The Impact of Physical Atmosphere on Air Quality and the Utility of Satellite Observations in Air Quality Models
Abstract
Physical atmosphere significantly impacts air quality as it regulates production, accumulation, and transport of atmospheric pollutants. Consequently, air quality simulations are greatly influenced by the uncertainties that emanates from the simulation of physical atmosphere. Since air quality model predictions are increasingly being used in health studies, regulatory applications, and policy making, reducing such uncertainties in model simulations is of outmost importance. This paper describes some of the critical aspects of physical atmosphere affecting air quality models that can be improved by utilizing satellite observations. Retrievals of skin temperature, surface albedo, surface insolation, cloud top temperature and cloud reflectance obtained from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) by NASA/MSFC GOES Product Generation System (GPGS) have been utilized to improve the air quality simulations used in the State Implementation Plan (SIP) attainment demonstrations. Satellite observations of ground temperature are used to recover surface moisture and heat capacity and thereby improving model simulation of air temperature. Observations of clouds are utilized to improve the photochemical reaction rates within the photochemical model and also to assimilate clouds in the meteorological model. These techniques have been implemented and tested in some of the widely used air quality decision modeling systems such as MM5/WRF/CMAQ/CAMx. The results from these activities show significant improvements in air quality simulations.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFMGC21B0956P
- Keywords:
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- 0345 ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE / Pollution: urban and regional;
- 3315 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES / Data assimilation;
- 3355 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES / Regional modeling;
- 3360 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES / Remote sensing