Modeling Activities in the Department of Energy?s Atmospheric Sciences Program

Abstract

The Department of Energy's Atmospheric Science Program (ASP) conducts research pertinent to radiative forcing of climate change by atmospheric aerosols. The program consists of approximately 40 highly interactive peer-reviewed research projects that examine aerosol properties and processes and the evolution of aerosols in the atmosphere. Principal components of the program are instrument development, laboratory experiments, field studies, theoretical investigations, and modeling. The objectives of the Program are to 1) improve the understanding of aerosol processes associated with light scattering and absorption properties and interactions with clouds that affect Earth's radiative balance and to 2) develop model-based representations of these processes that enable the effects of aerosols on Earth's climate system to be properly represented in global-scale numerical climate models. Although only a few of the research projects within ASP are explicitly identified as primarily modeling activities, modeling actually comprises a substantial component of a large fraction of ASP research projects. This document describes the modeling activities within the Program as a whole, the objectives and intended outcomes of these activities, and the linkages among the several modeling components and with global-scale modeling activities conducted under the support of the Department of Energy's Climate Sciences Program and other aerosol and climate research programs.