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Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 11, 20245-20265, 2011
www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/11/20245/2011/ doi:10.5194/acpd-11-20245-2011 © Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
Effects of model spatial resolution on the interpretation of satellite NO2 observations
1College of Chemistry, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
2Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Abstract. Prediction of ozone production, a photochemically non-linear process, is known to be biased in coarse-resolution chemical transport models (CTM). Other species subject to non-linear sources or sinks are also susceptible. Here we compute the resolution-dependent bias in predicted NO2 column, a quantity relevant to the interpretation of space-based observations. We use 1-D and 2-D models to illustrate the mechanisms responsible for these biases over a range of NO2 concentrations and model resolutions. We find that the behavior of calculated biases in NO2 depends on the magnitude and spatial extent of the NO2 source. We use WRF-CHEM to determine the resolution necessary to predict column NO2 to 10 % and 25 % over the Four Corners power plants in NW New Mexico, Los Angeles, and the San Joaquin Valley in California.
Citation: Valin, L. C., Russell, A. R., Hudman, R. C., and Cohen, R. C.: Effects of model spatial resolution on the interpretation of satellite NO2 observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 11, 20245-20265, doi:10.5194/acpd-11-20245-2011, 2011.