Abstract
As part of the model intercomparison study MICS Asia II, the Swedish MATCH model was set up for Southeast and East Asia. In that study, the comprehensive photochemistry scheme of MATCH was used for the first time in Asia. The current work focuses on results of surface ozone from the MATCH model simulations falling outside the model intercomparison study. Model results of surface ozone concentrations for the entire year of 2001 were investigated and compared with measurements in Southeast Asia.The model produced higher surface ozone concentrations than the observations at all of the non-remote stations investigated but underestimated during the dry season at remote locations. Modelled seasonal variation was similar to, but less pronounced than, the variation in the measurements. This study indicates that NOx is the limiting precursor for ozone production in the model, while the fractionation in different species and total amount of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) emissions are less important. Naturally emitted NMVOC, isoprene, is an important precursor of surface ozone at certain conditions, and a better inventory of these emissions is needed. Deposition velocities of ozone also have impact on surface concentrations. To improve the model performance, it is important to add a land use inventory with corresponding deposition velocities.
Highlights
Ozone is a secondary pollutant known to influence human health and agricultural efficiency
The emitted non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) was reduced to 50% and in a second test increased to 200%
Sensitivity tests of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions indicate that NOx is a limiting factor in the ozone chemistry formulation used in the model
Summary
Ozone is a secondary pollutant known to influence human health and agricultural efficiency. Emissions and atmospheric concentrations of these agents are increasing rapidly in Southeast Asia as a result of the fast growth of the transport sector and industrialization. Asia (Carmichael et al, 2008) One of these is the Swedish Multiscale Atmospheric Transport and Chemistry model (MATCH) used in the current study to investigate near-surface ozone in Southeast Asia. A way forward can be to nest urban scale models with better emission inventories into the regional models. The monitoring of ozone in Southeast Asia is developing rapidly but for the modelled year only 52 stations were found, of which the main part was located in cities or nearby large emission sources in Thailand. The current study deals with the difficulties of moving a regional photochemistry, transport and dispersion model from one part of the world, Europe, to another, Southeast Asia. As it is important to find out whether the model accurately represents reality, the main focus of the present paper is on comparisons between simulated and measured values, with a critical evaluation of resulting differences including sensitivity studies of uncertain model parameters
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