Impact of aviation emissions on UTLS and air quality in current and future climate - GEM-AC model simulations

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to investigate the potential impacts of aviation emissions on the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) and surface air quality.

The tool that was used in our study is the GEM-AC (Global Environmental Multiscale with Atmospheric Chemistry) chemical weather model where air quality, free tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry processes are on-line and interactive in a weather forecast model of Environment Canada. In vertical, the model domain is defined on 70 hybrid levels from the surface to ~60km. The gas-phase chemistry includes a comprehensive set of reactions for Ox, NOx, HOx, CO, CH4, NMVOCs, halocarbons, ClOx and BrO. Also, the model can address aerosol microphysics and gas–aerosol partitioning. Aircraft emissions are provided by the AEDT 2006 database developed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Results from model simulations on a global variable grid with 1 degree uniform resolution in the northern hemisphere will be presented.