No abstract

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosols can exert an influence on meteorology and air quality through aerosol–radiation interaction (ARI) and aerosol–cloud interaction (ACI), and this two-way feedback has been studied by applying two-way coupled meteorology and air quality models. As one of the regions with the highest aerosol loading in the world, Asia has attracted many researchers to investigate the aerosol effects with several two-way coupled models (WRF-Chem, WRF-CMAQ, GRAPES-CUACE, WRF-NAQPMS, and GATOR-GCMOM) over the last decade. This paper attempts to offer a bibliographic analysis regarding the current status of applications of two-way coupled models in Asia, related research focuses, model performances, and the effects of ARI and/or ACI on meteorology and air quality. There were a total of 160 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2019 in Asia meeting the inclusion criteria, with more than 79 % of papers involving the WRF-Chem model. The number of relevant publications has an upward trend annually, and East Asia, India, and China, as well as the North China Plain are the most studied areas. The effects of ARI and both ARI and ACI induced by natural aerosols (particularly mineral dust) and anthropogenic aerosols (bulk aerosols, different chemical compositions, and aerosols from different sources) are widely investigated in Asia. Through the meta-analysis of surface meteorological and air quality variables simulated by two-way coupled models, the model performance affected by aerosol feedbacks depends on different variables, simulation time lengths, selection of two-way coupled models, and study areas. Future research perspectives with respect to the development, improvement, application, and evaluation of two-way coupled meteorology and air quality models are proposed.

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosols can exert influence on meteorology and air quality through aerosol-radiation interactions (ARI) and aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) and this two-way feedback has been studied by applying two-way coupled meteorology and air quality models. As one of regions with high aerosol loading in the world, Asia has attracted many researchers to investigate the aerosol effects with several two-way coupled models (WRF-Chem, WRF-CMAQ, GRAPES-CUACE and WRF-NAQPMS) over the last decade. This paper attempts to offer bibliographic analysis regarding the current status of applications of two-way coupled models in Asia, related research focuses, model performances and the effects of ARI or/and ACI on meteorology and air quality. There are total 157 peer-reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2019 in Asia meeting the inclusion criteria, with more than 81 % of papers involving the WRF-Chem model. The number of relevant publications has an upward trend annually and East Asia, India, China, as well as the North China Plain are the most studied areas. The effects of ARI and both ARI and ACI induced by natural aerosols (particularly mineral dust) and anthropogenic aerosols (bulk aerosols, different chemical compositions and aerosols from different sources) are widely investigated in Asia. Through the meta-analysis of surface meteorological and air quality variables simulated by two-way coupled models, the model performance affected by aerosol feedbacks depends on different variables, simulation time lengths, selection of two-way coupled models, and study areas. Future research perspectives with respect to the development, improvement, application, and evaluation of two-way coupled meteorology and air quality models are proposed.

Biomass burning is a major source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and particulate matter (PM) emissions in China. Despite increasing efforts of fire monitoring, it remains challenging to quantify the variability in interannual and seasonal emissions of GHGs and PM from biomass burning. In this study, we investigated the biomass burning emissions in Northeastern China based on fire radiative power (FRP) obtained from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suites (VIIRS) active fires datasets during the period 2012 to 2019. Our results showed that the average annual emissions from biomass burning in Northeastern China during 2012–2019 were: 81.6Tg for CO2, 260.2 Gg for CH4, 5.5 Gg for N2O, 543.2 Gg for PM2.5 and 573.6 Gg for PM10, respectively. Higher levels of GHGs and PM emissions were concentrated in the Songnen Plain and Sanjiang Plain, the main grain producing areas in this region, and were associated with dense fire points. There were two emission peaks observed each year: after harvesting (October to November) and before planting (March to April). During this study period, the total fire emissions initially increased and then decreased in a fluctuating pattern, with emissions peaking in 2015, the year when more emission regulations were introduced. Crop straw was the major source of GHGs and PM among all kinds of biomass burning. Following more stringent controls on burning and the utilization of crop straw, the main burning season changed from autumn to spring. The proportion from spring burning increased from 20.5% in 2013 to 77.1% in 2019, with an annual growth rate of 20%. The results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of regulatory control in reducing GHGs and PM emissions, as well as satellite fire observations as a powerful means to assess such outcomes.