Development and testing of a high-resolution model for tropospheric sulfate driven by observation-derived meteorology

• Published in: Limnology and Oceanography
• Main Author: Benkovitz, C. M.
• Other Authors: United States. Department of Energy.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Brookhaven National Laboratory 1994
• Subjects: Europe; Basic Studies; Air Pollution; Sulfur Dioxide; Mathematical Models; North America; 54 Environmental Sciences; Sulfates; Environmental Transport; Experimental Data 540110; Barbados; Canada; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2172/10165317; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1338710/

A high-resolution three-dimensional Eulerian transport and transformation model has been developed to simulate concentrations of tropospheric sulfate for specific times and locations; it was applied over the North Atlantic and adjacent continental regions during October and November, 1986. The model represents emissions of anthropogenic SO{sub 2} and sulfate and of biogenic sulfur species, horizontal and vertical transport, gas-phase oxidation of SO{sub 2} and dimethylsulfide, aqueous-phase oxidation of SO{sub 2}, and wet and dry deposition of SO{sub 2}, sulfate, and methanesulfonic acid (MSA). The meteorological driver is the 6-hour output from the forecast model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Calculated sulfate concentrations and column burdens, examined in detail for October 15 and October 22 at 6Z, are related to existing weather patterns. These results exhibit rich temporal and spatial structure; the characteristic (1/e) temporal autocorrelation time for the sulfate column burdens over the central North Atlantic averages 20 hours; 95% of the values were 25 hours or less. The characteristic distance of spatial autocorrelation over this region depends on direction and averages 1,600 km; with 10{sup th} percentile value of 400 km and 90{sup th} percentile value of 1,700 km. Daily average model sulfate concentrations at the lowest vertical accurately represent the spatial variability, temporal episodicity, and absolute magnitudes of surface concentrations measured by monitoring stations in Europe, Canada and Barbados.