The Potential of The Synergy of Sunphotometer and Lidar Data to Validate Vertical Profiles of The Aerosol Mass Concentration Estimated by An Air Quality Model

Abstract. This study evaluates simulated vertical ozone profiles produced in the framework of the third phase of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII3) against ozonesonde observations in North America for the year 2010. Four research groups from the United States (U.S.) and Europe have provided ozone vertical profiles to conduct this analysis. Because some of the modeling systems differ in their meteorological drivers, wind speed and temperature are also included in the analysis. In addition to the seasonal ozone profile evaluation for 2010, we also analyze chemically inert tracers designed to track the influence of lateral boundary conditions on simulated ozone profiles within the modeling domain. Finally, cases of stratospheric ozone intrusions during May–June 2010 are investigated by analyzing ozonesonde measurements and the corresponding model simulations at Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Ozonesonde Network Study (IONS) experiment sites in the western United States. The evaluation of the seasonal ozone profiles reveals that at a majority of the stations, ozone mixing ratios are under-estimated in the 1–6 km range. The seasonal change noted in the errors follows the one seen in the variance of ozone mixing ratios, with the majority of the models exhibiting less variability than the observations. The analysis of chemically inert tracers highlights the importance of lateral boundary conditions up to 250 hPa for the lower tropospheric ozone mixing ratios (0–2 km). Finally, for the stratospheric intrusions, the models are generally able to reproduce the location and timing of most intrusions but underestimate the magnitude of the maximum mixing ratios in the 2–6 km range and overestimate ozone up to the first km possibly due to marine air influences that are not accurately described by the models. The choice of meteorological driver appears to be a greater predictor of model skill in this altitude range than the choice of air quality model.

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Retrieval of Vertical Mass Concentration Distributions—Vipava Valley Case Study

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11020106 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 106 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Longlong Wang ◽

Samo Stanič ◽

Klemen Bergant ◽

William Eichinger ◽

Griša Močnik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biomass Burning ◽

Mass Concentration ◽

Mineral Dust ◽

Small Scale ◽

Vertical Profiles ◽

Total Uncertainty ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Aerosol Mass Concentration ◽

Aerosol Types

Aerosol vertical profiles are valuable inputs for the evaluation of aerosol transport models, in order to improve the understanding of aerosol pollution ventilation processes which drive the dispersion of pollutants in mountainous regions. With the aim of providing high-accuracy vertical distributions of particle mass concentration for the study of aerosol dispersion in small-scale valleys, vertical profiles of aerosol mass concentration for aerosols from different sources (including Saharan dust and local biomass burning events) were investigated over the Vipava valley, Slovenia, a representative hot-spot for complex mixtures of different aerosol types of both anthropogenic and natural origin. The analysis was based on datasets taken between 1–30 April 2016. In-situ measurements of aerosol size, absorption, and mass concentration were combined with lidar remote sensing, where vertical profiles of aerosol concentration were retrieved. Aerosol samples were characterized by SEM-EDX, to obtain aerosol morphology and chemical composition. Two cases with expected dominant presence of different specific aerosol types (mineral dust and biomass-burning aerosols) show significantly different aerosol properties and distributions within the valley. In the mineral dust case, we observed a decrease of the elevated aerosol layer height and subsequent spreading of mineral dust within the valley, while in the biomass-burning case we observed the lifting of aerosols above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). All uncertainties of size and assumed optical properties, combined, amount to the total uncertainty of aerosol mass concentrations below 30% within the valley. We have also identified the most indicative in-situ parameters for identification of aerosol type.

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Evaluation of European air quality modelled by CAMx including the volatility basis set scheme

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-16-10313-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (16) ◽

pp. 10313-10332 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Giancarlo Ciarelli ◽

Sebnem Aksoyoglu ◽

Monica Crippa ◽

Jose-Luis Jimenez ◽

Eriko Nemitz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Measurement Data ◽

Model Performance ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Basis Set ◽

Air Quality Model ◽

Quality Model ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Sensitivity Tests ◽

Compensation Of Errors

Abstract. Four periods of EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) intensive measurement campaigns (June 2006, January 2007, September–October 2008 and February–March 2009) were modelled using the regional air quality model CAMx with VBS (volatility basis set) approach for the first time in Europe within the framework of the EURODELTA-III model intercomparison exercise. More detailed analysis and sensitivity tests were performed for the period of February–March 2009 and June 2006 to investigate the uncertainties in emissions as well as to improve the modelling of organic aerosol (OA). Model performance for selected gas phase species and PM2.5 was evaluated using the European air quality database AirBase. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) were found to be overestimated for all the four periods, with O3 having the largest mean bias during June 2006 and January–February 2007 periods (8.9 pbb and 12.3 ppb mean biases respectively). In contrast, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were found to be underestimated for all the four periods. CAMx reproduced both total concentrations and monthly variations of PM2.5 for all the four periods with average biases ranging from −2.1 to 1.0 µg m−3. Comparisons with AMS (aerosol mass spectrometer) measurements at different sites in Europe during February–March 2009 showed that in general the model overpredicts the inorganic aerosol fraction and underpredicts the organic one, such that the good agreement for PM2.5 is partly due to compensation of errors. The effect of the choice of VBS scheme on OA was investigated as well. Two sensitivity tests with volatility distributions based on previous chamber and ambient measurements data were performed. For February–March 2009 the chamber case reduced the total OA concentrations by about 42 % on average. In contrast, a test based on ambient measurement data increased OA concentrations by about 42 % for the same period bringing model and observations into better agreement. Comparison with the AMS data at the rural Swiss site Payerne in June 2006 shows no significant improvement in modelled OA concentration. Further sensitivity tests with increased biogenic and anthropogenic emissions suggest that OA in Payerne was affected by changes in emissions from residential heating during the February–March 2009 whereas it was more sensitive to biogenic precursors in June 2006.

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Vertical profiles of aerosol mass concentration derived by unmanned airborne in situ and remote sensing instruments during dust events

Atmospheric Measurement Techniques ◽

10.5194/amt-11-2897-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 2897-2910 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Dimitra Mamali ◽

Eleni Marinou ◽

Jean Sciare ◽

Michael Pikridas ◽

Panagiotis Kokkalis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Mass Concentration ◽

Climate Models ◽

In Situ Measurements ◽

Saharan Dust ◽

Dust Particles ◽

Vertical Profiles ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Aerosol Mass Concentration

Abstract. In situ measurements using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remote sensing observations can independently provide dense vertically resolved measurements of atmospheric aerosols, information which is strongly required in climate models. In both cases, inverting the recorded signals to useful information requires assumptions and constraints, and this can make the comparison of the results difficult. Here we compare, for the first time, vertical profiles of the aerosol mass concentration derived from light detection and ranging (lidar) observations and in situ measurements using an optical particle counter on board a UAV during moderate and weak Saharan dust episodes. Agreement between the two measurement methods was within experimental uncertainty for the coarse mode (i.e. particles having radii >0.5 µm), where the properties of dust particles can be assumed with good accuracy. This result proves that the two techniques can be used interchangeably for determining the vertical profiles of aerosol concentrations, bringing them a step closer towards their systematic exploitation in climate models.

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Seasonal ozone vertical profiles over North America using the AQMEII3 group of air quality models: model inter-comparison and stratospheric intrusions

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-18-13925-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (19) ◽

pp. 13925-13945 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Marina Astitha ◽

Ioannis Kioutsioukis ◽

Ghezae Araya Fisseha ◽

Roberto Bianconi ◽

Johannes Bieser ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Air Quality ◽

North America ◽

Vertical Profiles ◽

Lateral Boundary ◽

Air Quality Model ◽

Quality Model ◽

Mixing Ratios ◽

Lateral Boundary Conditions ◽

Stratospheric Intrusions

Abstract. This study evaluates simulated vertical ozone profiles produced in the framework of the third phase of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII3) against ozonesonde observations in North America for the year 2010. Four research groups from the United States (US) and Europe have provided modeled ozone vertical profiles to conduct this analysis. Because some of the modeling systems differ in their meteorological drivers, wind speed and temperature are also included in the analysis. In addition to the seasonal ozone profile evaluation for 2010, we also analyze chemically inert tracers designed to track the influence of lateral boundary conditions on simulated ozone profiles within the modeling domain. Finally, cases of stratospheric ozone intrusions during May–June 2010 are investigated by analyzing ozonesonde measurements and the corresponding model simulations at Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Ozonesonde Network Study (IONS) experiment sites in the western United States. The evaluation of the seasonal ozone profiles reveals that, at a majority of the stations, ozone mixing ratios are underestimated in the 1–6 km range. The seasonal change noted in the errors follows the one seen in the variance of ozone mixing ratios, with the majority of the models exhibiting less variability than the observations. The analysis of chemically inert tracers highlights the importance of lateral boundary conditions up to 250 hPa for the lower-tropospheric ozone mixing ratios (0–2 km). Finally, for the stratospheric intrusions, the models are generally able to reproduce the location and timing of most intrusions but underestimate the magnitude of the maximum mixing ratios in the 2–6 km range and overestimate ozone up to the first kilometer possibly due to marine air influences that are not accurately described by the models. The choice of meteorological driver appears to be a greater predictor of model skill in this altitude range than the choice of air quality model.

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Unexpected vertical profiles over complex terrain due to the incomplete formulation of transport processes in the SAIMM/UAM-V air quality model

Environmental Modelling & Software ◽

10.1016/s1364-8152(02)00033-6 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 17 (8) ◽

pp. 747-762 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

J. Keller ◽

N. Ritter ◽

S.A. Aksoyoglu ◽

M. Tinguely ◽

André S.H. Prévôt

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Complex Terrain ◽

Transport Processes ◽

Vertical Profiles ◽

Air Quality Model ◽

Quality Model

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Effects of two different biogenic emission models on modelled ozone and aerosol concentrations in Europe

10.5194/acp-2018-920 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jianhui Jiang ◽

Sebnem Aksoyoglu ◽

Giancarlo Ciarelli ◽

Emmanouil Oikonomakis ◽

Imad El-Haddad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Model Performance ◽

Organic Aerosol ◽

Air Quality Model ◽

Quality Model ◽

Inorganic Aerosols ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Emission Models ◽

Summer Time ◽

Paul Scherrer

Abstract. Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions are one of the essential inputs for chemical transport models (CTMs), but their estimates are associated with large uncertainties leading to significant influences on air quality modelling. This study aims at investigating the effects of using different BVOC emission models on the performance of a CTM in simulating secondary pollutants, i.e. ozone, organic and inorganic aerosols. The European air quality was simulated for the year 2011 by the regional air quality model Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) version 6.3, using BVOC emissions calculated by two emission models: the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) model and the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosol from Nature (MEGAN) v2.1. Comparison of isoprene and monoterpene emissions from both models showed large differences in their general amounts as well as their spatial distribution both in summer and winter. MEGAN produced more isoprene emissions by a factor of 3 while the PSI model generated three times of monoterpene emissions in summer, while there was negligible difference (~ 4 %) in sesquiterpene emissions associated with the two models. Despite the large differences in isoprene emissions (i.e. 3-fold), the resulting impact in predicted summer-time ozone proved to be minor ( 60 ppb). A much larger effect of the different BVOC emissions was found for the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations. The higher monoterpene emissions (a factor of ~ 3) by the PSI model led to higher SOA by ~ 110 % on average in summer, compared to MEGAN, improving substantially the model performance for organic aerosol (OA): the mean bias between modelled and measured OA at 8 Aerodyne aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM)/Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurement stations was reduced by 21 %–83 % in rural/remote stations. Effects on inorganic aerosols (particulate nitrate, sulphate, and ammonia) were relatively smaller (

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Effects of two different biogenic emission models on modelled ozone and aerosol concentrations in Europe

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-19-3747-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (6) ◽

pp. 3747-3768 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jianhui Jiang ◽

Sebnem Aksoyoglu ◽

Giancarlo Ciarelli ◽

Emmanouil Oikonomakis ◽

Imad El-Haddad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Model Performance ◽

Organic Aerosol ◽

Air Quality Model ◽

Quality Model ◽

Mass Spectrometers ◽

Inorganic Aerosols ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Emission Models ◽

Paul Scherrer

Abstract. Biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions are one of the essential inputs for chemical transport models (CTMs), but their estimates are associated with large uncertainties, leading to significant influence on air quality modelling. This study aims to investigate the effects of using different BVOC emission models on the performance of a CTM in simulating secondary pollutants, i.e. ozone, organic, and inorganic aerosols. European air quality was simulated for the year 2011 by the regional air quality model Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) version 6.3, using BVOC emissions calculated by two emission models: the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) model and the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosol from Nature (MEGAN) version 2.1. Comparison of isoprene and monoterpene emissions from both models showed large differences in their general amounts, as well as their spatial distribution in both summer and winter. MEGAN produced more isoprene emissions by a factor of 3 while the PSI model generated 3 times the monoterpene emissions in summer, while there was negligible difference (∼4 %) in sesquiterpene emissions associated with the two models. Despite the large differences in isoprene emissions (i.e. 3-fold), the resulting impact in predicted summertime ozone proved to be minor (<10 %; MEGAN O3 was higher than PSI O3 by ∼7 ppb). Comparisons with measurements from the European air quality database (AirBase) indicated that PSI emissions might improve the model performance at low ozone concentrations but worsen performance at high ozone levels (>60 ppb). A much larger effect of the different BVOC emissions was found for the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations. The higher monoterpene emissions (a factor of ∼3) by the PSI model led to higher SOA by ∼110 % on average in summer, compared to MEGAN, and lead to better agreement between modelled and measured organic aerosol (OA): the mean bias between modelled and measured OA at nine measurement stations using Aerodyne aerosol chemical speciation monitors (ACSMs) or Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometers (AMSs) was reduced by 21 %–83 % at rural or remote stations. Effects on inorganic aerosols (particulate nitrate, sulfate, and ammonia) were relatively small (<15 %).

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European air quality modelled by CAMx including the volatility basis set scheme

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-15-35645-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (24) ◽

pp. 35645-35691 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

G. Ciarelli ◽

S. Aksoyoglu ◽

M. Crippa ◽

J. L. Jimenez ◽

E. Nemitz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Measurement Data ◽

Model Performance ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Basis Set ◽

Air Quality Model ◽

Quality Model ◽

Aerosol Mass ◽

Sensitivity Tests ◽

Compensation Of Errors

Abstract. Four periods of EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) intensive measurement campaigns (June 2006, January 2007, September–October 2008 and February–March 2009) were modelled using the regional air quality model CAMx with VBS (Volatility Basis Set) approach for the first time in Europe within the framework of the EURODELTA-III model intercomparison exercise. More detailed analysis and sensitivity tests were performed for the period of February–March 2009 and June 2006 to investigate the uncertainties in emissions as well as to improve the modelling of organic aerosols (OA). Model performance for selected gas phase species and PM2.5 was evaluated using the European air quality database Airbase. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) were found to be overestimated for all the four periods with O3 having the largest mean bias during June 2006 and January–February 2007 periods (8.93 and 12.30 ppb mean biases, respectively). In contrast, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were found to be underestimated for all the four periods. CAMx reproduced both total concentrations and monthly variations of PM2.5 very well for all the four periods with average biases ranging from −2.13 to 1.04 μg m-3. Comparisons with AMS (Aerosol Mass Spectrometer) measurements at different sites in Europe during February–March 2009, showed that in general the model over-predicts the inorganic aerosol fraction and under-predicts the organic one, such that the good agreement for PM2.5 is partly due to compensation of errors. The effect of the choice of volatility basis set scheme (VBS) on OA was investigated as well. Two sensitivity tests with volatility distributions based on previous chamber and ambient measurements data were performed. For February–March 2009 the chamber-case reduced the total OA concentrations by about 43 % on average. On the other hand, a test based on ambient measurement data increased OA concentrations by about 47 % for the same period bringing model and observations into better agreement. Comparison with the AMS data at the rural Swiss site Payerne in June 2006 shows no significant improvement in modelled OA concentration. Further sensitivity tests with increased biogenic and anthropogenic emissions suggest that OA in Payerne was largely dominated by residential heating emissions during the February–March 2009 period and by biogenic precursors in June 2006.

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