RESUMENUna representación apropiada de las fuentes de polvo es necesaria para predecir adecuadamente la concentración de partículas en simulaciones de resuspención de polvo. El modelo Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) incluye un mapa de erosionabilidad basado en la topografía del terreno, originalmente desarrollado para simulaciones de escala global, y que en consecuencia no representa apropiadamente la distribución geográfica de fuentes de polvo en Argentina. Por lo tanto, en este trabajo se desarrolla un método para obtener un mapa de erosionabilidad de alta resolución apropiado para simulaciones de escala regional o local con el modelo WRF/Chem. Presentamos dos aproximaciones independientes basadas en métodos globales para estimar la erosionabilidad del suelo a partir de información satelital; una basada en un modelo topográfico de la Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) y la otra basada en reflectancia del suelo del instrumento Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Se utilizó la simulación de un evento severo de viento Zonda en la zona árida del centro-oeste de Argentina para analizar estos métodos. La concentración de material particulado simulada se comparó con mediciones realizadas en la ciudad de Mendoza. Además, se utilizó información de espesor óptico de aerosoles (AOD, por sus siglas en inglés) para estudiar el desempeño del modelo para reproducir la distribución espacial de las emisiones de polvo. El mapa basado en reflectancia de MODIS mejora la representación de las características en pequeña escala y mejora las predicciones de inyección de aerosoles con relación al mapa original. La simulación realizada con dicho mapa arrojó valores de concentración que coinciden con las mediciones puntuales y la distribución espacial de AOD. ABSTRACTA proper representation of dust sources is critical to accurately predict atmospheric particle concentration in regional windblown dust simulations. The Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF/ Chem) includes a topographic-based erodibility map originally conceived for global scale modeling, which fails to identify the geographical location of dust sources in many regions of Argentina. Therefore, this study aims at developing a method to obtain a high-resolution erodibility map suitable for regional or local scale modeling using WRF/Chem. We present two independent approaches based on global methods to estimate soil erodibility using satellite retrievals, i.e. topography from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and surface reflectance from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Simulation results of a severe Zonda wind episode in the arid central-west Argentina serve as bases for the analysis of these methods. Simulated dust concentration at surface level is compared with particulate matter measurements at 12 P. G. Cremades et al.one site in Mendoza city. In addition, we use satellite aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals to investigate model performance in reproducing spatial...

Examining the influence of meteorological simulations forced by different initial and boundary conditions in volcanic ash dispersion modelling,

This research examined whether tropospheric sulfate ion aerosols (SO4 2-) might be applied at a regional scale to mitigate meteorological phenomena with extremely high daily temperatures. The specific objectives of this work were: 1) to model the behaviour of SO4 2aerosols in the troposphere and their influence on surface temperature and incident solar radiation, at a regional scale, using an appropriate online coupled mesoscale meteorology and chemistry model; 2) to determine the main engineering design parameters using tropospheric SO4 2aerosols in order to artificially reduce the temperature and incoming radiation at surface during events of extremely high daily temperatures, and 3) to evaluate a preliminary technical proposal for the injection of regionally engineered tropospheric SO4 2aerosols based on the integral anti-hail system of the Province of Mendoza. In order to accomplish these objectives, we used the Weather Research & Forecasting Model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) to model and evaluate the behaviour of tropospheric SO4 2over the Province of Mendoza (Argentina) (PMA) on a clear sky day during a heat wave event occurred in January 2012. In addition, using WRF/Chem, we evaluated the potential reductions on surface temperature and incident shortwave radiation around the metropolitan area of Great Mendoza, PMA, based on an artificially designed aerosol layer and on observed meteorological parameters. The results demonstrated the ability of WRF/Chem to represent the behaviour of tropospheric SO4 2aerosols at a regional scale and suggested that the inclusion of these aerosols in the atmosphere causes changes in the surface energy balance and, therefore, in the surface temperature and the regional atmospheric circulation. However, it became evident that, given the high rate of injection and the large amount of mass required for its practical implementation by means of the technology currently used by the anti-hail program, it is inefficient and energetically costly.