Evaluation and improvements of two community models in simulating dry deposition velocities for peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) over a coniferous forest

Abstract

Dry deposition velocities (Vd) for peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) calculated using two community dry deposition models with different treatments of both stomatal and nonstomatal uptakes were evaluated using measurements of PAN eddy covariance fluxes over a Loblolly pine forest in July 2003. The observed daytime maximum of Vd(PAN) was ∼1.0 cm s−1on average, while the estimates by the WRF‐Chem dry deposition module (WDDM) and the Noah land surface model coupled with a photosynthesis‐based Gas Exchange Model (Noah‐GEM) were only 0.2 cm s−1 and 0.6 cm s−1, respectively. The observations also showed considerable PAN deposition at night with typical Vd values of 0.2–0.6 cm s−1, while the estimated values from both models were less than 0.1 cm s−1. Noah‐GEM modeled more realistic stomatal resistance (Rs) than WDDM, as compared with observations of water vapor exchange fluxes. The poor performance of WDDM for stomatal uptake is mainly due to its lack of dependence on leaf area index. Thermal decomposition was found to be relatively unimportant for measured PAN fluxes as shown by the lack of a relationship between measured total surface conductance and temperature. Thus, a large part of the underprediction in Vd from both models should be caused by the underestimation of nonstomatal uptake, in particular, the cuticle uptake. Sensitivity tests on both stomatal and nonstomatal resistances terms were conducted and some recommendations were provided.