Articles | Volume 9, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2741-2016
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-2741-2016
Development and technical paper
 | 
22 Aug 2016
Development and technical paper |  | 22 Aug 2016

Implementation of state-of-the-art ternary new-particle formation scheme to the regional chemical transport model PMCAMx-UF in Europe

Elham Baranizadeh, Benjamin N. Murphy, Jan Julin, Saeed Falahat, Carly L. Reddington, Antti Arola, Lars Ahlm, Santtu Mikkonen, Christos Fountoukis, David Patoulias, Andreas Minikin, Thomas Hamburger, Ari Laaksonen, Spyros N. Pandis, Hanna Vehkamäki, Kari E. J. Lehtinen, and Ilona Riipinen

Abstract. The particle formation scheme within PMCAMx-UF, a three-dimensional chemical transport model, was updated with particle formation rates for the ternary H2SO4–NH3–H2O pathway simulated by the Atmospheric Cluster Dynamics Code (ACDC) using quantum chemical input data. The model was applied over Europe for May 2008, during which the EUCAARI-LONGREX (European Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions–Long-Range Experiment) campaign was carried out, providing aircraft vertical profiles of aerosol number concentrations. The updated model reproduces the observed number concentrations of particles larger than 4 nm within 1 order of magnitude throughout the atmospheric column. This agreement is encouraging considering the fact that no semi-empirical fitting was needed to obtain realistic particle formation rates. The cloud adjustment scheme for modifying the photolysis rate profiles within PMCAMx-UF was also updated with the TUV (Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible) radiative-transfer model. Results show that, although the effect of the new cloud adjustment scheme on total number concentrations is small, enhanced new-particle formation is predicted near cloudy regions. This is due to the enhanced radiation above and in the vicinity of the clouds, which in turn leads to higher production of sulfuric acid. The sensitivity of the results to including emissions from natural sources is also discussed.

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Short summary
The molecular mechanisms through which new ultrafine (< 100 nm) aerosol particles are formed in the atmosphere have puzzled the scientific community for decades. In the past few years, however, significant progress has been made in unraveling these processes through laboratory studies and computational efforts. In this work we have implemented these new developments to an air quality model and study the implications of anthropogenically driven particle formation for European air quality.