Sensitivity of Global Modeling Initiative chemistry and transport model simulations of radon-222 and lead-210 to input meteorological data

Abstract

Abstract.We have used the Global Modeling Initiative chemistry and transport model to simulate the radionuclides radon-222 and lead-210 using three different sets of input meteorological information: 1. Output from the Goddard Space Flight Center Global Modeling and Assimilation Office GEOS-STRAT assimilation; 2. Output from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies GISS II general circulation model; and 3. Output from the National Center for Atmospheric Research MACCM3 general circulation model. We intercompare these simulations with observations to determine the variability resulting from the different meteorological data used to drive the model, and to assess the agreement of the simulations with observations at the surface and in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region. The observational datasets we use are primarily climatologies developed from multiple years of observations. In the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region, climatological distributions of lead-210 were constructed from ∼25 years of aircraft and balloon observations compiled into the US Environmental Measurements Laboratory RANDAB database. Taken as a whole, no simulation stands out as superior to the others. However, the simulation driven by the NCAR MACCM3 meteorological data compares better with lead-210 observations in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere region. Comparisons of simulations made with and without convection show that the role played by convective transport and scavenging in the three simulations differs substantially. These differences may have implications for evaluation of the importance of very short-lived halogen-containing species on stratospheric halogen budgets.

Errors and improvements in the use of archived meteorological data for chemical transport modeling: an analysis using GEOS-Chem v11-01 driven by GEOS-5 meteorology

“…We use for this purpose the 222 Rn-210 Pb-7 Be tracer suite, which provides a standard basis for evaluating transport and aerosol scavenging in CTMs (Jacob et al, 1997;Liu et al, 2001;Considine et al, 2005;Zhang et al, 2017). The GEOS-Chem CTM, originally described by Bey et al (2001), is an opensource global model of atmospheric composition used by a large research community for a wide range of applications.…”

“…7 Be (half-life 53.3 days) is produced in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere from the interaction of cosmic rays with atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen (Lal and Peters, 1967) and attaches to aerosol particles and is removed by deposition in the same way as 210 Pb. The high-altitude source of 7 Be complements 210 Pb by testing the model representation of subsidence and stratosphere-troposphere exchange (Koch et al, 1996;Considine et al, 2005).…”

Global O<sub>3</sub>–CO correlations in a chemistry and transport model during July–August: evaluation with TES satellite observations and sensitivity to input meteorological data and emissions

“…The model can incorporate different inputs and components (e.g., meteorological fields, emission inventories, and chemical mechanisms), allowing us to test the sensitivity of model simulations to input meteorological data sets (e.g., Douglass et al, 1999;Considine et al, 2005;Liu et al, 2016). Model simulations are evaluated using ozonesonde and satellite observations.…”

Adjoint sensitivity of global cloud droplet number to aerosol and dynamical parameters

“…The GMI 3-D global CTM (http://gmi.gsfc.nasa.gov) was originally described by Rotman et al (2001) and Considine et al (2005). The aerosol module used in this study includes primary emissions, gas phase and aqueous phase chemistry with one hour time step, wet and dry deposition, and hygroscopic growth .…”