Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-147
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-147
Submitted as: development and technical paper
 | 
29 Aug 2023
Submitted as: development and technical paper |  | 29 Aug 2023
Status: a revised version of this preprint was accepted for the journal GMD and is expected to appear here in due course.

Implementation and evaluation of updated photolysis rates in the EMEP MSC-W chemical transport model using Cloud-J v7.3e

Willem Elias van Caspel, David Simpson, Jan Eiof Jonson, Anna Maria Katarina Benedictow, Yao Ge, Alcide di Sarra, Giandomenico Pace, Massimo Vieno, Hannah Walker, and Mathew Heal

Abstract. The present work describes the implementation of the state of the art Cloud-J v7.3 photolysis rate calculation code in the EMEP MSC-W chemical transport model. Cloud-J calculates photolysis rates and accounts for cloud and aerosol optical properties at model run-time, replacing the old system based on tabulated values. The performance of Cloud-J is evaluated against aerial photolysis rate observations made over the Pacific Ocean, and against surface observations from three measurement sites in Europe. Numerical experiments are performed to investigate the sensitivity of the calculated photolysis rates to the spatial and temporal model resolution, input meteorology model, simulated ozone column, and cloud effect parameterization. These experiments indicate that the calculated photolysis rates are most sensitive to the choice of input meteorology model and cloud effect parameterization, while also showing that surface ozone photolysis rates can vary by up to 20 % due to daily variations in total ozone column. Further analysis investigates the impact of Cloud-J on the oxidizing capacity of the troposphere, aerosol radiative effect, and surface air quality predictions. Results find that the total tropospheric hydroxyl budget is increased by 26 %, while the radiative impact of aerosols is mostly limited to large tropical biomass burning regions. Overall, Cloud-J represents a major improvement over the tabulated system, leading to improved model performance for predicting carbon monoxide and daily maximum ozone surface concentrations. The bias is worsened for nitrogen dioxide, however, possibly hinting at model shortcomings elsewhere.

Willem Elias van Caspel et al.

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on gmd-2023-147', Michael Prather, 13 Sep 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on gmd-2023-147', Anonymous Referee #2, 19 Oct 2023
  • AC1: 'Comment on gmd-2023-147', Willem van Caspel, 08 Nov 2023

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on gmd-2023-147', Michael Prather, 13 Sep 2023
  • RC2: 'Comment on gmd-2023-147', Anonymous Referee #2, 19 Oct 2023
  • AC1: 'Comment on gmd-2023-147', Willem van Caspel, 08 Nov 2023

Willem Elias van Caspel et al.

Willem Elias van Caspel et al.

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Short summary
Radiation coming from the sun is essential to atmospheric chemistry, driving the break-up, or photo-dissociation, of atmospheric molecules. This in turn affects the chemical composition and reactivity of the atmosphere. The representation of these photo-dissociation effects is therefore essential in atmospheric chemistry modeling. One such models is the EMEP MSC-W model, for which in this paper a new way of calculating the photo-dissociation rates is tested and evaluated.