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Environ Sci Technol

Title:		CMAQ model performance enhanced when in-cloud secondary organic aerosol is included: comparisons of organic carbon predictions with measurements
Author(s):		Carlton AG; Turpin BI; Altieri KE; Seitzinger SP; Mathur R; Roselle SJ; Weber RJ;
Address:		"Air Resources Laboratory, Atmospheric Sciences Modeling Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 109 TW Alexander Drive, Durham, North Carolina 27711, USA. carlton.annmarie@epa.gov"
Journal Title:		Environ Sci Technol
Year:		2008
Volume:		42
Issue:		23
Page Number:		8798 - 8802
DOI:		10.1021/es801192n
ISSN/ISBN:		0013-936X (Print) 0013-936X (Linking)
Abstract:		"Mounting evidence suggests that low-volatility (particle-phase) organic compounds form in the atmosphere through aqueous phase reactions in clouds and aerosols. Although some models have begun including secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation through cloud processing, validation studies that compare predictions and measurements are needed. In this work, agreement between modeled organic carbon (OC) and aircraft measurements of water soluble OC improved for all 5 of the compared ICARTT NOAA-P3 flights during August when an in-cloud SOA (SOAcld) formation mechanism was added to CMAQ (a regional-scale atmospheric model). The improvement was most dramatic for the August 14th flight, a flight designed specifically to investigate clouds. During this flight the normalized mean bias for layer-averaged OC was reduced from -64 to -15% and correlation (r) improved from 0.5 to 0.6. Underpredictions of OC aloft by atmospheric models may be explained, in part, by this formation mechanism (SOAcld). OC formation aloft contributes to long-range pollution transport and has implications to radiative forcing, regional air quality and climate"
Keywords:		"Aerosols/*analysis Aircraft Atmosphere/chemistry Carbon/*analysis International Cooperation *Models, Chemical Organic Chemicals/*analysis Solubility Water/chemistry;"
Notes:		"MedlineCarlton, Annmarie G Turpin, Barbara I Altieri, Katye E Seitzinger, Sybil P Mathur, Rohit Roselle, Shawn J Weber, Rodney J eng Comparative Study Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2009/02/06 Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Dec 1; 42(23):8798-802. doi: 10.1021/es801192n"