The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model versions 5.3 and 5.3.1: system updates and evaluation

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.3 (CMAQ53), released to the public in August 2019 and followed by version 5.3.1 (CMAQ531) in December 2019, contains numerous science updates, enhanced functionality, and improved computation efficiency relative to the previous version of the model, 5.2.1 (CMAQ521). Major science advances in the new model include a new aerosol module (AERO7) with significant updates to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) chemistry, updated chlorine chemistry, updated detailed bromine and iodine chemistry, updated simple halogen chemistry, the addition of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) chemistry in the CB6r3 chemical mechanism, updated M3Dry bidirectional deposition model, and the new Surface Tiled Aerosol and Gaseous Exchange (STAGE) bidirectional deposition model. In addition, support for the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model's hybrid vertical coordinate (HVC) was added to CMAQ53 and the Meteorology-Chemistry Interface Processor (MCIP) version 5.0 (MCIP50). Enhanced functionality in CMAQ53 includes the new Detailed Emissions Scaling, Isolation and Diagnostic (DESID) system for scaling incoming emissions to CMAQ and reading multiple gridded input emission files. Evaluation of CMAQ531 was performed by comparing monthly and seasonal mean daily 8 h average (MDA8) O₃ and daily PM_2.5 values from several CMAQ531 simulations to a similarly configured CMAQ521 simulation encompassing 2016. For MDA8 O₃, CMAQ531 has higher O₃ in the winter versus CMAQ521, due primarily to reduced dry deposition to snow, which strongly reduces wintertime O₃ bias (2-4 ppbv monthly average). MDA8 O₃ is lower with CMAQ531 throughout the rest of the year, particularly in spring, due in part to reduced O₃ from the lateral boundary conditions (BCs), which generally increases MDA8 O₃ bias in spring and fall ( 0.5 μg m^-3). For daily 24 h average PM_2.5, CMAQ531 has lower concentrations on average in spring and fall, higher concentrations in summer, and similar concentrations in winter to CMAQ521, which slightly increases bias in spring and fall and reduces bias in summer. Comparisons were also performed to isolate updates to several specific aspects of the modeling system, namely the lateral BCs, meteorology model version, and the deposition model used. Transitioning from a hemispheric CMAQ (HCMAQ) version 5.2.1 simulation to a HCMAQ version 5.3 simulation to provide lateral BCs contributes to higher O₃ mixing ratios in the regional CMAQ simulation in higher latitudes during winter (due to the decreased O₃ dry deposition to snow in CMAQ53) and lower O₃ mixing ratios in middle and lower latitudes year-round (due to reduced O₃ over the ocean with CMAQ53). Transitioning from WRF version 3.8 to WRF version 4.1.1 with the HVC resulted in consistently higher (1.0-1.5 ppbv) MDA8 O₃ mixing ratios and higher PM_2.5 concentrations (0.1-0.25 μg m^-3) throughout the year. Finally, comparisons of the M3Dry and STAGE deposition models showed that MDA8 O₃ is generally higher with M3Dry outside of summer, while PM_2.5 is consistently higher with STAGE due to differences in the assumptions of particle deposition velocities to non-vegetated surfaces and land use with short vegetation (e.g., grasslands) between the two models. For ambient NH₃, STAGE has slightly higher concentrations and smaller bias in the winter, spring, and fall, while M3Dry has higher concentrations and smaller bias but larger error and lower correlation in the summer.

Multipollutant modeling of ozone, reactive nitrogen and HAPs across the continental US with CMAQ-CB6

The accuracy of atmospheric chemical mechanisms used in air quality models is critical for robustly predicting the production and decay of air pollutants and thus to develop strategies to reduce concentrations that are above levels harmful to humans and ecosystems. In this study we document, evaluate and analyze the implementation of the CB6r3 chemical mechanism used in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, including changes that have been to the standard version, and demonstrate the impact of this update on predictions. In general, CB6r3 slightly improves the predictions of ozone and oxides of nitrogen, while providing more consistency with current scientific understanding. Nitric acid is generally overpredicted in both winter and summer, and ongoing work continues to address this overprediction and update other aspects of the mechanism.

The Impact of Iodide-Mediated Ozone Deposition and Halogen Chemistry on Surface Ozone Concentrations Across the Continental United States

The air quality of many large coastal areas in the United States is affected by the confluence of polluted urban and relatively clean marine airmasses, each with distinct atmospheric chemistry. In this context, the role of iodide-mediated ozone (O3) deposition over seawater and marine halogen chemistry accounted for in both the lateral boundary conditions and coastal waters surrounding the continental U.S. is examined using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Several nested simulations are conducted in which these halogen processes are implemented separately in the continental U.S. and hemispheric CMAQ domains, the latter providing lateral boundary conditions for the former. Overall, it is the combination of these processes within both the continental U.S. domain and from lateral boundary conditions that lead to the largest reductions in modeled surface O3 concentrations. Predicted reductions in surface O3 concentrations occur mainly along the coast where CMAQ typically has large overpredictions. These results suggest that a realistic representation of halogen processes in marine regions can improve model prediction of O3 concentrations near the coast.

Description and evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system version 5.1

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a comprehensive multipollutant air quality modeling system developed and maintained by the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD). Recently, version 5.1 of the CMAQ model (v5.1) was released to the public, incorporating a large number of science updates and extended capabilities over the previous release version of the model (v5.0.2). These updates include the following: improvements in the meteorological calculations in both CMAQ and the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model used to provide meteorological fields to CMAQ, updates to the gas and aerosol chemistry, revisions to the calculations of clouds and photolysis, and improvements to the dry and wet deposition in the model. Sensitivity simulations isolating several of the major updates to the modeling system show that changes to the meteorological calculations result in enhanced afternoon and early evening mixing in the model, periods when the model historically underestimates mixing. This enhanced mixing results in higher ozone (O₃) mixing ratios on average due to reduced NO titration, and lower fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentrations due to greater dilution of primary pollutants (e.g., elemental and organic carbon). Updates to the clouds and photolysis calculations greatly improve consistency between the WRF and CMAQ models and result in generally higher O₃ mixing ratios, primarily due to reduced cloudiness and attenuation of photolysis in the model. Updates to the aerosol chemistry result in higher secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations in the summer, thereby reducing summertime PM_2.5 bias (PM_2.5 is typically underestimated by CMAQ in the summer), while updates to the gas chemistry result in slightly higher O₃ and PM_2.5 on average in January and July. Overall, the seasonal variation in simulated PM_2.5 generally improves in CMAQv5.1 (when considering all model updates), as simulated PM_2.5 concentrations decrease in the winter (when PM_2.5 is generally overestimated by CMAQ) and increase in the summer (when PM_2.5 is generally underestimated by CMAQ). Ozone mixing ratios are higher on average with v5.1 vs. v5.0.2, resulting in higher O₃ mean bias, as O₃ tends to be overestimated by CMAQ throughout most of the year (especially at locations where the observed O₃ is low); however, O₃ correlation is largely improved with v5.1. Sensitivity simulations for several hypothetical emission reduction scenarios show that v5.1 tends to be slightly more responsive to reductions in NO _x (NO + NO₂), VOC and SO _x (SO₂ + SO₄) emissions than v5.0.2, representing an improvement as previous studies have shown CMAQ to underestimate the observed reduction in O₃ due to large, widespread reductions in observed emissions.

Description and evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system version 5.1

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a comprehensive multipollutant air quality modeling system developed and maintained by the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD). Recently, version 5.1 of the CMAQ model (v5.1) was released to the public, incorporating a large number of science updates and extended capabilities over the previous release version of the model (v5.0.2). These updates include the following: improvements in the meteorological calculations in both CMAQ and the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model used to provide meteorological fields to CMAQ, updates to the gas and aerosol chemistry, revisions to the calculations of clouds and photolysis, and improvements to the dry and wet deposition in the model. Sensitivity simulations isolating several of the major updates to the modeling system show that changes to the meteorological calculations result in enhanced afternoon and early evening mixing in the model, periods when the model historically underestimates mixing. This enhanced mixing results in higher ozone (O₃) mixing ratios on average due to reduced NO titration, and lower fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentrations due to greater dilution of primary pollutants (e.g., elemental and organic carbon). Updates to the clouds and photolysis calculations greatly improve consistency between the WRF and CMAQ models and result in generally higher O₃ mixing ratios, primarily due to reduced cloudiness and attenuation of photolysis in the model. Updates to the aerosol chemistry result in higher secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations in the summer, thereby reducing summertime PM_2.5 bias (PM_2.5 is typically underestimated by CMAQ in the summer), while updates to the gas chemistry result in slightly higher O₃ and PM_2.5 on average in January and July. Overall, the seasonal variation in simulated PM_2.5 generally improves in CMAQv5.1 (when considering all model updates), as simulated PM_2.5 concentrations decrease in the winter (when PM_2.5 is generally overestimated by CMAQ) and increase in the summer (when PM_2.5 is generally underestimated by CMAQ). Ozone mixing ratios are higher on average with v5.1 vs. v5.0.2, resulting in higher O₃ mean bias, as O₃ tends to be overestimated by CMAQ throughout most of the year (especially at locations where the observed O₃ is low); however, O₃ correlation is largely improved with v5.1. Sensitivity simulations for several hypothetical emission reduction scenarios show that v5.1 tends to be slightly more responsive to reductions in NO _x (NO + NO₂), VOC and SO _x (SO₂ + SO₄) emissions than v5.0.2, representing an improvement as previous studies have shown CMAQ to underestimate the observed reduction in O₃ due to large, widespread reductions in observed emissions.

A framework for expanding aqueous chemistry in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.1

This paper describes the development and implementation of an extendable aqueous-phase chemistry option (AQCHEM -KMT(I)) for the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system, version 5.1. Here, the Kinetic PreProcessor (KPP), version 2.2.3, is used to generate a Rosenbrock solver (Rodas3) to integrate the stiff system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that describe the mass transfer, chemical kinetics, and scavenging processes of CMAQ clouds. CMAQ's standard cloud chemistry module (AQCHEM) is structurally limited to the treatment of a simple chemical mechanism. This work advances our ability to test and implement more sophisticated aqueous chemical mechanisms in CMAQ and further investigate the impacts of microphysical parameters on cloud chemistry. Box model cloud chemistry simulations were performed to choose efficient solver and tolerance settings, evaluate the implementation of the KPP solver, and assess the direct impacts of alternative solver and kinetic mass transfer on predicted concentrations for a range of scenarios. Month-long CMAQ simulations for winter and summer periods over the US reveal the changes in model predictions due to these cloud module updates within the full chemical transport model. While monthly average CMAQ predictions are not drastically altered between AQCHEM and AQCHEM-KMT, hourly concentration differences can be significant. With added in-cloud secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from biogenic epoxides (AQCHEM-KMTI), normalized mean error and bias statistics are slightly improved for 2-methyltetrols and 2-methylglyceric acid at the Research Triangle Park measurement site in North Carolina during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) period. The added in-cloud chemistry leads to a monthly average increase of 11-18 % in "cloud" SOA at the surface in the eastern United States for June 2013.

Description and evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system version 5.1

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a comprehensive multipollutant air quality modeling system developed and maintained by the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD). Recently, version 5.1 of the CMAQ model (v5.1) was released to the public, incorporating a large number of science updates and extended capabilities over the previous release version of the model (v5.0.2). These updates include the following: improvements in the meteorological calculations in both CMAQ and the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model used to provide meteorological fields to CMAQ, updates to the gas and aerosol chemistry, revisions to the calculations of clouds and photolysis, and improvements to the dry and wet deposition in the model. Sensitivity simulations isolating several of the major updates to the modeling system show that changes to the meteorological calculations result in enhanced afternoon and early evening mixing in the model, periods when the model historically underestimates mixing. This enhanced mixing results in higher ozone (O₃) mixing ratios on average due to reduced NO titration, and lower fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentrations due to greater dilution of primary pollutants (e.g., elemental and organic carbon). Updates to the clouds and photolysis calculations greatly improve consistency between the WRF and CMAQ models and result in generally higher O₃ mixing ratios, primarily due to reduced cloudiness and attenuation of photolysis in the model. Updates to the aerosol chemistry result in higher secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations in the summer, thereby reducing summertime PM_2.5 bias (PM_2.5 is typically underestimated by CMAQ in the summer), while updates to the gas chemistry result in slightly higher O₃ and PM_2.5 on average in January and July. Overall, the seasonal variation in simulated PM_2.5 generally improves in CMAQv5.1 (when considering all model updates), as simulated PM_2.5 concentrations decrease in the winter (when PM_2.5 is generally overestimated by CMAQ) and increase in the summer (when PM_2.5 is generally underestimated by CMAQ). Ozone mixing ratios are higher on average with v5.1 vs. v5.0.2, resulting in higher O₃ mean bias, as O₃ tends to be overestimated by CMAQ throughout most of the year (especially at locations where the observed O₃ is low); however, O₃ correlation is largely improved with v5.1. Sensitivity simulations for several hypothetical emission reduction scenarios show that v5.1 tends to be slightly more responsive to reductions in NO _x (NO + NO₂), VOC and SO _x (SO₂ + SO₄) emissions than v5.0.2, representing an improvement as previous studies have shown CMAQ to underestimate the observed reduction in O₃ due to large, widespread reductions in observed emissions.

Description and evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system version 5.1

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a comprehensive multipollutant air quality modeling system developed and maintained by the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development (ORD). Recently, version 5.1 of the CMAQ model (v5.1) was released to the public, incorporating a large number of science updates and extended capabilities over the previous release version of the model (v5.0.2). These updates include the following: improvements in the meteorological calculations in both CMAQ and the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model used to provide meteorological fields to CMAQ, updates to the gas and aerosol chemistry, revisions to the calculations of clouds and photolysis, and improvements to the dry and wet deposition in the model. Sensitivity simulations isolating several of the major updates to the modeling system show that changes to the meteorological calculations result in enhanced afternoon and early evening mixing in the model, periods when the model historically underestimates mixing. This enhanced mixing results in higher ozone (O3) mixing ratios on average due to reduced NO titration, and lower fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations due to greater dilution of primary pollutants (e.g., elemental and organic carbon). Updates to the clouds and photolysis calculations greatly improve consistency between the WRF and CMAQ models and result in generally higher O3 mixing ratios, primarily due to reduced cloudiness and attenuation of photolysis in the model. Updates to the aerosol chemistry result in higher secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations in the summer, thereby reducing summertime PM2.5 bias (PM2.5 is typically underestimated by CMAQ in the summer), while updates to the gas chemistry result in slightly higher O3 and PM2.5 on average in January and July. Overall, the seasonal variation in simulated PM2.5 generally improves in CMAQv5.1 (when considering all model updates), as simulated PM2.5 concentrations decrease in the winter (when PM2.5 is generally overestimated by CMAQ) and increase in the summer (when PM2.5 is generally underestimated by CMAQ). Ozone mixing ratios are higher on average with v5.1 vs. v5.0.2, resulting in higher O3 mean bias, as O3 tends to be overestimated by CMAQ throughout most of the year (especially at locations where the observed O3 is low); however, O3 correlation is largely improved with v5.1. Sensitivity simulations for several hypothetical emission reduction scenarios show that v5.1 tends to be slightly more responsive to reductions in NO x (NO + NO2), VOC and SO x (SO2 + SO4) emissions than v5.0.2, representing an improvement as previous studies have shown CMAQ to underestimate the observed reduction in O3 due to large, widespread reductions in observed emissions.

Modeling the Current and Future Roles of Particulate Organic Nitrates in the Southeastern United States

Organic nitrates are an important aerosol constituent in locations where biogenic hydrocarbon emissions mix with anthropogenic NOx sources. While regional and global chemical transport models may include a representation of organic aerosol from monoterpene reactions with nitrate radicals (the primary source of particle-phase organic nitrates in the Southeast United States), secondary organic aerosol (SOA) models can underestimate yields. Furthermore, SOA parametrizations do not explicitly take into account organic nitrate compounds produced in the gas phase. In this work, we developed a coupled gas and aerosol system to describe the formation and subsequent aerosol-phase partitioning of organic nitrates from isoprene and monoterpenes with a focus on the Southeast United States. The concentrations of organic aerosol and gas-phase organic nitrates were improved when particulate organic nitrates were assumed to undergo rapid (τ = 3 h) pseudohydrolysis resulting in nitric acid and nonvolatile secondary organic aerosol. In addition, up to 60% of less oxidized-oxygenated organic aerosol (LO-OOA) could be accounted for via organic nitrate mediated chemistry during the Southern Oxidants and Aerosol Study (SOAS). A 25% reduction in nitrogen oxide (NO + NO2) emissions was predicted to cause a 9% reduction in organic aerosol for June 2013 SOAS conditions at Centreville, Alabama.

Epoxide pathways improve model predictions of isoprene markers and reveal key role of acidity in aerosol formation

Isoprene significantly contributes to organic aerosol in the southeastern United States where biogenic hydrocarbons mix with anthropogenic emissions. In this work, the Community Multiscale Air Quality model is updated to predict isoprene aerosol from epoxides produced under both high- and low-NOx conditions. The new aqueous aerosol pathways allow for explicit predictions of two key isoprene-derived species, 2-methyltetrols and 2-methylglyceric acid, that are more consistent with observations than estimates based on semivolatile partitioning. The new mechanism represents a significant source of organic carbon in the lower 2 km of the atmosphere and captures the abundance of 2-methyltetrols relative to organosulfates during the simulation period. For the parametrization considered here, a 25% reduction in SOx emissions effectively reduces isoprene aerosol, while a similar reduction in NOx leads to small increases in isoprene aerosol.

Ozone and TFA impacts in North America from degradation of 2,3,3,3-Tetrafluoropropene (HFO-1234yf), a potential greenhouse gas replacement

We use a regional-scale, three-dimensional atmospheric model to evaluate U.S. air quality effects that would result from replacing HFC-134a in automobile air conditioners in the U.S. with HFO-1234yf. Although HFO-1234yf produces tropospheric ozone, the incremental amount is small, averaging less than 0.01% of total ozone formed during the simulation. We show that this production of ozone could be compensated for by a modest improvement in air conditioner efficiency. Atmospheric decomposition of HFO-1234yf produces trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), which is subject to wet and dry deposition. Deposition and concentrations of TFA are spatially variable due to HFO-1234yf's short atmospheric lifetime, with more localized peaks and less global transport when compared to HFC-134a. Over the 2.5 month simulation, deposition of TFA in the continental U.S. from mobile air conditioners averages 0.24 kg km(-2), substantially higher than previous estimates from all sources of current hydrofluorocarbons. Automobile air conditioning HFO-1234yf emissions are predicted to produce concentrations of TFA in Eastern U.S. rainfall at least double the values currently observed from all sources, natural and man-made. Our model predicts peak concentrations in rainfall of 1264 ng L(-1), a level that is 80x lower than the lowest level considered safe for the most sensitive aquatic organisms.

Fate and transport of emissions for several trace metals over the United States

A regional model for atmospheric photochemistry and particulate matter is used to predict the fate and transport of five trace metals: lead, manganese, total chromium, nickel, and cadmium over the continental United States during January and July 2001. Predicted concentrations of the metals are compared to observations. Lead predictions have the lowest mean differences with observations and the highest correlation coefficients. They best agree with observations made in January over residential and commercial areas in the eastern United States and worst with observations over remote forests and deserts located in the western United States during July. Manganese predictions show similar abilities to reproduce observations but had larger changes between months. Chromium and nickel predictions show diminishing ability to reproduce observations over both urban and rural areas. Cadmium predictions show the least ability to reproduce observations. Potential causes are examined for the errors in predictions. For errors in lead, manganese and perhaps chromium predictions, aerial suspension and biomass burning are suspected because simulations did not include emissions from these sources. Nickel, cadmium and, to a lower extent, chromium predictions suffer from errors in the emissions that represent current anthropogenic activities. Predicted concentrations of all metals show errors from not including sub-grid processes in meteorological and emission rates. Examples include sea breeze circulation along coastal areas and individual sources in urban areas. These errors reduce the ability to reproduce the time dependence of observations.

A regional atmospheric fate and transport model for atrazine. 2. Evaluation

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system has been adapted to simulate the regional fate and transport of atrazine. Model modifications and simulations spanning April to mid-July 1995 are described in a previous paper. CMAQ results for atrazine concentrations in air and rainfall are evaluated against field observations taken along the Mississippi River and the shores of Lake Michigan in 1995. CMAQ results agree within 10% of published annual wet deposition load estimates for Lake Michigan and predicted annual dry deposition lies within published error bounds. Comparisons of weekly observed and predicted air and rainfall concentrations along the Mississippi River yield order-of-magnitude differences. Precipitation weighting of concentrations in rainfall good agreement for seasonal time frames. Weekly ambient gas form concentrations tend to be overpredicted by the CMAQ and semivolatile particulate fractons are underpredicted. Uncertainty in CMAQ predictions of air and rainfall concentrations for atrazine appear to derive primarily from uncertainty in emissions estimates, simulated precipitation, and spatial scale.

A regional atmospheric fate and transport model for atrazine. 1. Development and implementation

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system is adapted to simulate the regional transport and fate of atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States. Model chemistry and deposition are modified, and a gas-to-particle partitioning algorithm is added to accommodate semivolatile behavior. The partitioning algorithm depends on humidity, temperature, and particulate matter concentration and composition. Results indicate that gaseous atrazine will usually dominate warm season atmospheric concentrations, but particulate form can surpass gas forms when atmospheric humidity is high (> 70%) and less-acidic (pH > 2.5) aqueous aerosol component is present. Implementation of the modified CMAQ for atrazine is illustrated, and, within the limits of our current understanding, preliminary transport and fate patterns appear to be reasonable. This research represents one of the first attempts to include a gas-to-particulate matter partitioning mechanism in an Eulerian grid-model.

Simulations of Titan's brightness by a two-dimensional haze model

We have used a 2-D microphysics model to study the effects of atmospheric motions on the albedo of Titan's thick haze layer. We compare our results to the observed variations of Titan's brightness with season and latitude. We use two wind fields; the first is a simple pole-to-pole Hadley cell that reverses twice a year. The second is based on the results of a preliminary Titan GCM. Seasonally varying wind fields, with horizontal velocities of about 1 cm sec-1 at optical depth unity, are capable of producing the observed change in geometric albedo of about 10% over the Titan year. Neither of the two wind fields can adequately reproduce the latitudinal distribution of reflectivity seen by Voyager. At visible wavelengths, where only haze opacity is important, upwelling produces darkening by increasing the particle size at optical depth unity. This is due to the suspension of larger particles as well as the lateral removal of smaller particles from the top of the atmosphere. At UV wavelengths and at 0.89 micrometers the albedo is determined by the competing effects of the gas the haze material. Gas is bright in the UV and dark at 0.89 micrometers. Haze transport at high altitudes controls the UV albedo and transport at low altitude controls the 0.89 micrometers albedo. Comparisons between the hemispheric contrast at UV, visible, and IR wavelengths can be diagnostic of the vertical structure of the wind field on Titan.