Interactive Chemistry and Aerosols in a General Circulation Model : LMDz-INCA
Abstract
In order to investigate the impact of atmospheric composition changes under anthropogenic activities on climate and how climate changes can in turn damp or amplify the chemical perturbations, we have developed the need for coupled climate-chemistry-aerosol global models. Such an effort has been carried out in our institute by coupling the INCA (INteraction with Chemistry and Aerosols) model to the LMDz General Circulation Model (GCM). The modelling system accounts for long-lived greenhouse gases, tropospheric ozone chemistry (including non-methane-hydrocarbons), and different types of aerosols (sulfates, carbonaceous, mineral dust, sea-salt). An additional prerequisiste for LMDz-INCA was the option to drive the model with meteorological reanalysis in order to allow the evaluation of the simulated trace gas and aerosol distributions against large-field campaigns and satellite data for specific periods. In this study, we present the results from a multi-annual integration of LMDz-INCA. The distributions of long-lived gases (CH_4, N_2O, H_2), tropospheric ozone and its precursors (CO, NO_x, NMHC), and aerosol optical depths are illustrated and evaluated against various surface, aircraft, and available satellite observations. We have also started to investigate the coupling between the various model components and illustrate two specific applications. The first study concerns the impact of heterogeneous reactions on sulfur, mineral, and carbonaceous aerosols on the global distribution of ozone and nitrogen species in the troposphere. The second shows the link between reactive species and long-lived greenhouse gases and quantifies the source of carbon dioxide arising from CO and hydrocarbons oxidation in the atmosphere.
- Publication:
-
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly
- Pub Date:
- April 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003EAEJA....11828H