0000000000147800
AUTHOR
H. Tost
A machine learning examination of hydroxyl radical differences among model simulations for CCMI-1
The hydroxyl radical (OH) plays critical roles within the troposphere, such as determining the lifetime of methane (CH4), yet is challenging to model due to its fast cycling and dependence on a multitude of sources and sinks. As a result, the reasons for variations in OH and the resulting methane lifetime (τCH4), both between models and in time, are difficult to diagnose. We apply a neural network (NN) approach to address this issue within a group of models that participated in the Chemistry-Climate Model Initiative (CCMI). Analysis of the historical specified dynamics simulations performed for CCMI indicates that the primary drivers of τCH4 differences among 10 models are the flux of UV li…
Evaluation of observed and modelled aerosol lifetimes using radioactive tracers of opportunity and an ensemble of 19 global models
Aerosols have important impacts on air quality and climate, but the processes affecting their removal from the atmosphere are not fully understood and are poorly constrained by observations. This makes modelled aerosol lifetimes uncertain. In this study, we make use of an observational constraint on aerosol lifetimes provided by radionuclide measurements and investigate the causes of differences within a set of global models. During the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant accident of March 2011, the radioactive isotopes cesium-137 (137Cs) and xenon-133 (133Xe) were released in large quantities. Cesium attached to particles in the ambient air, approximately according to their available ae…
Implementation of a comprehensive ice crystal formation parameterization for cirrus and mixed-phase clouds in the EMAC model (based on MESSy 2.53)
A comprehensive ice nucleation parameterization has been implemented in the global chemistry-climate model EMAC to improve the representation of ice crystal number concentrations (ICNCs). The parameterization of Barahona and Nenes (2009, hereafter BN09) allows for the treatment of ice nucleation taking into account the competition for water vapour between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation in cirrus clouds. Furthermore, the influence of chemically heterogeneous, polydisperse aerosols is considered by applying one of the multiple ice nucleating particle parameterizations which are included in BN09 to compute the heterogeneously formed ice crystals. BN09 has been modified in order to co…
Chemistry–climate interactions of aerosol nitrate from lightning
Lightning represents one of the dominant emission sources for NOx in the troposphere. The direct release of oxidised nitrogen in the upper troposphere does not only affect ozone formation, but also chemical and microphysical properties of aerosol particles in this region. This study investigates the direct impact of LNOx emissions on upper-tropospheric nitrate using a global chemistry climate model. The simulation results show a substantial influence of the lightning emissions on the mixing ratios of nitrate aerosol in the upper troposphere of more than 50 %. In addition to the impact on nitrate, lightning substantially affects the oxidising capacity of the atmosphere with substantial impli…
In situ observation of new particle formation (NPF) in the tropical tropopause layer of the 2017 Asian monsoon anticyclone - Part 2: NPF inside ice clouds
From 27 July to 10 August 2017, the airborne StratoClim mission took place in Kathmandu, Nepal, where eight mission flights were conducted with the M-55 Geophysica up to altitudes of 20 km. New particle formation (NPF) was identified by the abundant presence of nucleation-mode aerosols, with particle diameters dp smaller than 15 nm, which were in-situ-detected by means of condensation nuclei (CN) counter techniques. NPF fields in clear skies as well as in the presence of cloud ice particles (dp > 3 µm) were encountered at upper troposphere–lowermost stratosphere (UTLS) levels and within the Asian monsoon anticyclone (AMA). NPF-generated nucleation-mode particles in elevated concentration…
Sensitivity of transatlantic dust transport to chemical aging and related atmospheric processes
We present a sensitivity study on transatlantic dust transport, a process which has many implications for the atmosphere, the ocean and the climate. We investigate the impact of key processes that control the dust outflow, i.e., the emission flux, convection schemes and the chemical aging of mineral dust, by using the EMAC model following Abdelkader et al. (2015). To characterize the dust outflow over the Atlantic Ocean, we distinguish two geographic zones: (i) dust interactions within the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), or the dust–ITCZ interaction zone (DIZ), and (ii) the adjacent dust transport over the Atlantic Ocean (DTA) zone. In the latter zone, the dust loading shows a steep …
A multi-model assessment of the efficacy of sea spray geoengineering
Abstract. Artificially increasing the albedo of marine clouds by the mechanical emission of sea spray aerosol has been proposed as a geoengineering technique to slow the warming caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gases. A previous global model study found that only modest increases and sometimes even decreases in cloud drop number (CDN) concentrations would result from plausible emission scenarios. Here we extend that work to examine the conditions under which decreases in CDN can occur, and use three independent global models to quantify maximum achievable CDN changes. We find that decreases in CDN can occur when at least three of the following conditions are met: the injected particle num…
Superparameterised cloud effects in the EMAC general circulation model (v2.50) – influences of model configuration
A new module has been implemented in the fifth generation of the ECMWF/Hamburg (ECHAM5)/Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model that simulates cloud-related processes on a much smaller grid. This so-called superparameterisation acts as a replacement for the convection parameterisation and large-scale cloud scheme. The concept of embedding a cloud-resolving model (CRM) inside of each grid box of a general circulation model leads to an explicit representation of cloud dynamics. The new model component is evaluated against observations and the conventional usage of EMAC using a convection parameterisation. In particular, effects of applying different configurat…
Including vegetation dynamics in an atmospheric chemistry-enabled general circulation model: linking LPJ-GUESS (v4.0) with the EMAC modelling system (v2.53)
Central to the development of Earth system models (ESMs) has been the coupling of previously separate model types, such as ocean, atmospheric, and vegetation models, to address interactive feedbacks between the system components. A modelling framework which combines a detailed representation of these components, including vegetation and other land surface processes, enables the study of land–atmosphere feedbacks under global climate change. Here we present the initial steps of coupling LPJ-GUESS, a dynamic global vegetation model, to the atmospheric chemistry-enabled atmosphere–ocean general circulation model EMAC. The LPJ-GUESS framework is based on ecophysiological processes, such as phot…
Uncertainties in future climate predictions due to convection parameterisations
Abstract. In the last decades several convection parameterisations have been developed to consider the impact of small-scale unresolved processes in Earth System Models associated with convective clouds. Global model simulations, which have been performed under current climate conditions with different convection schemes, significantly differ among each other in the simulated transport of trace gases and precipitation patterns due to the parameterisation assumptions and formulations, e.g. the computation of convective rainfall rates, calculation of entrainment and detrainment rates etc. Here we address sensitivity studies comparing four different convection schemes under alternative climate…
Global aerosol modeling with MADE3 (v3.0) in EMAC (based on v2.53): model description and evaluation
Recently, the aerosol microphysics submodel MADE3 (Modal Aerosol Dynamics model for Europe, adapted for global applications, third generation) was introduced as a successor to MADE and MADE-in. It includes nine aerosol species and nine lognormal modes to represent aerosol particles of three different mixing states throughout the aerosol size spectrum. Here, we describe the implementation of the most recent version of MADE3 into the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) general circulation model, including a detailed evaluation of a 10-year aerosol simulation with MADE3 as part of EMAC.We compare simulation output to station network measurements of near-surface aerosol component mass conc…
AOD trends during 2001–2010 from observations and model simulations
The aerosol optical depth (AOD) trend between 2001 and 2010 is estimated globally and regionally from observations and results from simulations with the EMAC (ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry) model. Although interannual variability is applied only to anthropogenic and biomass-burning emissions, the model is able to quantitatively reproduce the AOD trends as observed by the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) satellite sensor, while some discrepancies are found when compared to MISR (Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer) and SeaWIFS (Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor) observations. Thanks to an additional simulation without any change in emissions, it is shown that …
Implementation of the Community Earth System Model (CESM1, version 1.2.1) as a new basemodel into version 2.50 of the MESSy framework
Abstract. The Community Earth System Model (CESM1), maintained by the United States National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is connected with the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy). For the MESSy user community, this offers many new possibilities. The option to use the CESM1(CAM) atmospheric dynamical cores, especially the spectral element (SE) core, as an alternative to the ECHAM5 spectral transform dynamical core will provide scientific and computational advances for atmospheric chemistry and climate modelling with MESSy. The SE dynamical core does not require polar filters since the grid is quasi-uniform. By advecting the surface pressure rather then the logarithm of surface p…
Evaluation of observed and modelled aerosol lifetimes using radioactive tracers of opportunity and an ensemble of 19 global models
Abstract. Aerosols have important impacts on air quality and climate, but the processes affecting their removal from the atmosphere are not fully understood and are poorly constrained by observations. This makes modelled aerosol lifetimes uncertain. In this study, we make use of an observational constraint on aerosol lifetimes provided by radionuclide measurements and investigate the causes of differences within a set of global models. During the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant accident of March 2011, the radioactive isotopes cesium-137 (137Cs) and xenon-133 (133Xe) were released in large quantities. Cesium attached to particles in the ambient air, approximately according to their av…