Abstract. This study implemented first, second and glaciation aerosol indirect effects (AIE) on resolved clouds in the two-way coupled Weather Research and Forecasting Community Multiscale Air Quality (WRF-CMAQ) modeling system by including parameterizations for both cloud drop and ice number concentrations on the basis of CMAQpredicted aerosol distributions and WRF meteorological conditions. The performance of the newly developed WRF-CMAQ model, with alternate Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) and Rapid Radiative Transfer Model for GCMs (RRTMG) radiation schemes, was evaluated with observations from the Clouds and the See http://ceres.larc. nasa.gov/. Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) satellite and surface monitoring networks (AQS, IMPROVE, CASTNET, STN, and PRISM) over the continental US (CONUS) (12 km resolution) and eastern Texas (4 km resolution) during August and September of 2006. The results at the Air Quality System (AQS) surface sites show that in August, the normalized mean bias (NMB) values for PM 2.5 over the eastern US (EUS) and the western US (WUS) are 5.3 % (−0.1 %) and 0.4 % (−5.2 %) for WRF-CMAQ/CAM (WRF-CMAQ/RRTMG), respectively. The evaluation of PM 2.5 chemical composition reveals that in August, WRF-CMAQ/CAM (WRF-CMAQ/RRTMG) consistently underestimated the observed SO 2− 4 by −23.0 % (−27.7 %), −12.5 % (−18.9 %) and −7.9 % (−14.8 %) over the EUS at the Clean Air Status Trends Network (CAST-NET), Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) and Speciated Trends Network (STN) sites, respectively. Both configurations (WRF-CMAQ/CAM, WRF-CMAQ/RRTMG) overestimated the observed mean organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC) and and total carbon (TC) concentrations over the EUS in August at the IMPROVE sites. Both configurations generally underestimated the cloud field (shortwave cloud forcing, SWCF) over the CONUS in August due to the fact that the AIE on the subgrid convective clouds was not considered when the model simulations were run at the 12 km resolution. This is in agreement with the fact that both configurations captured SWCF and longwave cloud forcing (LWCF) very well for the 4 km simulation over eastern Texas, when all clouds were resolved by the finer resolution domain. The simulations of WRF-CMAQ/CAM and WRF-CMAQ/RRTMG show dramatic improvements for SWCF, LWCF, cloud optical depth (COD), cloud fractions and precipitation over the ocean relative to those of WRF default cases in August. The model performance in September is similar to that in August, except for a greater overestimation of PM 2.5 due to the overestimations of SO

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Atmospheric ammonia (NH₃) is the primary atmospheric base and an important precursor for inorganic particulate matter and when deposited NH₃ contributes to surface water eutrophication, soil acidification and decline in species biodiversity. Flux measurements indicate that the air-surface exchange of NH₃ is bi-directional. However, the effects of bi-directional exchange, soil biogeochemistry and human activity are not parameterized in air quality models. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Community Multiscale Air-Quality (CMAQ) model with bi-directional NH₃ exchange has been coupled with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) agro-ecosystem model's nitrogen geochemistry algorithms. CMAQ with bi-directional NH₃ exchange coupled to EPIC connects agricultural cropping management practices to emissions and atmospheric concentrations of reduced nitrogen and models the biogeochemical feedback on NH₃ air-surface exchange. This coupled modeling system reduced the biases and error in NH_x (NH₃ + NH₄⁺) wet deposition and in ambient aerosol concentrations in an annual 2002 Continental US (CONUS) domain simulation when compared to a 2002 annual simulation of CMAQ without bi-directional exchange. Fertilizer emissions estimated in CMAQ 5.0 with bi-directional exchange exhibits markedly different seasonal dynamics than the US EPA's National Emissions Inventory (NEI), with lower emissions in the spring and fall and higher emissions in July

Many regions in China experience air pollution episodes because of the rapid urbanization and industrialization over the past decades. Here we analyzed the effect of emission controls implemented during the G-20 2016 Hangzhou summit on air quality. Emission controls included a forced closure of highly polluting industries, and limiting traffic and construction emissions in the cities and surroundings. Particles with aerodynamic diameter lower than 2.5 µm (PM) and ozone (O) were measured. We also simulated air quality using a forecast system consisting of the two-way coupled Weather Research and Forecast and Community Multi-scale Air Quality (WRF-CMAQ) model. Results show PM and ozone levels in Hangzhou during the G-20 Summit were considerably lower than previous to the G-20 Summit. The predicted concentrations of ozone were reduced by 25.4%, whereas the predicted concentrations of PM were reduced by 56%.

Reactive nitrogen (N r ) is removed by surface fluxes (air–surface exchange) and wet deposition. The chemistry and physics of the atmosphere result in a complicated system in which competing chemical sources and sinks exist and impact that removal. Therefore, uncertainties are best examined with complete regional chemical transport models that simulate these feedbacks. We analysed several uncertainties in regional air quality model resistance analogue representations of air–surface exchange for unidirectional and bi-directional fluxes and their effect on the continental N r budget. Model sensitivity tests of key parameters in dry deposition formulations showed that uncertainty estimates of continental total nitrogen deposition are surprisingly small, 5 per cent or less, owing to feedbacks in the chemistry and rebalancing among removal pathways. The largest uncertainties (5%) occur with the change from a unidirectional to a bi-directional NH 3 formulation followed by uncertainties in bi-directional compensation points (1–4%) and unidirectional aerodynamic resistance (2%). Uncertainties have a greater effect at the local scale. Between unidirectional and bi-directional formulations, single grid cell changes can be up to 50 per cent, whereas 84 per cent of the cells have changes less than 30 per cent. For uncertainties within either formulation, single grid cell change can be up to 20 per cent, but for 90 per cent of the cells changes are less than 10 per cent.