ESSL Lab Annual Report: 2007: Research Catalog: TIIMES: Mary Barth

ESSL LAR

Research Catalog: TIIMES

Mary Barth Scientist III TIIMES - ACD - MMM UTLS Contact Information: PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000 Office: FL0 - 2154 Telephone: 303-497-8186 Email: barthm@ucar.edu Home Page - MMM \| Home Page - ACD

Project Summary: Planning of DC3 field program The nation's most advanced high-altitude research aircraft, the NCAR-NSF Gulfstream V (or GV, formerly referred to as HIAPER), will be used to collect data for the DC3 Field Experiment. The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) Field Experiment will characterize the effect of midlatitude, continental convection on the transport and transformation of ozone and its precursors. Along with measurements of hydrogen oxide radicals, their precursors, and nitrogen oxides in both the inflow and outflow regions of deep convection, measurements of cloud microphysical properties, storm kinematics, and lightning discharges will be conducted. These measurements are planned for three locales in the United States, northeast Colorado, central Oklahoma, and northern Alabama, during May and June 2010 where remote continental regions can be contrasted to anthropogenically-influenced regions. The Scientific Plan Overview (SPO) and Experimental Design Overview (EDO) documents have been drafted. In doing so, the primary goals of DC3 have been refined to the following: To quantify the impact of continental, midlatitude convective storm dynamics, multiphase chemistry, lightning, and cloud microphysics on the transport of atmospheric constituents to the upper troposphere. Determine the mass fluxes of air and trace gases into and out of the storm, including entrainment from the boundary layer, mid-troposphere, and stratosphere To determine the effects of convectively-perturbed air masses on ozone and its related chemistry in the midlatitude upper troposphere and lower stratosphere near the convective cores and further downwind, 12-48 hours after the near convection region is sampled. To contrast the influence of different boundary-layer chemical inputs on the composition of convective outflow. Ancillary goals of DC3 are to investigate lightning discharge and electrification processes, the water budget, aerosol-cloud particle connections, and halogen chemistry. The experimental design includes basing the aircraft in either central Oklahoma or Kansas so that the two aircraft can easily ferry to Colorado, Oklahoma or Alabama. Details of the flight plans were developed for the HIAPER G-V aircraft, which will fly in the anvil of the storms measuring storm-processed characteristics of the storm, and for the NASA DC-8, which will measure characteristics of the inflow both below cloud and in the mid-troposphere. The DC3 science team would also welcome the proposed storm-penetrating aircraft (A-10 Warthog) if it is available when DC3 occurs. Ground-based radar and lightning mapping arrays will support the aircraft measurements by sampling kinematic, microphysical, and electrical characteristics of the storms sampled. The DC3 experiment will benefit from both satellite and numerical modeling analysis. Satellite data provide the context of the environment in which the storms form and have been used to show regions of high nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a molecule that is a product of lightning discharges, near thunderstorm activity. Numerical modeling can provide both forecasts of where convection will be occurring and analysis of what processes contribute significantly to the observed constituent concentrations. Additional information on DC3 may be found at http://utls.tiimes.ucar.edu/Science/dc3.shtml. FY2008 work will be to submit the SPO and EDO documents to NSF and NASA and to continue planning DC3 with a possible community workshop hosted locally and town meetings held at the annual Fall AGU and AMS meetings. This planning work is funded by NSF/NCAR. Weather Research and Forecast model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) Click on picture to view the entire figure. Nitric oxide (NO) mixing ratios (pptv) across the observed 10 July 1996 STERAO storm anvil at t = 2316 to t = 0036 UTC and simulated nitrogen oxide (NO + NO2) mixing ratios at t = 6000 s from eight different models. The location of the cross-section is 50 km downwind of the convective storm core. The solid black line is cloud particle concentration equal to 0.1 per liter. Objective analysis of the aircraft measurements (upper left panel) are from Skamarock et al., (2003). This intercomparison of models emphasizes the importance of including production of NO from lightning. Other models do not include this important process and substantially underestimate NOx mixing ratios. The comparison brought out that the key processes: lightning flash rate which depends on the storm kinematic and microphysical characteristics, lightning type (cloud-to-ground or intracloud), amount of the NO source per flash, and the location of the NO source within the storm, are crucial to include in lightning-NOx parameterizations. Uncertainties in these same processes contribute significantly to the variability seen in NOx mixing ratios for other models. The role of convection as a source of nitrogen oxides is important for understanding the sources and sinks of O3 in the upper troposphere where O3 affects the radiation balance and oxidizing power of the atmosphere. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is being developed by NOAA scientists, in collaboration with the WRF community including NCAR/ESSL scientists. The model is used for investigation of regional-scale air quality, field program analysis, and cloud-scale interactions between clouds and chemistry. ESSL scientists and staff provide support by integrating and maintaining the chemistry components in the evolving WRF modeling system, as well as contributing new code in the development of WRF-Chem. Models such as WRF-Chem can be used to further the understanding of precipitation and chemical processes, including multiscale atmospheric chemical constituent transport, dispersion and transformations. Atmospheric chemical and aerosol transport, dispersion and transformation depend on accurate specification of the dynamics and physics across a wide range of scales, from the microscale to the mesoscale. WRF-Chem is being utilized to develop a deeper understanding of the dynamics, physics and chemistry affecting these constituents. Because WRF-Chem is able to simulate the coupling between dynamics, radiation, chemistry and aerosols, science issues that depend on these interactions are being pursued. These applications include transport of tracers from urban regions, processing of chemical constituents by deep convection, analysis of field measurements with WRF-Chem configured for the regional scale, and studies that examine the interactions between aerosols and clouds and their impacts on precipitation, climate, and chemistry. To analyze field program observations and understand the processes that contribute to observed concentrations, WRF-Chem has been improved to include boundary and initial conditions that are produced by the global chemistry transport model MOZART. A simple dust module has been implemented and is currently being evaluated. Special analysis tools are being incorporated that will elucidate the important processes controlling the concentrations of key chemical species. The Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) has been put into WRF-Chem allowing scientists to study interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere with impacts on air quality and climate. Existing and new parameterizations describing the production of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from lightning are being implemented in WRF-Chem for studies on the impact of convection on the upper troposphere composition and chemistry. An intercomparison of convective-scale cloud chemistry models with lightning-NOx production schemes highlights the uncertainties in currently-used schemes and emphasizes the need for additional measurements that should be taken in upcoming field campaigns, such as the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) experiment that is being planned. WRF-Chem will continue to be used for field campaign analysis of MIRAGE and INTEX-B and for preparing for DC3. Other applications include investigations of aerosol-cloud interactions for exploring the role of dust in tropical cyclogenesis and in orographically-produced wave clouds, for studying the interactions between emissions, thunderstorms, and precipitation, for examining the impact of urban areas on fog, and for studying the importance of aqueous-phase organic chemistry on the production of organic aerosols. This work is supported by the NSF.

Award: 2006 Editor's Citation for Excellence in Refereeing - AGU

Community Service: K-12 Activity: GLOBE US GLOBE Learning Expedition Student Research Competition Review Committee Co-Chair - IGAC Scientific Program Organizing Committee, International Geosphere Biosphere Programme (IGBP) - International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Secretary - AGU Atmospheric Sciences, American Geophysical Union (AGU) Member - DOE ARM Climate Research Facility Board, Department of Energy (DOE) - Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Member - Observing Facilities Assessment Panel (OFAP), National Science Foundation (NSF) Member - The International Commission on Clouds and Precipitation (ICCP), The International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS) - ICCP

Presentations: Convective-Scale Cloud Chemistry Simulations of a Thunderstorm, S&T, Boulder USA, 10/1/2006October 07 Convective-Scale Cloud Chemistry Simulations of a Thunderstorm, S&T, Ft. Collins USA, 10/1/2006October 07 The Role of Deep Convection on the Composition of the Upper Troposphere, S&T, Beijing CHN, 11/1/2006October 07 Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3): A Field Experiment Planned for May-June 2010, S&T, San Francisco USA, 12/1/2006October 07 Processing of Chemical Constituents by Deep Convection, S&T, San Francisco USA, 12/1/2006October 07 Convective-Scale Cloud Chemistry Simulations of a Thunderstorm, S&T, Leeds GBR, 6/1/2007October 07 Implementation of Lightning Production of NOx into WRF, S&T, Boulder USA, 6/1/2007October 07

TIIMES External Collaborators: Andy Ackerman, Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) - NASA Christelle Barthe, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)-Paul Sabateur University Kevin Bowman, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - NASA Wiliam Brune, Pennsylvania State University Sylvie Cautenet, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)-University Blaise-Pascal Annica Ekman, Stockholm University Richard Farley, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSMT) Jerome Fast, Department of Energy-PNNL Ann Fridlind, Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) - NASA George Grell, University of Colorado John Helsdon, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDSMT) Peter Justin, Leeds University Si-Wan Kim, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - ESRL, University of Colorado Dongchul Kim, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Maud Leriche, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)-Paul Sabateur University Celine Mari, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)-Paul Sabateur University David Noone, University of Colorado Lesley Ott, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) - NASA Kenneth Pickering, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) - NASA Jean-Pierre Pinty, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)-Paul Sabateur University Vlado Spiridonov, Hydrometeorolgical Institute Georgii Stenchikov, Rutgers University Rutledge Steve, Colorado State University Amy Stuart, University of South Florida Bosko Telenta, Specialists in Energy Nuclear and Environmental Sciences (SENES) Consultant Ltd. Chien Wang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Vizuette Will, University of North Carolina Brune William, Pennsylvania State University John Worden, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) - NASA

Publications:
Kim, S.-W., C.-H. Moeng, J. C. Weil, M. C. Barth, 2007: Comment on "Fumigation of pollutants in and above the entrainment zone into a growing convective boundary layer: A large-eddy simulation". Atmos. Environ.. (In Press) Barth, M. C., S.-W. Kim, C. Wang, K. E. Pickering, L. E. Ott, G. Stenchikov, M. Leriche, S. Cautenet, J.-P. Pinty, C. Barthe, C. Mari, J. H. Helsdon, R. D. Farley, A. M. Fridlind, A. S. Ackerman, V. Spiridonov, B. Telenta, 2007: Cloud-scale model intercomparison of chemical constituent transport in deep convection. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 4709-4731 Barth, M. C., S.-W. Kim, C. Wang, K. E. Pickering, L. E. Ott, G. Stenchikov, M. Leriche, S. Cautenet, J.-P. Pinty, C. Barthe, C. Mari, J. H. Helsdon, R. D. Farley, A. M. Fridlind, A. S. Ackerman, V. Spiridonov, B. Tosko, 2007: Cloud-scale model intercomparison of chemical constituent transport in deep convection. Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 7, 8035-8085 Petch, J., N. McFarlane, D. Pendlebury, M. C. Barth, T. Birner, 2007: Modeling of deep convection and chemistry in the tropical tropopause layer: outcomes from the SPARC-GEWEX-IGAC workshop. GEWEX News, 10-12 Barth, M. C., S.-W. Kim, W. C. Skamarock, A. L. Stuart, K. E. Pickering, L. E. Ott, 2007: Simulations of the redistribution of formaldehyde, formic acid, and peroxides in the 10 July 1996 stratospheric-tropospheric experiment: Radiation, aerosols, and ozone deep convection storm. J. Geophys. Res., 112, D13310, doi: 10.1029/2006JD008046 Barth, M., T. Birner, N. McFarlane, D. Pendlebury, J. Petch, 2007: Modeling of deep convection and of chemistry and their roles in the tropical tropopause layer: SPARC-GEWEX/GCSS-IGC Workshop. SPARC Newsletter, Victoria, BC, CA, SPARC-GEWEX/GCSS-IGC, n28, 7-11 Kim, D., C. Wang, A. Ekman, M. C. Barth, P. Rasch, 2006: Distribution and direct radiative forcing of anthropogenic aerosols in an interactive size-resolving aerosol-climate model. J. Geophys. Res.. (Submitted) Barth, M., T. Birner, N. McFarlane, D. Pendlebury, J. Petch, 2006: Modeling of deep convection and of chemistry and their roles in the tropical tropopause layer: SPARC-GEWEX/GCSS-IGC Workshop. IGAC newsletter, Victoria, BC, CA, SPARC-GEWEX/GCSS-IGC, n34 Barth, M. C., 2006: The importance of cloud drop representation on cloud photo-chemistry. Atmos. Res., 82, 294-309.1 Kazil, J., E. R. Lovejoy, M. C. Barth, K. O'Brien, 2006: Aerosol nucleation over oceans and the role of galactic cosmic rays. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 6, 4905-4924.

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