TY - JOUR

T1 - Chemical transport model ozone simulations for spring 2001 over the western Pacific

T2 - comparisons with TRACE-P lidar, ozonesondes, and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer columns

AU - Wild, O

AU - Sundet, J K

AU - Prather, M J

AU - Isaksen, I S A

AU - Akimoto, H

AU - Browell, E V

AU - Oltmans, S J

PY - 2003/11/11

Y1 - 2003/11/11

N2 - Two closely related chemical transport models (CTMs) employing the same high-resolution meteorological data (similar to180 km x similar to180 km x similar to600 m) from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts are used to simulate the ozone total column and tropospheric distribution over the western Pacific region that was explored by the NASA Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) measurement campaign in February-April 2001. We make extensive comparisons with ozone measurements from the lidar instrument on the NASA DC-8, with ozonesondes taken during the period around the Pacific Rim, and with TOMS total column ozone. These demonstrate that within the uncertainties of the meteorological data and the constraints of model resolution, the two CTMs (FRSGC/UCI and Oslo CTM2) can simulate the observed tropospheric ozone and do particularly well when realistic stratospheric ozone photochemistry is included. The greatest differences between the models and observations occur in the polluted boundary layer, where problems related to the simplified chemical mechanism and inadequate horizontal resolution are likely to have caused the net overestimation of about 10 ppb mole fraction. In the upper troposphere, the large variability driven by stratospheric intrusions makes agreement very sensitive to the timing of meteorological features.

AB - Two closely related chemical transport models (CTMs) employing the same high-resolution meteorological data (similar to180 km x similar to180 km x similar to600 m) from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts are used to simulate the ozone total column and tropospheric distribution over the western Pacific region that was explored by the NASA Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) measurement campaign in February-April 2001. We make extensive comparisons with ozone measurements from the lidar instrument on the NASA DC-8, with ozonesondes taken during the period around the Pacific Rim, and with TOMS total column ozone. These demonstrate that within the uncertainties of the meteorological data and the constraints of model resolution, the two CTMs (FRSGC/UCI and Oslo CTM2) can simulate the observed tropospheric ozone and do particularly well when realistic stratospheric ozone photochemistry is included. The greatest differences between the models and observations occur in the polluted boundary layer, where problems related to the simplified chemical mechanism and inadequate horizontal resolution are likely to have caused the net overestimation of about 10 ppb mole fraction. In the upper troposphere, the large variability driven by stratospheric intrusions makes agreement very sensitive to the timing of meteorological features.

KW - tropospheric ozone

KW - tropopause

KW - stratospheric intrusions

KW - Western Pacific

KW - CHEMISTRY

KW - EMISSIONS

KW - SYSTEM

KW - TROPOSPHERE

KW - SCHEMES

KW - ASIA

U2 - 10.1029/2002JD003283

DO - 10.1029/2002JD003283

M3 - Journal article

VL - 108

SP - -

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

SN - 0747-7309

IS - D21

M1 - 8826

ER -