Source Contributions to Carbon Monoxide Concentrations During KORUS-AQ Based on CAM-chem Model Applications

Wenfu Tang, Louisa K. Emmons, Avelino F. Arellano, Benjamin Gaubert, Christoph Knote, Simone Tilmes, Rebecca R. Buchholz, Gabriele G. Pfister, Glenn S. Diskin, Donald R. Blake, Nicola J. Blake, Simone Meinardi, Joshua P. DiGangi, Yonghoon Choi, Jung Hun Woo, Cenlin He, Jason R. Schroeder, Inseon Suh, Hyo Jung Lee, Hyun Young JoYugo Kanaya, Jinsang Jung, Youngjae Lee, Danbi Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigate regional sources contributing to CO during the Korea United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign conducted over Korea (1 May to 10 June 2016) using 17 tagged CO simulations from the Community Atmosphere Model with chemistry (CAM-chem). The simulations use three spatial resolutions, three anthropogenic emission inventories, two meteorological fields, and nine emission scenarios. These simulations are evaluated against measurements from the DC-8 aircraft and Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT). Results show that simulations using bottom-up emissions are consistently lower (bias: −34 to −39%) and poorer performing (Taylor skill: 0.38–0.61) than simulations using alternative anthropogenic emissions (bias: −6 to −33%; Taylor skill: 0.48–0.86), particularly for enhanced Asian CO and volatile organic compound (VOC) emission scenarios, suggesting underestimation in modeled CO background and emissions in the region. The ranges of source contributions to modeled CO along DC-8 aircraft from Korea and southern (90°E to 123°E, 20°N to 29°N), middle (90°E to 123°E, 29°N to 38.5°N), and northern (90°E to 131.5°E, 38.5°N to 45°N) East Asia (EA) are 6–13%, ~5%, 16–28%, and 9–18%, respectively. CO emissions from middle and northern EA can reach Korea via transport within the boundary layer, whereas those from southern EA are transported to Korea mainly through the free troposphere. Emission contributions from middle EA dominate during continental outflow events (29–51%), while Korean emissions play an overall more important role for ground sites (up to 25–49%) and plumes within the boundary layer (up to 25–44%) in Korea. Finally, comparisons with four other source contribution approaches (FLEXPART 9.1 back trajectory calculations driven by Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) WRF inert tracer, China signature VOCs, and CO to CO2 enhancement ratios) show general consistency with CAM-chem.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)2796-2822
Number of pages27
JournalJournal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres
Volume124
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 16 2019

Keywords

  • CAM-chem
  • KORUS-AQ
  • carbon monoxide
  • emissions
  • model evaluation
  • source contribution

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science
  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Atmospheric Science

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