Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 9 5 2009 10.5194/acpd-9-17851-2009 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/17851/2009/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/17851/2009/acpd-9-17851-2009.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/9/17851/2009/acpd-9-17851-2009.pdf 17851 17901 2009-09-01 Seasonal climate and air quality simulations for the northeastern US – Part 1: Model evaluation H. Mao hmao@gust.sr.unh.edu M. Chen J. D. Hegarty R. W. Talbot J. P. Koermer A. M. Thompson M. A. Avery Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, Climate Change Research Center, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA The Earth and Sun Systems Laboratory, National Center of Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA Department of Atmospheric Science & Chemistry, Plymouth State University, Plymouth, New Hampshire 03264, USA Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA NASA Langley Research Center, Chemistry and Dynamics Branch, Hampton, Virginia 23681, USA Regional climate and air quality simulations were conducted for summers 2001–2005 in the eastern US and subjected to extensive evaluation using various ground and airborne measurements. Climate evaluation focused on transport by comparing modeled dominant map types with ones from reanalysis. Reasonable agreement was found for their frequency of occurrence and distinctness of circulation patterns. The two most frequent map types from reanalysis were the Bermuda High (22%) and passage of a Canadian cold frontal over the northeastern US (20%). The model captured their frequency of occurrence at 25% and 18% respectively. The simulated five average distributions of daily 1-h ozone (O₃) daily maxima using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system reproduced salient features in observations. This suggests that the ability of the regional climate model to depict transport processes accurately is critical for reasonable simulations of surface O₃. Comparison of mean bias, root mean square error, and index of agreement for CMAQ summer surface 8-h O₃ daily maxima and observations showed −0.6±14 nmol/mol, 14 nmol/mol, and 71% respectively. CMAQ performed best in moderately polluted conditions and less satisfactorily in highly polluted ones. This highlights the common problem of overestimating/underestimating lower/higher modeled O₃ levels. 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