Chemical Mechanisms and Their Applications in the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Earth System Model

NASA's Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) Earth System Model (ESM) is a modular, general circulation model (GCM), and data assimilation system (DAS) that is used to simulate and study the coupled dynamics, physics, chemistry, and biology of our planet. GEOS is developed by the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. It generates near-real-time analyzed data products, reanalyses, and weather and seasonal forecasts to support research targeted to understanding interactions among Earth System processes. For chemistry, our efforts are focused on ozone and its influence on the state of the atmosphere and oceans, and on trace gas data assimilation and global forecasting at mesoscale discretization. Several chemistry and aerosol modules are coupled to the GCM, which enables GEOS to address topics pertinent to NASA's Earth Science Mission. This paper describes the atmospheric chemistry components of GEOS and provides an overview of its Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF)-based software infrastructure, which promotes a rich spectrum of feedbacks that influence circulation and climate, and impact human and ecosystem health. We detail how GEOS allows model users to select chemical mechanisms and emission scenarios at run time, establish the extent to which the aerosol and chemical components communicate, and decide whether either or both influence the radiative transfer calculations. A variety of resolutions facilitates research on spatial and temporal scales relevant to problems ranging from hourly changes in air quality to trace gas trends in a changing climate. Samples of recent GEOS chemistry applications are provided.

High-Resolution Spectroscopy and Analysis of the nu(4) Bending Region of SF(6) near 615 cm(-1)

The high-resolution Fourier transform spectrum of the nu(4) bending region of SF(6) near 615 cm(-1) has been recorded at 213 K. We were able to perform a simultaneous analysis of the nu(4) and nu(4) + nu(6) - nu(6) bands of the main isotopomer, namely (32)SF(6). This is the first detailed analysis of a hot band for this molecule. The nu(4) band of (34)SF(6) was also analyzed and the Q branch of the nu(4) band of (33)SF(6) was identified. In both cases we used the HTDS software developed in Dijon. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.