Title
Evaluation of the performance of four chemical transport models in predicting the aerosol chemical composition in Europe in 2005
Author
Prank, M.
Sofiev, M.
Tsyro, S.
Hendriks, C.
Semeena, V.
Francis, X.V.
Butler, T.
van der Gon, H.D.
Friedrich, R.
Hendricks, J.
Kong, X.
Lawrence, M.
Righi, M.
Samaras, Z.
Sausen, R.
Kukkonen, J.
Sokhi, R.
Publication year
2016
Abstract
Four regional chemistry transport models were applied to simulate the concentration and composition of particulate matter (PM) in Europe for 2005 with horizontal resolution 20 km. The modelled concentrations were compared with the measurements of PM chemical composition by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) monitoring network. All models systematically underestimated PM10 and PM2.5 by 10-60 %, depending on the model and the season of the year, when the calculated dry PM mass was compared with the measurements. The average water content at laboratory conditions was estimated between 5 and 20% for PM2.5 and between 10 and 25% for PM10. For majority of the PM chemical components, the relative underestimation was smaller than it was for total PM, exceptions being the carbonaceous particles and mineral dust. Some species, such as sea salt and NO-3 , were overpredicted by the models. There were notable differences between the models' predictions of the seasonal variations of PM, mainly attributable to different treatments or omission of some source categories and aerosol processes. Benzo(a)pyrene concentrations were overestimated by all the models over the whole year. The study stresses the importance of improving the models' skill in simulating mineral dust and carbonaceous compounds, necessity for high-quality emissions from wildland fires, as well as the need for an explicit consideration of aerosol water content in model-measurement comparison. © Author(s) 2016.
Subject
Urban Mobility & Environment
CAS - Climate, Air and Sustainability
ELSS - Earth, Life and Social Sciences
Environment & Sustainability
Environment
Urbanisation
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:a937efba-3c86-4134-a1b2-2a327ad98e93
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6041-2016
TNO identifier
546193
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
ISSN
1680-7316
Source
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 16 (10), 6041-6070
Document type
article