Modeling of Lightning-Related Plumes into the Chemistry and Transport GEOS-Chem Global Model: Impact on the Upper Tropospheric Chemistry.

Abstract:

This work is dedicated to the study of the lightning-related plumes in terms of origin, quantification of the plumes trace gas, and impact on the budget of ozone in particular in the upper troposphere (critical region regarding the greenhouse effect). Recently, Gressent et al., 2014, demonstrated that the majority (74%) of large scale plumes (>300km) from lightning emissions (LNOx) is related to warm conveyor belts and extra-tropical cyclones originating from North America and entering the intercontinental pathway between North America and Europe, leading to a negative (positive) west to east NO_y (O₃) zonal gradient with -0.4 (+18) ppb difference during spring and -0.6 (+14) ppb difference in summer. In order to better constraint lightning emissions impact in global models, a plume parameterization has been implemented in the 3D chemistry and transport GEOS-Chem global model (Harvard University). Such parameterization was successfully developed for aircraft exhausts application (Cariolle et al., 2009). It allows reproducing sub-grid processes related to lightning NO_x chemistry and the chemical evolution during transport in the atmosphere. The issue is here based on the evaluation of parameters such as the plume lifetime and the effective reaction rate constant within the plume. The Dynamically Simple Model of Atmospheric Chemical Complexity (DSMACC) is used to determine such critical values and to better understand the chemical interactions between NO_x and O₃ species within the undiluted fraction of the plume. Additionally high-resolved simulations of the French meso-scale Meso-NH model are applied over specific case studies of thunderstorms in order to consider the dynamical conditions necessary to represent the plume dilution to the background atmosphere. Finally, sensitivity tests are carried out with the GEOS-Chem model to evaluate the impact of this plume-in-grid model on the ozone and nitrogen species budget.