Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2019-251
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2019-251
17 Apr 2019
 | 17 Apr 2019
Status: this preprint was under review for the journal ACP. A final paper is not foreseen.

Global modeling of fungal spores with the EMAC chemistryclimate model: uncertainties in emission parametrizations and observations

Meryem Tanarhte, Sara Bacer, Susannah M. Burrows, J. Alex Huffman, Kyle M. Pierce, Andrea Pozzer, Roland Sarda-Estève, Nicole J. Savage, and Jos Lelieveld

Abstract. Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) may impact human health and aerosol-cloud-climate interactions. The role of PBAPs in the earth system is associated with large uncertainties, for example of source estimates and the atmospheric lifetime. We used a chemistry-climate model to simulate PBAPs in the atmosphere including bacteria and fungal spores. Three fungal spore emission parameterizations have been evaluated against an updated set of spore counts synthesized from observations reported in the literature. The comparison indicates an optimal fit for the emission parameterization proposed by Heald and Spracklen (2009) and adapted by Hoose et al. (2010) for particle sizes of 5 µm or 3 µm, although the model still overpredicts PBAP concentrations in some locations. The correlations between the spore count observations and meteorological parameters simulated by the model show a strong dependence on the leaf area index in non-urban areas and the specific humidity in urban areas. Additional evaluation was performed by comparing our combined bacteria and fungal spore simulations to a global dataset of fluorescent biological aerosol particle (FBAP) concentrations. The model predicts the total sum of measured PBAP concentrations relatively well, typically within a factor of two of FBAP. Further, the modeled fungal spore results deviate from the FBAP concentrations when used as a rough proxy for spores, depending on the particle size used in the parametrization. Uncertainties related to technical aspects of the FBAP and direct-counting spore measurements challenge the ability to further refine quantitative comparison on this scale. Additional long-term data of better quality are needed to improve emission parameterizations.

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Meryem Tanarhte, Sara Bacer, Susannah M. Burrows, J. Alex Huffman, Kyle M. Pierce, Andrea Pozzer, Roland Sarda-Estève, Nicole J. Savage, and Jos Lelieveld

Interactive discussion

Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
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Interactive discussion

Status: closed
Status: closed
AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment
Printer-friendly Version - Printer-friendly version Supplement - Supplement
Meryem Tanarhte, Sara Bacer, Susannah M. Burrows, J. Alex Huffman, Kyle M. Pierce, Andrea Pozzer, Roland Sarda-Estève, Nicole J. Savage, and Jos Lelieveld
Meryem Tanarhte, Sara Bacer, Susannah M. Burrows, J. Alex Huffman, Kyle M. Pierce, Andrea Pozzer, Roland Sarda-Estève, Nicole J. Savage, and Jos Lelieveld

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Latest update: 10 Dec 2024
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This preprint has been withdrawn.

Short summary
Bioaerosols have been an important topic in atmospheric science in the last two decades. This paper compares different emission parametrizations used in fungal spores modeling and compare their results to two sets of new observational datasets. It emphasises their uncertainties in order to improve their modeling in the future. This comparison is addressed primarily to the scientific community (publishing in ACP) interested in this type of modeling and the related experimental work in this field.
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