The influence of climate change on regional air quality in California

We investigate the impacts of various climate parameters on air quality in Northern California. Simulations are performed over a five-day period in the summer of 2000 using the Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ). We examine a series of individual climate perturbations and their impact on ozone formation in the region, and then assess the combined effect from all perturbations. The following possible climate change variables are considered: 1) increasing temperature, 2) an increase in boundary layer height, 3) an increase in atmospheric water vapor, 4) changes in biogenic VOC emissions due to temperature, 5) projected changes in anthropogenic NOx and VOC emissions for 2050, and 6) the influence of increasing oxidants and emissions at the western boundary condition. We discuss the implications of these individual and collective changes on ozone and regional chemistry in northern California.