiative transfer models journal January 2008
Climate Change 2013 – The Physical Science Basis book March 2014
Summertime photochemistry of the troposphere at high northern latitudes journal January 1992
The Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) mission: design, execution, and first results journal January 2010
Global anthropogenic emissions of particulate matter including black carbon journal January 2017
Seasonal changes in the transport of pollutants into the Arctic troposphere-model study journal January 2003
Evaluation of black carbon estimations in global aerosol models journal January 2009
An updated climatology of surface dimethlysulfide concentrations and emission fluxes in the global ocean: UPDATED DMS CLIMATOLOGY journal January 2011
Arctic Air Pollution: New Insights from POLARCAT-IPY journal December 2014
Role of Deep Cloud Convection in the Ozone Budget of the Troposphere journal June 1994
Biogenic sulfur aerosol in the Arctic troposphere: 1. Contributions to total sulfate journal January 1993
Responses of the tropospheric ozone and odd hydrogen radicals to column ozone change journal April 1988
Toward a minimal representation of aerosols in climate models: description and evaluation in the Community Atmosphere Model CAM5 journal January 2012
The role of circulation features on black carbon transport into the Arctic in the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5): BC TRANSPORT IN OFF-LINE CAM5 journal May 2013
Assessing the CAM5 physics suite in the WRF-Chem model: implementation, resolution sensitivity, and a first evaluation for a regional case study journal January 2014
Seasonality of global and Arctic black carbon processes in the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme models: Global and Arctic Black Carbon Processes journal June 2016
Transport of anthropogenic and biomass burning aerosols from Europe to the Arctic during spring 2008 journal January 2015
Air quality and radiative impacts of Arctic shipping emissions in the summertime in northern Norway: from the local to the regional scale journal January 2016
Seasonal variation of the transport of black carbon aerosol from the Asian continent to the Arctic during the ARCTAS aircraft campaign journal January 2011
Influence of ship emissions on air quality and input of contaminants in southern Alaska National Parks and Wilderness Areas during the 2006 tourist season journal April 2010
Multi-model study of chemical and physical controls on transport of anthropogenic and biomass burning pollution to the Arctic journal January 2015
Impact of Cloud Microphysics on the Development of Trailing Stratiform Precipitation in a Simulated Squall Line: Comparison of One- and Two-Moment Schemes journal March 2009
In situ evaluation of air-sea gas exchange parameterizations using novel conservative and volatile tracers journal March 2000
Comparison of the radiative properties and direct radiative effect of aerosols from a global aerosol model and remote sensing data over ocean journal January 2007
Relative importances of North America and Eurasia as sources of arctic aerosol journal January 1981
Cross-polar transport and scavenging of Siberian aerosols containing black carbon during the 2012 ACCESS summer campaign journal January 2017
RCP 8.5—A scenario of comparatively high greenhouse gas emissions journal August 2011
Rethinking Organic Aerosols: Semivolatile Emissions and Photochemical Aging journal March 2007
Unrealistically pristine air in the Arctic produced by current global scale models journal May 2016
Global-scale black carbon profiles observed in the remote atmosphere and compared to models: HIPPO1 BLACK CARBON PROFILES journal September 2010
Aircraft measurements of black carbon vertical profiles show upper tropospheric variability and stability: UPPER TROPOSPHERIC BC journal January 2017
An investigation of methods for injecting emissions from boreal wildfires using WRF-Chem during ARCTAS journal January 2011
Role of tropospheric ozone increases in 20th-century climate change journal January 2006
A multi-model assessment of pollution transport to the Arctic journal January 2008
Modeling organic aerosols in a megacity: comparison of simple and complex representations of the volatility basis set approach journal January 2011
Halogens and their role in polar boundary-layer ozone depletion journal January 2007
Characteristics of atmospheric transport into the Arctic troposphere journal January 2006
Black carbon in the Arctic: the underestimated role of gas flaring and residential combustion emissions journal January 2013
Evaluating the climate and air quality impacts of short-lived pollutants journal January 2015
Effective UV surface albedo of seasonally snow-covered lands journal January 2007
Modeling of mineral dust in the atmosphere: Sources, transport, and optical thickness journal January 1994
Pollution transport from North America to Greenland during summer 2008 journal January 2013
Sensitivity of remote aerosol distributions to representation of cloud–aerosol interactions in a global climate model journal January 2013
Global budget and radiative forcing of black carbon aerosol: Constraints from pole-to-pole (HIPPO) observations across the Pacific: GLOBAL BC BUDGET AND RADIATIVE FORCING journal January 2014
Parameterization of surface resistances to gaseous dry deposition in regional-scale numerical models journal January 1989
Global Emissions of Trace Gases, Particulate Matter, and Hazardous Air Pollutants from Open Burning of Domestic Waste journal July 2014
Fast-J: Accurate Simulation of In- and Below-Cloud Photolysis in Tropospheric Chemical Models journal January 2000
Evaluating a lightning parameterization based on cloud-top height for mesoscale numerical model simulations journal January 2013
Model for Simulating Aerosol Interactions and Chemistry (MOSAIC) journal January 2008
Estimates of global terrestrial isoprene emissions using MEGAN (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) journal January 2006
Evaluation of black carbon estimations in global aerosol models journal January 2009
Evaluating a lightning parameterization based on cloud-top height for mesoscale numerical model simulations journal January 2012
Parameterization of surface resistances to gaseous dry deposition in regional-scale numerical models☆ journal January 2007
The POLARCAT Model Intercomparison Project (POLMIP): overview and evaluation with observations journal January 2014
Sensitivity of remote aerosol distributions to representation of cloud-aerosol interactions in a global climate model journal January 2013
A multi-model assessment of pollution transport to the Arctic text January 2008
Comparison of the radiative properties and direct radiative effect of aerosols from a global aerosol model and remote sensing data over ocean journal February 2007

Cited By (3)

Accuracy of current Arctic springtime water vapour estimates, assessed by Raman lidar
  • Totems, Julien; Chazette, Patrick; Raut, Jean‐Christophe
  • Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, Vol. 145, Issue 720 https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3492
journal March 2019
Springtime aerosol load as observed from ground-based and airborne lidars over northern Norway journal January 2018
Dimethyl sulfide and its role in aerosol formation and growth in the Arctic summer – a modelling study journal January 2019

Similar Records

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES