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Cloud-Resolving Chemistry Simulation of a Hector Thunderstorm Open Access EGU Journal Logos (RGB) Open Access Open Access Open Access Advances in Annales Nonlinear Processes Geosciences Geophysicae in Geophysics Open Access Open Access Natural Hazards Natural Hazards and Earth System and Earth System Sciences Sciences Discussions Open Access Open Access Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 2757–2777, 2013 Atmospheric Atmospheric www.atmos-chem-phys.net/13/2757/2013/ doi:10.5194/acp-13-2757-2013 Chemistry Chemistry © Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License. and Physics and Physics Discussions Open Access Open Access Atmospheric Atmospheric Measurement Measurement Techniques Techniques Discussions Open Access Cloud-resolving chemistry simulation of a Hector thunderstorm Open Access K. A. Cummings1, T. L. Huntemann1,*, K. E. Pickering2, M. C. Barth3, W. C. Skamarock3, H. Holler¨ 4, H.-D. Betz5, Biogeosciences 6 4 Biogeosciences A. Volz-Thomas , and H. Schlager Discussions 1Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA 2Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA Open Access 3NCAR Earth System Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA Open Access 4Institut fur¨ Physik der Atmosphare,¨ Deutsches Zentrum fur¨ Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen,Climate Germany Climate 5Department of Physics, University of Munich, Munich, Germany of the Past 6Institut fur¨ Chemie- und Klimaforschung, Forschungszentrum Julich,¨ Julich,¨ Germany of the Past Discussions *now at: National Weather Service, Silver Spring, MD, USA Open Access Correspondence to: K. A. Cummings ([email protected]) Open Access Earth System Earth System Received: 30 April 2012 – Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss.: 6 July 2012 Dynamics Revised: 19 December 2012 – Accepted: 19 December 2012 – Published: 8 March 2013 Dynamics Discussions Open Access Abstract. Cloud chemistry simulations were performed for than most estimates for tropicalGeoscientific thunderstorms and given sev- Geoscientific Open Access a Hector thunderstorm observed on 16 November 2005 dur- eral uncertainties, LNOx production may have been as large ing the SCOUT-O3/ACTIVE campaigns based in Darwin, as 600 moles flash−1. ApproximatelyInstrumentation 85 % of the simulated Instrumentation Australia, with the primary objective of estimating the av- LNOx mass was located aboveMethods 7 km in and the later stages of Methods and erage NO production per lightning flash in this unique storm the storm, which was greaterData than Systems amounts found for sub- Data Systems type which occurred in a tropical island environment. The 3- tropical and midlatitude convection. Modeled upper tropo- Discussions Open Access D WRF-Aqueous Chemistry (WRF-AqChem) model is used spheric NO2 partial columns were also considerablyOpen Access greater for these calculations and contains the WRF nonhydrostatic than most satellite observations of tropical marine convec- Geoscientific Geoscientific cloud-resolving model with online gas- and aqueous-phase tive events, as tropical island convection, such as Hector, is Model Development chemistry and a lightning-NOx (LNOx) production algo- more vigorous andModel more productiveDevelopment of LNOx. Additional re- Discussions rithm. The model was initialized by inducing convection with search is needed to investigate whether LNOx production per an idealized morning sounding and sensible heat source, and flash increases in storms with greater wind shear, such as this Open Access initial condition chemical profiles from merged aircraft ob- Hector storm, which showed significant variationOpen Access in wind di- servations in undisturbed air. Many features of the idealized rection with altitude. Hydrology and Hydrology and model storm, such as storm size and peak radar reflectivity, Earth System Earth System were similar to the observed storm. Tracer species, such as CO, used to evaluate convective transport in the simulated Sciences Sciences storm found vertical motion from the boundary layer to the 1 Introduction Discussions Open Access anvil region was well represented in the model, with a small Open Access = + ) overestimate of enhanced CO at anvil altitudes. The lightning Nitrogen oxides (NOx NO NO2 are important trace detection network (LINET) provided lightning flash data for gases in the troposphere due to their impact on photochemi- Ocean Science ) Ocean Science the model and a lightning placement scheme injected the re- cal ozone (O3 formation. NOx also influences the HOx rad- Discussions = + ) sulting NO into the simulated cloud. A lightning NO produc- icals (HOx HO HO2 , which are the main oxidant of nu- tion scenario of 500 moles flash−1 for both CG and IC flashes merous chemical species. Fossil fuel combustion, biomass Open Access yielded anvil NO mixing ratios that compared well with air- burning, microbial activity in soils, and lightningOpen Access are con- x sidered the four major sources of tropospheric NO . Light- craft observations and were also similar to those deduced for x Solid Earth several convective modeling analyses in the midlatitudes and ning generates less NOx thanSolid anthropogenic Earth sources, but Discussions subtropics. However, these NO production values were larger does so mainly in the middle and upper troposphere where NOx is longer-lived and more efficient at producing O3 than Open Access Open Access Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. The Cryosphere The Cryosphere Discussions 2758 K. A. Cummings et al.: Cloud-resolving chemistry simulation of a Hector thunderstorm in the boundary layer where much of the anthropogenic posphere, LNOx leads to efficient O3 production in this layer NOx is emitted. The best estimate of the global lightning- of up to several ppbv per day (DeCaria et al., 2005). Ozone, −1 generated NOx (LNOx) source is 5 ± 3 Tg N yr (Schu- the third most important greenhouse gas, is most effective mann and Huntrieser, 2007). The uncertainty in the source in this role in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere strength is due to both an uncertainty in the total num- (IPCC, 2007). Therefore, better knowledge of LNOx produc- ber of flashes globally and the amount of NOx per flash or tion is important for the understanding of climate forcing. per meter of flash length. The issue is further complicated Cloud-resolving models with chemistry, after evaluation with because cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes and intracloud (IC) field observations, can be used to better understand convec- flashes may produce different amounts of NOx. Schumann tive transport processes and LNOx production. Cloud-scale and Huntrieser (2007) provide a detailed review of three models are valuable because they can simulate the transport decades of research on the global LNOx source rate. and distribution of NOx and its contribution to photochem- One method used in estimating NOx production per flash istry at scales directly comparable to airborne observations is through application of cloud-resolving models. Most of in thunderstorms (Schumann and Huntrieser, 2007). these simulations focused on midlatitude and subtropical This study provides the first analysis of a cloud-resolved convective systems. Midlatitude convection primarily occurs LNOx simulation of deep convection in the tropics for which ◦ in the 35–45 latitude belt in both hemispheres, often asso- detailed lightning flash data and anvil NOx measurements ciated with synoptic-scale weather systems. Subtropical and are available. The primary objective is to estimate the av- tropical convection is found closer to the equator, away from erage production of NO per lightning flash in a tropical en- the influence of midlatitude systems, and is differentiated vironment. However, tropical island convection, like Hector based on development within air masses of lower and higher thunderstorms, may not be representative of other types of equivalent potential temperatures, respectively (Huntrieser et convection found in the tropics. Section 2 reviews selected al., 2007). Attention is now turning to data from several at- LNOx cloud-resolved simulations, analysis of results from mospheric chemistry field programs recently conducted in airborne tropical LNOx experiments, and numerical mod- tropical convective environments. We focus here on the sim- eling studies of tropical thunderstorms over the Maritime ulation of a Hector thunderstorm observed on 16 November Continent. Section 3 describes the ground-based and air- 2005 during the Stratospheric-Climate Links with Emphasis craft observations of the Hector thunderstorm. Section 4 pro- on the Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (SCOUT- vides a description of the Weather Research and Forecasting O3; Brunner et al., 2009) and Aerosol and Chemical Trans- Aqueous Chemistry (WRF-AqChem) model and initializa- port in Tropical Convection (ACTIVE; Vaughan et al., 2008) tion data. Section 5 compares the meteorological and chem- field experiments based in Darwin, Australia. The name Hec- ical features of the observed and simulated thunderstorm, tor is given to the very deep convective storms which develop and Sect. 6 presents the conclusions from our cloud-resolved over the Tiwi Islands offshore from Darwin, particularly dur- tropical island convection simulation. ing the transition season (November–December) prior to the monsoon onset. Deep convection has important effects on atmospheric 2 Background chemistry, which include the rapid redistribution of chemi- cal constituents from the boundary layer to the
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