The importance of key processes on tropospheric chemistry: 3D global modeling results

We have developed a global 3D atmospheric model, IMPACT, which represents the chemistry and physics of the combined troposphere and stratosphere. This capability allows a more complete representation of the chemistry in the upper troposphere and lower stratophere. The model is driven by assimilated meteorological fields, allowing us to compare with specific field campaign observations.

The IMPACT model contains a full tropospheric and stratospheric chemical representation, including natural and anthropogenic emissions of a full suite of species. It has a 2 by 2.5 degree horizontal resolution, with 60 vertical layers.

In this paper we use assimilated meteorology to compare with the fall 1997 NASA/SONEX campaign, which focused on the North Atlantic Ocean. We use model results to help identify key processes and emissions which affect the atmospheric chemistry of these and other regions.