Validation of gas phase chemistry in the WRF-Chem model over Europe

Abstract

This work presents the evaluation of the WRF-Chem model applied for a European domain over the year 2008 and employing two different chemical modules. Airbase European station data and E-OBS database are used for validation of the simulated meteorological conditions as well as concentrations of NO2, SO2 and ozone. In both experiments, underestimation of the amplitude of temperature daily cycle (by about 1 °C) and precipitation overestimation (by about 25 %) were found, with possible impact on chemistry processes due to increased removal via wet deposition. The modelled ozone concentrations match the observations quite well, while the simulated concentrations of other gases show highly negative bias.