Project Objectives

The Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research develops and applies numerical models (LM/DRAIS/MADEsoot, MCCM) in combination with field data to quantify the contribution of transport and chemistry on air pollution on different scales and to quantify the effective fluxes of primary and secondary pollutants into the free troposphere. Model-based mass balances for various spatial domains will help to understand source-receptor relationships. In order to quantify the influence of uncertainties in input parameters on the modelling results suitable sensitivity analyses will be carried out. The model systems will be applied to quantify the interaction of particles with the gas phase and to quantify the interaction of particles with the dynamics of the troposphere on different scales. A hierarchy of numerical models is used. Reduced and parameterized models will be developed for the individual scales. Possible errors caused by these stepwise simplifications will be quantified.

The recent developments to treat the aerosol dynamics for primary (soot) and secondary (inorganic and organic) aerosols, their interactions with clouds, and their radiative effects will be extensively applied for detailed process studies. Strategies will be developed to validate these modelling systems by use of results from field observations.

Detailed mechanistic models of biogenic emission will be developed and coupled to the meteorology-transport-chemistry models to assess the role of biogenic volatile organic compound emission in ozone and aerosol formation. A continuously updated plant and chemical compound specific emission factor data base will be established.

The activities will contribute to the ACCENT modelling topic “Performing model studies to improve the parameterisation in global and regional scale models in preparation for future long-term model studies in connection with international assessments”.