TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of the size segregation of elemental carbon (EC) emission in Europe
T2 - Influence on the simulation of EC long-range transportation
AU - Chen, Ying
AU - Cheng, Ya Fang
AU - Nordmann, Stephan
AU - Birmili, Wolfram
AU - Denier Van Der Gon, Hugo A.C.
AU - Ma, Nan
AU - Wolke, Ralf
AU - Wehner, Birgit
AU - Sun, Jia
AU - Spindler, Gerald
AU - Mu, Qing
AU - Pöschl, Ulrich
AU - Su, Hang
AU - Wiedensohler, Alfred
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Author(s).
PY - 2016/2/17
Y1 - 2016/2/17
N2 - Elemental Carbon (EC) has a significant impact on human health and climate change. In order to evaluate the size segregation of EC emission in the EUCAARI inventory and investigate its influence on the simulation of EC long-range transportation in Europe, we used the fully coupled online Weather Research and Forecasting/Chemistry model (WRF-Chem) at a resolution of 2 km focusing on a region in Germany, in conjunction with a high-resolution EC emission inventory. The ground meteorology conditions, vertical structure and wind pattern were well reproduced by the model. The simulations of particle number and/or mass size distributions were evaluated with observations at the central European background site Melpitz. The fine mode particle concentration was reasonably well simulated, but the coarse mode was substantially overestimated by the model mainly due to the plume with high EC concentration in coarse mode emitted by a nearby point source. The comparisons between simulated EC and Multi-angle Absorption Photometers (MAAP) measurements at Melpitz, Leipzig-TROPOS and Bösel indicated that the coarse mode EC (ECc) emitted from the nearby point sources might be overestimated by a factor of 2-10. The fraction of ECc was overestimated in the emission inventory by about 10-30 % for Russia and 5-10 % for Eastern Europe (e.g., Poland and Belarus). This incorrect size-dependent EC emission results in a shorter atmospheric life time of EC particles and inhibits the long-range transport of EC. A case study showed that this effect caused an underestimation of 20-40 % in the EC mass concentration in Germany under eastern wind pattern.
AB - Elemental Carbon (EC) has a significant impact on human health and climate change. In order to evaluate the size segregation of EC emission in the EUCAARI inventory and investigate its influence on the simulation of EC long-range transportation in Europe, we used the fully coupled online Weather Research and Forecasting/Chemistry model (WRF-Chem) at a resolution of 2 km focusing on a region in Germany, in conjunction with a high-resolution EC emission inventory. The ground meteorology conditions, vertical structure and wind pattern were well reproduced by the model. The simulations of particle number and/or mass size distributions were evaluated with observations at the central European background site Melpitz. The fine mode particle concentration was reasonably well simulated, but the coarse mode was substantially overestimated by the model mainly due to the plume with high EC concentration in coarse mode emitted by a nearby point source. The comparisons between simulated EC and Multi-angle Absorption Photometers (MAAP) measurements at Melpitz, Leipzig-TROPOS and Bösel indicated that the coarse mode EC (ECc) emitted from the nearby point sources might be overestimated by a factor of 2-10. The fraction of ECc was overestimated in the emission inventory by about 10-30 % for Russia and 5-10 % for Eastern Europe (e.g., Poland and Belarus). This incorrect size-dependent EC emission results in a shorter atmospheric life time of EC particles and inhibits the long-range transport of EC. A case study showed that this effect caused an underestimation of 20-40 % in the EC mass concentration in Germany under eastern wind pattern.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84958787170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/acp-16-1823-2016
DO - 10.5194/acp-16-1823-2016
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84958787170
SN - 1680-7316
VL - 16
SP - 1823
EP - 1835
JO - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
JF - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
IS - 3
ER -
