5.4
Climate Change in China and Its Relationship with Air Quality during the Past 130 Years: Model Simulations and Correlation with Satellite Observations
Xinyu Wen, Peking University, Beijing, China; and S. Wang, Y. Hu, T. Zhou, Y. Zhang, and Z. Zhao
Both atmospheric regional and global models and observations from various platforms including surface and satellites have been applied to assess the potential impacts of climate change on air quality and those of changed air quality on climate in China as well as associated uncertainties in the past decades. There remain, however, much work in quantifying such effects and estimating such uncertainties. We have recently completed a set of simulations for a 130-year period of 1871-2002 with various forcings using The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) version 2. Our analyses have shown that CAM2 reasonably captures the major characteristics of climate change in China. In this paper, we will extend our study to further analyze the results of CAM2 simulations with a focus on climate variables that are closely related to air quality such as surface air temperature (SAT), solar irradiation, relative humidity, cloud fraction, and precipitation. The potential impacts of those variables on air quality and those of changed air quality on climate will be assessed, correlated, and corroborated with available meteorological/climatic and chemical observations from surface monitoring stations in China and satellite instruments such as Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer/Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (TOMS/SBUV). In particular, we will examine whether the cooling trend over Southwest China and the summertime drought trend over North China are correlated with changes in emissions of Green House Gases (GHGs), observed column abundance of chemical species (e.g., tropospheric ozone residule (TOR) from TOM/SBUV), and aerosol/cloud properties (e.g., aerosol optical depth and cloud fractions from MODIS). Our study will provide insights into the long-term two-way impacts between regional climate and air quality in China.
Session 5, Air quality and climate change
Tuesday, 22 January 2008, 8:30 AM-9:45 AM, 230
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