Observationally constrained analysis on the distribution of fine- and coarse-mode nitrate in global models

Abstract. Nitrate plays an important role in the Earth system and air quality. A key challenge in simulating the life cycle of nitrate aerosol in global models is to accurately represent mass size distribution of nitrate aerosol. In this study, we evaluate the performance of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) and the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2), along with Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models (AeroCom) phase III models, in simulating spatial distribution of fine-mode nitrate, the mass size distribution of fine- and coarse-mode nitrate, and the gas–aerosol partitioning between nitric acid gas and nitrate, using long-term ground-based observations and measurements from multiple aircraft campaigns. We find that most models underestimate the annual mean PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm) nitrate surface concentration averaged over all sites. The observed nitrate PM2.5 / PM10 and PM1 / PM4 ratios are influenced by the relative contribution of fine sulfate or organic particles and coarse dust or sea salt particles. Overall, the ground-based observations give an annual mean surface nitrate PM2.5 / PM10 ratio of 0.7. Most models underestimate the annual mean PM2.5 / PM10 ratio in all regions. There are large spreads in the modeled nitrate PM1 / PM4 ratios, which span the full range from 0 to 1. Most models underestimate the surface molar ratio of nitrate to total inorganic nitrate averaged across all sites. Our study indicates the importance of gas–aerosol partition parameterization and the simulation of dust and sea salt in correctly simulating the mass size distribution of nitrate.

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Publication Details

Journal
Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Published
2025-09-09
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-10049-2025
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.60
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article

Observationally constrained analysis on the distribution of fine- and coarse-mode nitrate in global models

Vlassis A. Karydis, Huisheng Bian, Yan Feng, Marianne T. Lund et al.
2 citations
Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
2.60
article

Observationally constrained analysis on the distribution of fine- and coarse-mode nitrate in global models

Vlassis A. Karydis, Huisheng Bian, Yan Feng, Marianne T. Lund, David Damien Cohen, Alexandra P. Tsimpidi, Mingxuan Wu, Shaocheng Xie, Gunnar Myhre, Svetlana Tsyro, Didier Hauglustaine, Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Mian Chin, Michael Schulz, Xiaohong Liu, Hailong Wang, Zheng Lu, Andrea Pozzer
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract. Nitrate plays an important role in the Earth system and air quality. A key challenge in simulating the life cycle of nitrate aerosol in global models is to accurately represent mass size distribution of nitrate aerosol. In this study, we evaluate the performance of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model version 2 (E3SMv2) and the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2), along with Aerosol Comparisons between Observations and Models (AeroCom) phase III models, in simulating spatial distribution of fine-mode nitrate, the mass size distribution of fine- and coarse-mode nitrate, and the gas–aerosol partitioning between nitric acid gas and nitrate, using long-term ground-based observations and measurements from multiple aircraft campaigns. We find that most models underestimate the annual mean PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 µm) nitrate surface concentration averaged over all sites. The observed nitrate PM2.5 / PM10 and PM1 / PM4 ratios are influenced by the relative contribution of fine sulfate or organic particles and coarse dust or sea salt particles. Overall, the ground-based observations give an annual mean surface nitrate PM2.5 / PM10 ratio of 0.7. Most models underestimate the annual mean PM2.5 / PM10 ratio in all regions. There are large spreads in the modeled nitrate PM1 / PM4 ratios, which span the full range from 0 to 1. Most models underestimate the surface molar ratio of nitrate to total inorganic nitrate averaged across all sites. Our study indicates the importance of gas–aerosol partition parameterization and the simulation of dust and sea salt in correctly simulating the mass size distribution of nitrate.

Atmospheric chemistry and physicsVol. 25(17)
Argonne National Laboratory (US), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), Norwegian Meteorological Institute (NO), Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (AU), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (US), Cyprus Institute (CY), Shandong University (CN), Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (FR), Huazhong Agricultural University (CN), Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (FR), CICERO Center for International Climate Research (NO), Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (DE), Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital (FR), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (FR), CEA Paris-Saclay (FR), Institut Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique (FR), Texas A&M University (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
2.60
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