Simulation of carbon monoxide transport during April 1994

Abstract

The Multiscale Air Quality Simulation Platform (MAQSIP) is used to simulate transport of carbon monoxide (CO) as a passive tracer over North America, Europe, and the North Atlantic during the April 1994 Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites (MAPS) mission. MAQSIP is driven by meteorological fields generated by the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research fifth‐generation mesoscale model. Model CO surface emissions from biomass burning, fossil fuel combustion, nonmethane hydrocarbon oxidation, oceans, and soils are based on inventories from the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy and the Global Emissions Inventory Activity. Predicted CO mixing ratios are vertically weighted for comparison with MAPS observations. The spread in the mission‐averaged vertically weighted simulated CO mixing ratios (∼38 ppbv, compared to 60 ppbv in the MAPS data) suggests that CO surface emissions significantly affect MAPS observations on a weekly timescale. Good qualitative agreement is found between MAPS observations and model predictions on several temporal and spatial scales. Possible reasons for discrepancies are examined. A simulation without cumulus convection increases CO mixing ratios in the lower model layers and depletes CO above, resulting in a complex pattern of increases and decreases upon vertical weighted integration. Another simulation, which included a diurnal emissions variation, produced significant changes in instantaneous local CO mixing ratios, but had a minimal effect on the mission‐averaged MAPS comparisons.