Articles | Volume 18, issue 23
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-9805-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-9805-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Development and technical paper
| 
09 Dec 2025
Development and technical paper |
| 09 Dec 2025
| 09 Dec 2025
Enhancing volcanic eruption simulations with the WRF-Chem v4.8
Alexander Ukhov
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Georgiy Stenchikov
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
Jordan Schnell
NOAA Global Systems Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
CIRES, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Ravan Ahmadov
NOAA Global Systems Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
Umberto Rizza
National Research Council – Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), 73100 Lecce, Italy
Georg Grell
NOAA Global Systems Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
Ibrahim Hoteit
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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Li Zhang, Raffaele Montuoro, Stuart A. McKeen, Barry Baker, Partha S. Bhattacharjee, Georg A. Grell, Judy Henderson, Li Pan, Gregory J. Frost, Jeff McQueen, Rick Saylor, Haiqin Li, Ravan Ahmadov, Jun Wang, Ivanka Stajner, Shobha Kondragunta, Xiaoyang Zhang, and Fangjun Li
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Sagar P. Parajuli, Georgiy L. Stenchikov, Alexander Ukhov, Suleiman Mostamandi, Paul A. Kucera, Duncan Axisa, William I. Gustafson Jr., and Yannian Zhu
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M. G. Ziliani, M. U. Altaf, B. Aragon, R. Houborg, T. E. Franz, Y. Lu, J. Sheffield, I. Hoteit, and M. F. McCabe
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Li Zhang, Georg A. Grell, Stuart A. McKeen, Ravan Ahmadov, Karl D. Froyd, and Daniel Murphy
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Xinxin Ye, Pargoal Arab, Ravan Ahmadov, Eric James, Georg A. Grell, Bradley Pierce, Aditya Kumar, Paul Makar, Jack Chen, Didier Davignon, Greg R. Carmichael, Gonzalo Ferrada, Jeff McQueen, Jianping Huang, Rajesh Kumar, Louisa Emmons, Farren L. Herron-Thorpe, Mark Parrington, Richard Engelen, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Arlindo da Silva, Amber Soja, Emily Gargulinski, Elizabeth Wiggins, Johnathan W. Hair, Marta Fenn, Taylor Shingler, Shobha Kondragunta, Alexei Lyapustin, Yujie Wang, Brent Holben, David M. Giles, and Pablo E. Saide
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14427–14469, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14427-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14427-2021, 2021
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Wildfire smoke has crucial impacts on air quality, while uncertainties in the numerical forecasts remain significant. We present an evaluation of 12 real-time forecasting systems. Comparison of predicted smoke emissions suggests a large spread in magnitudes, with temporal patterns deviating from satellite detections. The performance for AOD and surface PM2.5 and their discrepancies highlighted the role of accurately represented spatiotemporal emission profiles in improving smoke forecasts.
Saulo R. Freitas, Georg A. Grell, and Haiqin Li
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5393–5411, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5393-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5393-2021, 2021
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Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, David Fuertes, Georgiy Stenchikov, Tatyana Lapyonok, Igor Veselovskii, Frank G. Wienhold, Illia Shevchenko, Qiaoyun Hu, and Sagar Parajuli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2575–2614, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2575-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2575-2021, 2021
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The article presents novelties in characterizing fine particles suspended in the air by means of combining various measurements that observe light propagation in atmosphere. Several non-coincident observations (some of which require sunlight, while others work only at night) could be united under the assumption that aerosol properties do not change drastically at nighttime. It also proposes how to describe particles' composition in a simplified manner that uses new types of observations.
Alexander Ukhov, Ravan Ahmadov, Georg Grell, and Georgiy Stenchikov
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 473–493, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-473-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-473-2021, 2021
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We discuss and evaluate the effects of inconsistencies found in the WRF-Chem code when using the GOCART module. First, PM surface concentrations were miscalculated. Second, dust optical depth was underestimated by 25 %–30 %. Third, an inconsistency in the process of gravitational settling led to the overestimation of dust column loadings by 4 %–6 %, PM10 by 2 %–4 %, and the rate of gravitational dust settling by 5 %–10 %. We also presented diagnostics that can be used to estimate these effects.
Sagar P. Parajuli, Georgiy L. Stenchikov, Alexander Ukhov, Illia Shevchenko, Oleg Dubovik, and Anton Lopatin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 16089–16116, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-16089-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-16089-2020, 2020
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Both natural (dust, sea salt) and anthropogenic (sulfate, organic and black carbon) aerosols are common over the Red Sea coastal plains. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), located on the eastern coast of the Red Sea, hosts the only operating lidar system in the Arabian Peninsula, which measures atmospheric aerosols day and night. We use these lidar data and high-resolution WRF-Chem model simulations to study the potential effect of dust aerosols on Red Sea environment.
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Short summary
Volcanic eruptions are natural hazards impacting aviation, the environment, and climate. Here, we improve the simulation of volcanic material transport using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF-Chem) version 4.8. Analysis of ash, sulfate, and SO2 mass budgets was performed. The direct radiative effect of volcanic aerosols was implemented. A preprocessor, PrepEmisSources, was developed to streamline the preparation of volcanic emissions.
Volcanic eruptions are natural hazards impacting aviation, the environment, and climate. Here,...
