Investigating the Role of Organic Aerosol Schemes in the Simulation of Atmospheric Particulate Matter in a Large Mediterranean Urban Agglomeration

Air quality simulations were performed for Athens (Greece) in ~1 km resolution applying the models WRF-CAMx for July and December 2019 with the secondary organic aerosol processor (SOAP) and volatility basis set (VBS) organic aerosol (OA) schemes. CAMx results were evaluated against particulate matter (PM) and OA concentrations from the regulatory monitoring network and research monitoring sites (including PM2.5 low-cost sensors). The repartition of primary OA (POA) and secondary OA (SOA) by CAMx was compared with positive matrix factorization (PMF)-resolved OA components based on aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) measurements. In July, OA concentrations underestimation was decreased by up to 24% with VBS. In December, VBS introduced small negative biases or resulted in more pronounced (but moderate) underestimations of OA with respect to SOAP. CAMx performance for POA was much better than for SOA, while VBS decreased the overestimation of POA and the underestimation of SOA in both study periods. Despite the SOA concentrations increases by VBS, CAMx still considerably underestimated SOA (e.g., by 65% in July). Better representation of simulated OA concentrations in Athens could benefit by accounting for the missing cooking emissions, by improvements in the biomass burning emissions, or by detailed integration of processes related to OA chemical aging.

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Journal
Sustainability
Published
2025-03-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062619
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Air Quality and Health Impacts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.20
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article

Investigating the Role of Organic Aerosol Schemes in the Simulation of Atmospheric Particulate Matter in a Large Mediterranean Urban Agglomeration

Eleni Athanasopoulou, N. Mihalopoulos, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Evangelos Gerasopoulos et al.
1 citations
Sustainability
Air Quality and Health Impacts
1.20
article

Investigating the Role of Organic Aerosol Schemes in the Simulation of Atmospheric Particulate Matter in a Large Mediterranean Urban Agglomeration

Eleni Athanasopoulou, N. Mihalopoulos, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Serafim Kontos, Athena Progiou, Stavros Solomos, Christos Zerefos, Natalia Liora, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Stefanos Papagiannis, Kalliopi Petrinoli, Dimitrios Melas, Eleni Liakakou, Evangelia Diapouli, A. Poupkou, Georgios Grivas, Ioannis Kapsomenakis, Vasiliki Vasilatou, Dimitrios Tsiaousidis, Pavlos Kalabokas
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Air quality simulations were performed for Athens (Greece) in ~1 km resolution applying the models WRF-CAMx for July and December 2019 with the secondary organic aerosol processor (SOAP) and volatility basis set (VBS) organic aerosol (OA) schemes. CAMx results were evaluated against particulate matter (PM) and OA concentrations from the regulatory monitoring network and research monitoring sites (including PM2.5 low-cost sensors). The repartition of primary OA (POA) and secondary OA (SOA) by CAMx was compared with positive matrix factorization (PMF)-resolved OA components based on aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) measurements. In July, OA concentrations underestimation was decreased by up to 24% with VBS. In December, VBS introduced small negative biases or resulted in more pronounced (but moderate) underestimations of OA with respect to SOAP. CAMx performance for POA was much better than for SOA, while VBS decreased the overestimation of POA and the underestimation of SOA in both study periods. Despite the SOA concentrations increases by VBS, CAMx still considerably underestimated SOA (e.g., by 65% in July). Better representation of simulated OA concentrations in Athens could benefit by accounting for the missing cooking emissions, by improvements in the biomass burning emissions, or by detailed integration of processes related to OA chemical aging.

SustainabilityVol. 17(6)
National Centre of Scientific Research "Demokritos" (GR), Academy of Athens (GR), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (GR), National Observatory of Athens (GR), Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences and Technology, Energy & Safety
Openalex Percentile: Top 25%
Air Quality and Health Impacts
1.20
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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