Effect of sulfate aerosol on tropospheric NOx and ozone budgets: Model simulations and TOPSE evidence

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research
• Main Authors: Tie, X., Emmons, L., Horowitz, L., Brasseur, G., Ridley, B., Atlas, E., Stround, C., Hess, P., Klonecki, A., Madronich, S., Talbot, R., Dibb, J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2003
• Subjects: Tropospheric Ozone Production About the Spring Equinox
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0012-01BA-E; http://hdl.handle.net/21.11116/0000-0003-0040-4

The distributions of NOx and O-3 are analyzed during TOPSE (Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox). In this study these data are compared with the calculations of a global chemical/transport model (Model for OZone And Related chemical Tracers (MOZART)). Specifically, the effect that hydrolysis of N2O5 on sulfate aerosols has on tropospheric NOx and O-3 budgets is studied. The results show that without this heterogeneous reaction, the model significantly overestimates NOx concentrations at high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) in winter and spring in comparison to the observations during TOPSE; with this reaction, modeled NOx concentrations are close to the measured values. This comparison provides evidence that the hydrolysis of N2O5 on sulfate aerosol plays an important role in controlling the tropospheric NOx and O-3 budgets. The calculated reduction of NOx attributed to this reaction is 80 to 90% in winter at high latitudes over North America. Because of the reduction of NOx, O-3 concentrations are also decreased. The maximum O-3 reduction occurs in spring although the maximum NOx reduction occurs in winter when photochemical O-3 production is relatively low. The uncertainties related to uptake coefficient and aerosol loading in the model is analyzed. The analysis indicates that the changes in NOx due to these uncertainties are much smaller than the impact of hydrolysis of N2O5 on sulfate aerosol. The effect that hydrolysis of N2O5 on global NOx and O-3 budgets are also assessed by the model. The results suggest that in the Northern Hemisphere, the average NOx budget decreases 50% due to this reaction in winter and 5% in summer. The average O-3 budget is reduced by 8% in winter and 6% in summer. In the Southern Hemisphere (SH), the sulfate aerosol loading is significantly smaller than in the Northern Hemisphere. As a result, sulfate aerosol has little impact on NOx and O-3 budgets of the Southern Hemisphere.