Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The impact of chemical lateral boundary conditions on CMAQ predictions of tropospheric ozone over the continental United States

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Fluid Mechanics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A sensitivity study is performed to examine the impact of lateral boundary conditions (LBCs) on the NOAA-EPA operational Air Quality Forecast Guidance over continental USA. We examined six LBCS: the fixed profile LBC, three global LBCs, and two ozonesonde LBCs for summer 2006. The simulated results from these six runs are compared to IONS ozonesonde and surface ozone measurements from August 1 to 5, 2006. The choice of LBCs can affect the ozone prediction throughout the domain, and mainly influence the predictions in upper altitude or near inflow boundaries, such as the US west coast and the northern border. Statistical results shows that the use of global model predictions for LBCs could improve the correlation coefficients of surface ozone prediction over the US west coast, but could also increase the ozone mean bias in most regions of the domain depending on global models. In this study, the use of the MOZART (Model for Ozone And Related chemical Tracers) prediction for CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality) LBC shows a better surface ozone prediction than that with fixed LBC, especially over the US west coast. The LBCs derived from ozonesonde measurements yielded better O3 correlations in the upper troposphere.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Byun DW, Schere KL (2006) Review of the governing equations, computational algorithms, and other components of the Models-3 Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. Appl Mech Rev 59: 51–77

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Chen F, Dudhia J (2001) Coupling an advanced land-surface/hydrology model with the Penn State/ NCAR MM5 modeling system. Part I: model description and implementation. Mon Wea Rev 129: 569–585

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ferrier BS, Jin Y, Lin Y, Black T, Rogers E, DiMego G (2002) Implementation of a new grid-scale cloud and precipitation scheme in the NCEP Eta model. Preprints, 15th conference on numerical weather prediction, San Antonio, TX, American Meteorological Society, pp 280–283

  4. Gery MW, Whitten GZ, Killus JP, Dodge MC (1989) A photochemical kinetics mechanism for urban and regional scale computer modeling. J Geophys Res 94: 925–956

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Granier C et al (2004) Present and future surface emissions of atmospheric compounds. Rep EVK 2199900011, Eur Comm, Brussels

  6. Horowitz LW et al (2003) A global simulation of tropospheric ozone and related tracers: description and evaluation of MOZART, version 2. J Geophys Res 108(D24): 4784. doi:10.1029/2002JD002853

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Jacob DJ, Logan JA, Murti PP (2001) Effect of rising Asian emissions on surface ozone in the United States. Geophys Res Lett 26(14): 2175–2178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Jaffe D, Price H, Parrish D, Goldstein A, Harris J (2003) Increasing background ozone during spring on the west coast of North America. Geophys Res Lett 30(12)

  9. Janjic Z (1994) The Step-Mountain Eta coordinate model: further developments of the convection, viscous sublayer, and turbulence closure schemes. Mon Wea Rev 928: 927–945

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Janjic ZI (2002) Nonsingular implementation of the Mellor–Yamada level 2.5 Scheme in the NCEP Meso model. NCEP Office Note, No. 437, 61 pp

  11. Janjic ZI (2003) A nonhydrostatic model based on a new approach. Meteor Atmos Phys 82: 271–285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Kondragunta S, Lee P, McQueen J, Kittaka C, Prados A, Ciren P, Laszlo I, Pierce B, Hoff R, Szykman J (2008) Air quality forecast verification using satellite data. J Appl Meteor Climatol, in press

  13. Lee P, McKeen S, McQueen J, Kang D, Tsidulk M, Lu S, Lin H-M, DiMego G, Seaman N, Davidson P (2007) Air quality forecast using WRF/NMM-CMAQ during the TexAQS. Preprints, 9th conference on Atmos. Chem./, American Meteorological Soceity, San Antonio, TX, 15–18, Jan 2007, pp 1–6

  14. Lee PC, Kang D, McQueen J, Tsidulko M, Hart M, DiMego G, Seaman N, Davidson P (2008) Impact of domain size on modeled ozone forecasts for the Northeastern US. J Appl Meteor Climatol 47(2): 443–461

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Lee PS et al (this issue) Impact of consistent boundary layer mixing approaches between NAM and CMAQ, submitted to Environ Fluid Mechan (CMAS special issue)

  16. McLinden CA, Olsen SC, Hannegan B, Wild O, Prather MJ (2000) Stratospheric ozone in 3-D models: a simple chemistry and the cross-tropopause flux. J Geophys Res 105(D11): 14,653–14,665

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Moorthi S, Iredell M (1998) Prognostic ozone: changes to the 1998 NCEP operational MRF model analysis/forecast system: the use of TOVS level 1-b radiances and increased vertical diffusion. Available at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/tpb/449.htm from the National Weather Service, Office of Meteorology, 1325 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910

  18. NCEP (2004) GFS—Global data assimilation. Available at http://wwwt.emc.ncep.noaa.gov/gmb/gdas/

  19. Newchurch MJ, Ayoub MA, Oltmans S, Johnson B, Schmidlin FJ (2003) Vertical distribution of ozone at four sites in the United States. J Geophys Res 108(D1): 4031. doi:10.1029/2002JD002059

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Otte TL, Pouliot G, Pleim JE, Young JO, Schere KL, Wong DC, Lee PCS, Tsidulko M, McQueen JT, Davidson P, Mathur R, Chuang H-Y, DiMego G, Seaman NL (2005) Linking the Eta model with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system to build a national air quality forecasting system. Wea Forecast 20: 367–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Pfister G, Hess PG, Emmons LK, Lamarque J-F, Wiedinmyer C, Edwards DP, Pétron G, Gille JC, Sachse GW (2005) Quantifying CO emissions from the 2004 Alaskan wildfires using MOPITT CO data. Geophys Res Lett 32: L11809. doi:10.1029/2005GL022995

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Pierce T, Geron C, Bender L, Dennis R, Tonnesen G, Guenther A (1998) Influence of increased isoprene emissions on regional ozone modeling. J Geophys Res 103: 25611–25629

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Pierce RB, Al-Saadi JA, Schaack T, Lenzen A, Zapotocny T, Johnson D, Kittaka C, Buker M, Hitchman MH, Tripoli G, Fairlie TD, Olson JR, Natarajan M, Crawford J, Fishman J, Avery MA, Browell EV, Creilson J, Kondo Y, Sandholm ST (2003) Regional Air Quality Modeling System (RAQMS) predictions of the tropospheric ozone budget over east Asia. J Geophys Res 108(D21): 8825. doi:10.1029/2002JD003176

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Pierce RB, Schaack T, Al-Saadi JA, Fairlie TD, Kittaka C, Lingenfelser G, Natarajan M, Olson J, Soja A, Zapotocny T, Lenzen A, Stobie J, Johnson D, Avery MA, Sachse GW, Thompson A, Cohen R, Dibb JE, Crawford J, Rault D, Martin R, Szykman J, Fishman1 J (2007) Chemical data assimilation estimates of continental US ozone and nitrogen budgets during the intercontinental chemical transport experiment-North America. J Geophys Res 112(D12S21):. doi:10.1029/2006JD007722

  25. Pleim JE (2007) A combined local and nonlocal closure model for the atmospheric boundary layer. Part I: model description and testing. J Appl Meteor Climatol 46: 1383–1395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Pleim JE, Xiu A, Finkelstein PL, Otte TL (2001) A coupled land-surface and dry deposition model and comparison to field measurements of surface heat, moisture, and ozone fluxes. Water Air Soil Pollut Focus 1: 243–252

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Rood R, Douglas AR, Kaye JA, Geller MA, Chen CY, Allen DJ, Larsen EM, Nash ER, Nielsen JE (1991) Three-dimensional simulations of wintertime ozone variability in the lower stratosphere. J Geophys Res 96(D3): 5055–5071

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Stobie JM (1985) The use of optimum interpolation at AFGWC. Paper presented at 7th conference on numerical weather prediction. American Meteorological Society, Montreal, Que., Canada

  29. Stobie JM (2000) Algorithm theoretical basis document for statistical digital filter (SDF) analysis system (stretch-grid version). Data Assim. Off., NASA Goddard Space Flight Cent., Greenbelt, MD

  30. Streets DG, Bond TC, Carmichael GR, Fernandes SD, Fu Q, He D, Klimont Z, Nelson SM, Tsai NY, Wang MQ, Woo J-H, Yarber KF (2003) An inventory of gaseous and primary aerosol emissions in Asia in the year 2000. J Geophys Res 108(D21): 8809. doi:10.1029/2002JD003093

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Tang Y, Carmichael GR, Horowitz LW, Uno I, Woo J-H, Streets DG, Dabdub D, Kurata G, Sandu A, Allan J, Atlas E, Flocke F, Huey LG, Jakoubek RO, Millet DB, Quinn PK, Roberts JM, Williams EJ, Nowak JB, Worsnop DR, Goldstein A, Donnelly S, Schauffler S, Stroud V, Johnson K, Avery MA, Singh HB, Apel EC (2004) Multi-scale Simulations of Tropospheric Chemistry in the Eastern Pacific and US West Coast during Spring 2002. J Geophys Res 109: D23S11. doi:10.1029/2004JD004513

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Tang Y, Carmichael GR, Thongboonchoo N, Chai T, Horowitz LW, Pierce RB, Al-Saadi JA, Pfister G, Vukovich JM, Avery MA, Sachse GW, Ryerson TB, Holloway JS, Atlas EL, Flocke FM, Weber RJ, Huey LG, Dibb JE, Streets DG, Brune WH (2007) Influence of lateral and top boundary conditions on regional air quality prediction: a multiscale study coupling regional and global chemical transport models. J Geophys Res 112: D10S18. doi:10.1029/2006JD007515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Thompson AM, Stone JB, Witte JC, Miller SK, Oltmans SJ, Kucsera TL, Ross KL, Pickering KE, Merrill JT, Forbes G, Tarasick DW, Joseph E, Schmidlin FJ, McMillan WW, Warner J, Hintsa EJ, Johnson JE (2007) Intercontinental chemical transport experiment ozonesonde network study (IONS) 2004:1. Summertime upper troposphere/lower stratosphere ozone over northeastern North America. J Geophys Res 112: D12S12. doi:10.1029/2006JD007441

    Google Scholar 

  34. Thompson AM, Yorks JE, Miller SK, Witte JC, Dougherty KM, Morris GA, Baumgardner D, Ladino L, Rappenglueck B (2008) Free tropospheric ozone sources and wave activity over Mexico City and Houston during MILAGRO/Intercontinental Transport Experiment (INTEXB) Ozonesonde Network Study, 2006 (IONS-06). Atmos Chem Phys Discuss 8: 5979–6007

    Google Scholar 

  35. van der Werf GR, Randerson JT, Giglio L, Collatz GJ, Kasibhatla PS, Arellano AF Jr (2006) Interannual variability in global biomass burning emissions from 1997 to 2004. Atmos Chem Phys 6: 3423–3441

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scientific Applications International Corporation, Camp Springs, MD, USA

    Youhua Tang, Pius Lee, Marina Tsidulko & Ho-Chun Huang

  2. NOAA/NWS/NCEP/EMC, W/NP22 Room 207, 5200 Auth Road, Camp Springs, MD, 20746-4304, USA

    Youhua Tang, Jeffery T. McQueen & Geoffrey J. DiMego

  3. National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA

    Louisa K. Emmons

  4. NOAA/NESDIS Advanced Satellite Products Branch, Madison, WI, USA

    Robert B. Pierce

  5. Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Anne M. Thompson

  6. Science and Technology Corporation, Hampton, VA, USA

    Hsin-Mu Lin, Daiwen Kang, Daniel Tong & Shaocai Yu

  7. EPA National Exposure Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA

    Rohit Mathur, Jonathan E. Pleim, Tanya L. Otte, George Pouliot, Jeffrey O. Young & Kenneth L. Schere

  8. Office of Science and Technology, NOAA/National Weather Service, Silver Spring, MD, USA

    Paula M. Davidson

  9. Noblis Inc, Falls Church, VA, USA

    Ivanka Stajner

Authors
  1. Youhua Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pius Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marina Tsidulko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ho-Chun Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jeffery T. McQueen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Geoffrey J. DiMego
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Louisa K. Emmons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Robert B. Pierce
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Anne M. Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Hsin-Mu Lin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Daiwen Kang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Daniel Tong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Shaocai Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Rohit Mathur
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Jonathan E. Pleim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Tanya L. Otte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. George Pouliot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Jeffrey O. Young
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Kenneth L. Schere
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Paula M. Davidson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Ivanka Stajner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Youhua Tang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Tang, Y., Lee, P., Tsidulko, M. et al. The impact of chemical lateral boundary conditions on CMAQ predictions of tropospheric ozone over the continental United States. Environ Fluid Mech 9, 43–58 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-008-9092-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-008-9092-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation