Articles | Volume 23, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5905-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5905-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
30 May 2023
Research article |
| 30 May 2023
| 30 May 2023
Coupled mesoscale–microscale modeling of air quality in a polluted city using WRF-LES-Chem
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
Department of Mechanics & Aerospace Engineering, Southern
University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Domingo Muñoz-Esparza
Research Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric
Research, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
Jianing Dai
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Cathy Wing Yi Li
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Pablo Lichtig
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Roy Chun-Wang Tsang
Environmental Protection Department, Wan Chai, Hong Kong SAR, China
Chun-Ho Liu
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong,
Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR, China
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
Guy Pierre Brasseur
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
Atmospheric Chemistry Observation & Modeling Laboratory, National
Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
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Yijuan Zhang, Guy Brasseur, Maria Kanakidou, Claire Granier, Nikos Daskalakis, Alexandros Panagiotis Poulidis, Kun Qu, and Mihalis Vrekoussis
Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 217–237, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-217-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-217-2026, 2026
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A new inventory of anthropogenic emissions, the China INtegrated Emission Inventory (CINEI), was developed in this study to better represent emission sectors, chemical speciation and spatiotemporal variations in China. Compared to simulations driven by global inventories, CINEI demonstrated better numerical modeling performance in ozone and its precursors (nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide). This study provides valuable insights for designing ozone mitigation strategies.
Xueying Liu, Yeqi Huang, Yao Chen, Xin Feng, Jiading Li, Yang Xu, Yi Chen, Dasa Gu, Hao Sun, Zhi Ning, Jianzhen Yu, Wing Sze Chow, Changqing Lin, Yan Xiang, Tianshu Zhang, Claire Granier, Guy Brasseur, Zhe Wang, and Jimmy C. H. Fung
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 17629–17649, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17629-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17629-2025, 2025
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Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) affect ozone formation and air quality. However, our understanding is limited due to insufficient measurements, especially for oxygenated VOCs. This study combines land, ship, and satellite data in Hong Kong, showing that oxygenated VOCs make up a significant portion of total VOCs. Despite their importance, many are underestimated in current models. These findings highlight the need to improve VOC representation in models to enhance air quality management.
Kun Qu, Xuesong Wang, Yu Yan, Xipeng Jin, Ling-Yan He, Xiao-Feng Huang, Xuhui Cai, Jin Shen, Zimu Peng, Teng Xiao, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Maria Kanakidou, Guy P. Brasseur, Nikos Daskalakis, Limin Zeng, and Yuanhang Zhang
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Persistent cold-season PM2.5 pollution in a South China region during 2015–2017 was studied to assess the roles of drastic meteorological and emission changes. We found that meteorological variations, induced by a transition from El Niño to La Niña, were the main cause of persistent pollution, as stronger northerly winds enhanced pollutant transport into the region. In contrast, the effect of rapid emission reductions was limited. Recommendations for air quality improvement were also proposed.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3744, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3744, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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Steep terrain can cause numerical problems in weather and climate simulations. We present a new local method that smooths only the steepest areas, preserving important terrain details elsewhere. This improves numerical stability without reducing resolution across the entire map, as was common in previous global approaches. The technique is simple, fast, and effective across models and scales, helping researchers run more accurate and reliable high-resolution simulations over complex landscapes.
Zhouxing Zou, Tianshu Chen, Qianjie Chen, Weihang Sun, Shichun Han, Zhuoyue Ren, Xinyi Li, Wei Song, Aoqi Ge, Qi Wang, Xiao Tian, Chenglei Pei, Xinming Wang, Yanli Zhang, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8147–8161, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8147-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8147-2025, 2025
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We measured ambient OH and HO2* (HO2 and contribution from RO2, organic peroxyl radicals) concentrations at a subtropical rural site and compared our observations with model results. During warm periods, the model overestimated concentrations of OH and HO2, leading to overestimation of ozone and nitric acid production. Our findings highlight the need to better understand how OH and HO2 are formed and removed, which is important for accurate air quality and climate predictions.
Mingxue Li, Men Xia, Chunshui Lin, Yifan Jiang, Weihang Sun, Yurun Wang, Yingnan Zhang, Maoxia He, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3753–3764, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3753-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3753-2025, 2025
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Our field campaigns observed a strong diel pattern of chloroacetic acid as well as a strong correlation between its level and that of reactive chlorine species at a coastal site. Using quantum chemical calculations and box model simulation with an updated Master Chemical Mechanism, we found that the formation pathway of chloroacetic acid involved multiphase processes. Our study enhances understanding of atmospheric organic chlorine chemistry and emphasizes the importance of multiphase reactions.
Jianing Dai, Guy P. Brasseur, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Maria Kanakidou, Kun Qu, Yijuan Zhang, Hongliang Zhang, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12943–12962, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12943-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12943-2024, 2024
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This paper employs a regional chemical transport model to quantify the sensitivity of air pollutants and photochemical parameters to specified emission reductions in China for representative winter and summer conditions. The study provides insights into further air quality control in China with reduced primary emissions.
Jorge E. Pachón, Mariel A. Opazo, Pablo Lichtig, Nicolas Huneeus, Idir Bouarar, Guy Brasseur, Cathy W. Y. Li, Johannes Flemming, Laurent Menut, Camilo Menares, Laura Gallardo, Michael Gauss, Mikhail Sofiev, Rostislav Kouznetsov, Julia Palamarchuk, Andreas Uppstu, Laura Dawidowski, Nestor Y. Rojas, María de Fátima Andrade, Mario E. Gavidia-Calderón, Alejandro H. Delgado Peralta, and Daniel Schuch
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Latin America (LAC) has some of the most populated urban areas in the world, with high levels of air pollution. Air quality management in LAC has been traditionally focused on surveillance and building emission inventories. This study performed the first intercomparison and model evaluation in LAC, with interesting and insightful findings for the region. A multiscale modeling ensemble chain was assembled as a first step towards an air quality forecasting system.
Bjorn Stevens, Stefan Adami, Tariq Ali, Hartwig Anzt, Zafer Aslan, Sabine Attinger, Jaana Bäck, Johanna Baehr, Peter Bauer, Natacha Bernier, Bob Bishop, Hendryk Bockelmann, Sandrine Bony, Guy Brasseur, David N. Bresch, Sean Breyer, Gilbert Brunet, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Junji Cao, Christelle Castet, Yafang Cheng, Ayantika Dey Choudhury, Deborah Coen, Susanne Crewell, Atish Dabholkar, Qing Dai, Francisco Doblas-Reyes, Dale Durran, Ayoub El Gaidi, Charlie Ewen, Eleftheria Exarchou, Veronika Eyring, Florencia Falkinhoff, David Farrell, Piers M. Forster, Ariane Frassoni, Claudia Frauen, Oliver Fuhrer, Shahzad Gani, Edwin Gerber, Debra Goldfarb, Jens Grieger, Nicolas Gruber, Wilco Hazeleger, Rolf Herken, Chris Hewitt, Torsten Hoefler, Huang-Hsiung Hsu, Daniela Jacob, Alexandra Jahn, Christian Jakob, Thomas Jung, Christopher Kadow, In-Sik Kang, Sarah Kang, Karthik Kashinath, Katharina Kleinen-von Königslöw, Daniel Klocke, Uta Kloenne, Milan Klöwer, Chihiro Kodama, Stefan Kollet, Tobias Kölling, Jenni Kontkanen, Steve Kopp, Michal Koran, Markku Kulmala, Hanna Lappalainen, Fakhria Latifi, Bryan Lawrence, June Yi Lee, Quentin Lejeun, Christian Lessig, Chao Li, Thomas Lippert, Jürg Luterbacher, Pekka Manninen, Jochem Marotzke, Satoshi Matsouoka, Charlotte Merchant, Peter Messmer, Gero Michel, Kristel Michielsen, Tomoki Miyakawa, Jens Müller, Ramsha Munir, Sandeep Narayanasetti, Ousmane Ndiaye, Carlos Nobre, Achim Oberg, Riko Oki, Tuba Özkan-Haller, Tim Palmer, Stan Posey, Andreas Prein, Odessa Primus, Mike Pritchard, Julie Pullen, Dian Putrasahan, Johannes Quaas, Krishnan Raghavan, Venkatachalam Ramaswamy, Markus Rapp, Florian Rauser, Markus Reichstein, Aromar Revi, Sonakshi Saluja, Masaki Satoh, Vera Schemann, Sebastian Schemm, Christina Schnadt Poberaj, Thomas Schulthess, Cath Senior, Jagadish Shukla, Manmeet Singh, Julia Slingo, Adam Sobel, Silvina Solman, Jenna Spitzer, Philip Stier, Thomas Stocker, Sarah Strock, Hang Su, Petteri Taalas, John Taylor, Susann Tegtmeier, Georg Teutsch, Adrian Tompkins, Uwe Ulbrich, Pier-Luigi Vidale, Chien-Ming Wu, Hao Xu, Najibullah Zaki, Laure Zanna, Tianjun Zhou, and Florian Ziemen
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To manage Earth in the Anthropocene, new tools, new institutions, and new forms of international cooperation will be required. Earth Virtualization Engines is proposed as an international federation of centers of excellence to empower all people to respond to the immense and urgent challenges posed by climate change.
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This study assesses atmospheric composition using air quality models during aircraft campaigns in Europe and Asia, focusing on carbonaceous aerosols and trace gases. While carbon monoxide is well modeled, other pollutants have moderate to weak agreement with observations. Wind speed modeling is reliable for identifying pollution plumes, where models tend to overestimate concentrations. This highlights challenges in accurately modeling aerosol and trace gas composition, particularly in cities.
Adrien Deroubaix, Marco Vountas, Benjamin Gaubert, Maria Dolores Andrés Hernández, Stephan Borrmann, Guy Brasseur, Bruna Holanda, Yugo Kanaya, Katharina Kaiser, Flora Kluge, Ovid Oktavian Krüger, Inga Labuhn, Michael Lichtenstern, Klaus Pfeilsticker, Mira Pöhlker, Hans Schlager, Johannes Schneider, Guillaume Siour, Basudev Swain, Paolo Tuccella, Kameswara S. Vinjamuri, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Benjamin Weyland, and John P. Burrows
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-521, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-521, 2024
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This study explores the proportional relationships between carbonaceous aerosols (black and organic carbon) and trace gases using airborne measurements from two campaigns in Europe and East Asia. Differences between regions were found, but air quality models struggled to reproduce them accurately. We show that these proportional relationships can help to constrain models and can be used to infer aerosol concentrations from satellite observations of trace gases, especially in urban areas.
Yifan Jiang, Men Xia, Zhe Wang, Penggang Zheng, Yi Chen, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14813–14828, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14813-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14813-2023, 2023
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This study provides the first estimate of high rates of formic acid (HCOOH) production from the photochemical aging of real ambient particles and demonstrates the potential importance of this pathway in the formation of HCOOH under ambient conditions. Incorporating this pathway significantly improved the performance of a widely used chemical model. Our solution irradiation experiments demonstrated the importance of nitrate photolysis in HCOOH production via the production of oxidants.
Jianing Dai, Guy P. Brasseur, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Maria Kanakidou, Kun Qu, Yijuan Zhang, Hongliang Zhang, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14127–14158, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14127-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14127-2023, 2023
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In this study, we used a regional chemical transport model to characterize the different parameters of atmospheric oxidative capacity in recent chemical environments in China. These parameters include the production and destruction rates of ozone and other oxidants, the ozone production efficiency, the OH reactivity, and the length of the reaction chain responsible for the formation of ozone and ROx. They are also affected by the aerosol burden in the atmosphere.
Meng Wang, Yusen Duan, Zhuozhi Zhang, Qi Yuan, Xinwei Li, Shuwen Han, Juntao Huo, Jia Chen, Yanfen Lin, Qingyan Fu, Tao Wang, Junji Cao, and Shun-cheng Lee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10313–10324, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10313-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10313-2023, 2023
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Hourly elemental carbon (EC) and NOx were continuously measured for 5 years (2016–2020) at a sampling site near a highway in western Shanghai. We use a machine learning model to rebuild the measured EC and NOx, and a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario was assumed in 2020 and compared with the measured EC and NOx.
Kun Qu, Xuesong Wang, Xuhui Cai, Yu Yan, Xipeng Jin, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Maria Kanakidou, Guy P. Brasseur, Jin Shen, Teng Xiao, Limin Zeng, and Yuanhang Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7653–7671, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7653-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7653-2023, 2023
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Basic understandings of ozone processes, especially transport and chemistry, are essential to support ozone pollution control, but studies often have different views on their relative importance. We developed a method to quantify their contributions in the ozone mass and concentration budgets based on the WRF-CMAQ model. Results in a polluted region highlight the differences between two budgets. For future studies, two budgets are both needed to fully understand the effects of ozone processes.
Zhouxing Zou, Qianjie Chen, Men Xia, Qi Yuan, Yi Chen, Yanan Wang, Enyu Xiong, Zhe Wang, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7057–7074, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7057-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7057-2023, 2023
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We present OH observation and model simulation results at a coastal site in Hong Kong. The model predicted the OH concentration under high-NOx well but overpredicted it under low-NOx conditions. This implies an insufficient understanding of OH chemistry under low-NOx conditions. We show evidence of missing OH sinks as a possible cause of the overprediction.
Mengjiao Jiang, Yaoting Li, Weiji Hu, Yinshan Yang, Guy Brasseur, and Xi Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4545–4557, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4545-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4545-2023, 2023
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Relatively clean background aerosol over the Tibetan Plateau makes the study of aerosol–cloud–precipitation interactions distinctive. A convection on 24 July 2014 in Naqu was selected using the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model, including the Thompson aerosol-aware microphysical scheme. Our study uses a compromise approach to the limited observations. We show that the transformation of cloud water to graupel and the development of convective clouds are favored in a polluted situation.
Melisa Diaz Resquin, Pablo Lichtig, Diego Alessandrello, Marcelo De Oto, Darío Gómez, Cristina Rössler, Paula Castesana, and Laura Dawidowski
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 189–209, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-189-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-189-2023, 2023
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We explored the performance of the random forest algorithm to predict CO, NOx, PM10, SO2, and O3 air quality concentrations and comparatively assessed the monitored and modeled concentrations during the COVID-19 lockdown phases. We provide the first long-term O3 and SO2 observational dataset for an urban–residential area of Buenos Aires in more than a decade and study the responses of O3 to the reduction in the emissions of its precursors because of its relevance regarding emission control.
Yue Tan and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14455–14466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14455-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14455-2022, 2022
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We present a timely analysis of the effects of the recent lockdown in Shanghai on ground-level ozone (O3). Despite a huge reduction in human activity, O3 concentrations frequently exceeded the O3 air quality standard during the 2-month lockdown, implying that future emission reductions similar to those that occurred during the lockdown will not be sufficient to eliminate O3 pollution in many urban areas without the imposition of additional VOC controls or substantial decreases in NOx emissions.
Men Xia, Xiang Peng, Weihao Wang, Chuan Yu, Zhe Wang, Yee Jun Tham, Jianmin Chen, Hui Chen, Yujing Mu, Chenglong Zhang, Pengfei Liu, Likun Xue, Xinfeng Wang, Jian Gao, Hong Li, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15985–16000, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15985-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15985-2021, 2021
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ClNO2 is an important precursor of chlorine radical that affects photochemistry. However, its production and impact are not well understood. Our study presents field observations of ClNO2 at three sites in northern China. These observations provide new insights into nighttime processes that produce ClNO2 and the significant impact of ClNO2 on secondary pollutions during daytime. The results improve the understanding of photochemical pollution in the lower part of the atmosphere.
Thierno Doumbia, Claire Granier, Nellie Elguindi, Idir Bouarar, Sabine Darras, Guy Brasseur, Benjamin Gaubert, Yiming Liu, Xiaoqin Shi, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Simone Tilmes, Forrest Lacey, Adrien Deroubaix, and Tao Wang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4191–4206, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4191-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4191-2021, 2021
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Most countries around the world have implemented control measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in significant changes in economic and personal activities. We developed the CONFORM (COvid-19 adjustmeNt Factors fOR eMissions) dataset to account for changes in emissions during lockdowns. This dataset was created with the intention of being directly applicable to existing global and regional inventories used in chemical transport models.
Sinan Gao, Chunsong Lu, Yangang Liu, Seong Soo Yum, Jiashan Zhu, Lei Zhu, Neel Desai, Yongfeng Ma, and Shang Wu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 11225–11241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11225-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-11225-2021, 2021
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Only a few studies have been focused on the vertical variation of entrainment mixing with low resolutions which are crucial to cloud-related processes. A sawtooth pattern allows for an examination of mixing with high vertical resolution. A new measure is introduced to estimate entrainment mixing to overcome difficulties in existing measures, where vertical profile indicates that entrainment mixing becomes more homogeneous with decreasing altitudes, consistent with the dynamical measures.
Miguel Sanchez Gomez, Julie K. Lundquist, Jeffrey D. Mirocha, Robert S. Arthur, and Domingo Muñoz-Esparza
Wind Energ. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2021-57, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-2021-57, 2021
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Winds decelerate upstream of a wind plant as turbines obstruct and extract energy from the flow. This effect is known as wind plant blockage. We assess how atmospheric stability modifies the upstream wind plant blockage. We find stronger stability amplifies this effect. We also explore different approaches to quantifying blockage from field-like observations. We find different methodologies may induce errors of the same order of magnitude as the blockage-induced velocity deficits.
Jianing Dai and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8747–8759, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8747-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8747-2021, 2021
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We used the WRF–Chem model with the latest HONO and ClNO2 processes to investigate their effects on the concentrations of ROx radicals, O3, and PM2.5 in Asia during summer. The results show that the ship-derived HONO and ClNO2 increased the ROx radical concentration by 2–3 times and subsequently increased the O3 and PM2.5 concentrations in marine areas. These findings indicate the importance of these nitrogen processes in the evaluation of the impact of ship emissions on air quality.
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Short summary
Air quality in urban areas is difficult to simulate in coarse-resolution models. This work exploits the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model coupled with a large-eddy simulation (LES) component and online chemistry to perform high-resolution (33.3 m) simulations of air quality in a large city. The evaluation of the simulations with observations shows that increased model resolution improves the representation of the chemical species near the pollution sources.
Air quality in urban areas is difficult to simulate in coarse-resolution models. This work...
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