Effect of Clouds on Sulfate Production and Aerosol Optical Depths in Western Pennsylvania During August 2004

A new comprehensive model is being applied to better understand the effect of clouds on sulfate aerosol production and the resultant change in aerosol optical depths (AODs) over western Pennsylvania during August 2004. The modeled period corresponds with a series of measurements made by the Department of Energy's G-1 aircraft and a suite of ground observations taken during the International Consortium of Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation Project (ICARTT). The model setup employs three two-way interacting grids with grid point spacings of 18, 6, and 2 km. The 2 km grid encompasses western Pennsylvania and portions of states to the south and west, including several coal-fired power plants along the Ohio River valley and southern Pennsylvania border. The 18 km grid encompasses a large portion of eastern North America. The purpose of this larger domain is to provide realistic chemical and aerosol boundary conditions to the interior grid and to allow transport from the interior grid to the surrounding region to study the local interactions of emissions from Pittsburgh and nearby power plants with clouds, and their impact on aerosol formation and transformation processes downwind of Pennsylvania. In addition to direct radiative feedbacks coupled to the MOSAIC sectional aerosol module in WRF-Chem, testing is currently underway on cloud-aerosol modules that have been implemented. They allow investigation of the aerosol indirect effect over multiple spatial scales, and consist of a nucleation routine for cloud droplets in the Lin et al. microphysics scheme, a process for performing aerosol phase transitions between interstitial and cloud phases, an aqueous chemistry scheme, and wet aerosol scavenging. Because of the frequency of clouds, the ICARTT campaign is a favorable candidate for testing new cloud-aerosol modules, particularly the aqueous-phase oxidation of sulfur dioxide. The model will be evaluated using measurements of lidar-based AODs as a function of height, column AODs retrieved via a shadowband radiometer, and aircraft measurements of aerosol sulfate, gaseous SO2, and other precursor gases. Comparisons of simulations with and without cloud-aerosol feedbacks will quantify the effect of clouds on SO2 to sulfate conversion and on AODs. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed