Parameterization of size of organic and  secondary inorganic aerosol for efficient  representation of global aerosol optical properties

H. Zhu; R. V. Martin; R. V. Martin; B. Croft; B. Croft; S. Zhai; C. Li; L. Bindle; J. R. Pierce; R. Y.-W. Chang; B. E. Anderson; L. D. Ziemba; J. W. Hair; R. A. Ferrare; C. A. Hostetler; I. Singh; D. Chatterjee; J. L. Jimenez; P. Campuzano-Jost; B. A. Nault; J. E. Dibb; J. S. Schwarz; A. Weinheimer

doi:10.5194/acp-23-5023-2023

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (May 2023)

Parameterization of size of organic and secondary inorganic aerosol for efficient representation of global aerosol optical properties

H. Zhu,
R. V. Martin,
R. V. Martin,
B. Croft,
B. Croft,
S. Zhai,
C. Li,
L. Bindle,
J. R. Pierce,
R. Y.-W. Chang,
B. E. Anderson,
L. D. Ziemba,
J. W. Hair,
R. A. Ferrare,
C. A. Hostetler,
I. Singh,
D. Chatterjee,
J. L. Jimenez,
P. Campuzano-Jost,
B. A. Nault,
J. E. Dibb,
J. S. Schwarz,
A. Weinheimer

Affiliations

H. Zhu: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
R. V. Martin: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
R. V. Martin: Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
B. Croft: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
B. Croft: Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
S. Zhai: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
C. Li: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
L. Bindle: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
J. R. Pierce: Department of Atmospheric Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA
R. Y.-W. Chang: Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
B. E. Anderson: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
L. D. Ziemba: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
J. W. Hair: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
R. A. Ferrare: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
C. A. Hostetler: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
I. Singh: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
D. Chatterjee: Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
J. L. Jimenez: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
P. Campuzano-Jost: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
B. A. Nault: Center for Aerosol and Cloud Chemistry, Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, MA, USA
J. E. Dibb: Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
J. S. Schwarz: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chemical Sciences Laboratory, Boulder, CO, USA
A. Weinheimer: National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5023-2023
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 23
pp. 5023 – 5042

Abstract

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Accurate representation of aerosol optical properties is essential for the modeling and remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols. Although aerosol optical properties are strongly dependent upon the aerosol size distribution, the use of detailed aerosol microphysics schemes in global atmospheric models is inhibited by associated computational demands. Computationally efficient parameterizations for aerosol size are needed. In this study, airborne measurements over the United States (DISCOVER-AQ) and South Korea (KORUS-AQ) are interpreted with a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) to investigate the variation in aerosol size when organic matter (OM) and sulfate–nitrate–ammonium (SNA) are the dominant aerosol components. The airborne measurements exhibit a strong correlation (r=0.83) between dry aerosol size and the sum of OM and SNA mass concentration (MSNAOM). A global microphysical simulation (GEOS-Chem-TOMAS) indicates that MSNAOM and the ratio between the two components (OM/SNA) are the major indicators for SNA and OM dry aerosol size. A parameterization of the dry effective radius (Reff) for SNA and OM aerosol is designed to represent the airborne measurements (R2=0.74; slope = 1.00) and the GEOS-Chem-TOMAS simulation (R2=0.72; slope = 0.81). When applied in the GEOS-Chem high-performance model, this parameterization improves the agreement between the simulated aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the ground-measured AOD from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET; R2 from 0.68 to 0.73 and slope from 0.75 to 0.96). Thus, this parameterization offers a computationally efficient method to represent aerosol size dynamically.

Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

ISSN: 1680-7316 (Print); 1680-7324 (Online)
Publisher: Copernicus Publications
Country of publisher: Germany
LCC subjects: Science: Physics; Science: Chemistry
Website: http://www.atmospheric-chemistry-and-physics.net/

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