Impact of climate change on U.S. air quality using multi-scale modeling with the MM5/SMOKE/CMAQ system
Chen, J., J. Avise, J. Vaughan, B. Lamb, C.F. Mass, E.P. Salathé, A. Guenther, C. Wiedinmyer, S. O'Neill, S. Ferguson, N. Larkin, and D. McKenzie. 2004. Impact of climate change on U.S. air quality using multi-scale modeling with the MM5/SMOKE/CMAQ system. In proceedings for Symposium on Planning, Nowcasting, and Forecasting in the Urban Zone, Boston, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society.
Global warming, population growth, and land use change are closely interrelated forces that may cause significant changes in air quality. Temperature change impacts boundary layer meteorology, chemical reaction rates and regional weather features. In addition, higher temperatures can increase emissions from both biogenic and anthropogenic sources. To assess the impacts of global changes on US regional air quality, we employ a comprehensive numerical modeling approach where the regional air quality modeling system (MM5/SMOKE/CMAQ) is coupled with the global climate model (NCAR/DOE PCM) and global chemistry model (NCAR MOZART2). The coupled model is used in a multi-scale scheme such that outputs from the global model are fed into the regional model, and the regional model performs nested simulations down to urban levels. The regional simulation is performed using nested domains ranging from 36 km at the US continental scale to 4 km urban scales. The regional simulations are centered in the Pacific Northwest and the northern Midwest.
UW Climate Impacts Group