Aerosol data assimilation in the chemical transport model MOCAGE during the TRAQA/ChArMEx campaign: aerosol optical depth

Sič, Bojan; Amraoui, L. El; Piacentini, Andrea; Marécal, Virginie; Emili, Emanuele; Cariolle, D.; Prather, Michael J.; Attié, Jean-Luc

doi:10.5194/amt-9-5535-2016

Cited by 38 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…The TRAnsport and Air Quality (TRAQA) campaign Di Biagio et al, 2015;Sič et al, 2016) held in summer 2012 was dedicated to the export/import of pollutants from the European continent to the Mediterranean Sea by means of balloon and airborne measurements. The Aerosol Direct Radiative Impact in the Mediterranean (ADRIMED) campaign investigated aerosols of various origins and their optical properties over the western basin in summer 2013 (Mallet et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

et al. 2017

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Abstract. The eastern Mediterranean (EM) is one of the regions in the world where elevated concentrations of primary and secondary gaseous air pollutants have been reported frequently, mainly in summer. This review discusses published studies of the atmospheric dispersion and transport conditions characterizing this region during the summer, followed by a description of some essential studies dealing with the corresponding concentrations of air pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide, total reactive nitrogen, methane, and sulfate aerosols observed there.The interlaced relationship between the downward motion of the subsiding air aloft induced by global circulation systems affecting the EM and the depth of the Persian Trough, a low-pressure trough that extends from the Asian monsoon at the surface controlling the spatiotemporal distribution of the mixed boundary layer during summer, is discussed. The strength of the wind flow within the mixed layer and its depth affect much the amount of pollutants transported and determine the potential of the atmosphere to disperse contaminants off their origins in the EM. The reduced mixed layer and the accompanying weak westerlies, characterizing the summer in this region, led to reduced ventilation rates, preventing an effective dilution of the contaminants. Several studies pointing at specific local (e.g., ventilation rates) and regional peculiarities (long-range transport) enhancing the build-up of air pollutant concentrations are presented.Tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) concentrations observed in the summer over the EM are among the highest over the Northern Hemisphere. The three essential processes controlling its formation (i.e., long-range transport of polluted air masses, dynamic subsidence at mid-tropospheric levels, and stratosphere-to-troposphere exchange) are reviewed. Airborne campaigns and satellite-borne initiatives have indicated that the concentration values of reactive nitrogen identified as precursors in the formation of O 3 over the EM were found to be 2 to 10 times higher than in the hemispheric background troposphere. Several factors favor sulfate particulate abundance over the EM. Models, aircraft measurements, and satellite-derived data have clearly shown that sulfate has a maximum during spring and summer over the EM. The carbon monoxide (CO) seasonal cycle, as obtained from global background monitoring sites in the EM, is mostly controlled by the tropospheric concentration of the hydroxyl radical (OH) and therefore demonstrates high concentrations over winter months and the lowest concentrations during summer when photochemistry is active. Modeling studies have shown that the diurnal variations in CO concentration during the summer result from long-range CO transport from European anthropogenic sources, contributing 60 to 80 % of the boundary-layer CO over the EM. The values retrieved from satellite data enable us to derive the spatial distribution of methane (CH 4 ), identifying August as the month with the highest levels over the EM. The outcomes of a...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

et al. 2017

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“…The focus of the present 10 study is on the SAFMED campaign in summer of 2013, since detailed measurements on the formation of OA and precursors were obtained during this period namely at Ersa (Corsica) and Es Pinar (Mallorca). Other ChArMEx sub-projects and campaigns included the TRAQA (Transport et Qualité de l'Air) campaign in summer 2012 setup to study the transport and impact of continental air on atmospheric pollution over the basin (Sič et al, 2016), the ADRIMED (Aerosol Direct Radiative Impact in the Mediterranean, June -July 2013) campaign aiming at 15 understanding and assessing the radiative impact of various aerosol sources (Mallet et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation of fine organic aerosols in the western Mediterranean area during the ChArMEx 2013 summer campaign

Cholakian¹,

Beekmann²,

Colette³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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especially at several hundred meters height from the surface; however over the Gulf of Genoa near the surface, the anthropogenic origin is of similar importance. A general assessment of other species was performed to evaluate the robustness of the simulations for this particular domain before evaluating OA simulation schemes. It is also shown that the Cap Corse site presents important orographic complexity which makes comparison between model simulations and observations difficult. A method was designed to estimate an orographic representativeness error 5 for a list of species and yields an uncertainty of between 50-85% for primary pollutants, and around 2-10% for secondary species, for these species model to observations comparisons are only little impacted by orography.

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“…The TRAQA (Transport et Qualité de l'Air) campaign was set up in summer 2012 to study the transport and impact of continental air on atmospheric pollution over the basin (Sič et al, 2016). The ADRIMED (Aerosol Direct Radiative Impact in the Mediterranean; Mallet et al (2016)) campaign was set up in June-July 2013 to assess the radiative impact of aerosols, while the SAF-MED (Secondary Aerosol Formation in the MEDiterranean) campaign was set up in Julyearly August 2013 to understand and characterise the concentrations and properties of organic aerosols in the western Mediterranean and to figure out the origins of the high concentrations observed outside urban areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling organic aerosol concentrations and properties during ChArMEx summer campaigns of 2012 and 2013 in the western Mediterranean region

et al. 2017

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Abstract. In the framework of the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment, a measurement site was set up at a remote site (Ersa) on Corsica Island in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Measurement campaigns performed during the summers of 2012 and 2013 showed high organic aerosol concentrations, mostly from biogenic origin. This work aims to represent the organic aerosol concentrations and properties (oxidation state and hydrophilicity) using the air-quality model Polyphemus with a surrogate approach for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. Biogenic precursors are isoprene, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes. In this work, the following model oxidation products of monoterpenes are added: (i) a carboxylic acid (MBTCA) to represent multi-generation oxidation products in the low-NO x regime, (ii) organic nitrate chemistry and (iii) extremely low-volatility organic compounds (ELVOCs) formed by ozonolysis. The model shows good agreement of measurements of organic concentrations for both 2012 and 2013 summer campaigns. The modelled oxidation property and hydrophilic organic carbon properties of the organic aerosols also agree reasonably well with the measurements. The influence of the different chemical processes added to the model on the oxidation level of organics is studied. Measured and simulated water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) concentrations show that even at a remote site next to the sea, about 64 % of the organic carbon is soluble. The concentrations of WSOC vary with the origins of the air masses and the composition of organic aerosols. The marine organic emissions only contribute to a few percent of the organic mass in PM 1 , with maxima above the sea.

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Aerosol data assimilation in the chemical transport model MOCAGE during the TRAQA/ChArMEx campaign: aerosol optical depth

Cited by 38 publications

References 79 publications

Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

Atmospheric pollution over the eastern Mediterranean during summer – a review

Simulation of fine organic aerosols in the western Mediterranean area during the ChArMEx 2013 summer campaign

Modelling organic aerosol concentrations and properties during ChArMEx summer campaigns of 2012 and 2013 in the western Mediterranean region

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