Technical Note: The Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) ? a new approach towards Earth System Modeling

International audienceGenerally, the typical approach towards Earth System Modeling has been to couple existing models of different domains (land, ocean, atmosphere, ...) offline, using output files of one model to provide input for the other. However, for a detailed study of the interactions and feedbacks between chemical, physical, and biological processes, it is necessary to perform the coupling online. One strategy is to link the existing domain-specific models with a universal coupler. In many cases, however, a much simpler approach is more feasible. To achieve the online coupling, we have developed the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy). Data are exchanged between a and several within one comprehensive model system. MESSy includes a generalized interface structure for the standardized control of the and their interconnections. The internal complexity of the is controllable in a transparent and user friendly way. This provides remarkable new possibilities to study feedback mechanisms (by two-way coupling), e.g., by applying MESSy to a general circulation model (GCM)

Technical Note: The new comprehensive atmospheric chemistry module MECCA

International audienceIn this technical note we present the multi-purpose atmospheric chemistry model MECCA. Owing to its versatility and modular structure, it can be used for tropospheric as well as stratospheric chemistry calculations. Extending the code to other domains (e.g. mesospheric or oceanic chemistry) is easily possible. MECCA contains a comprehensive atmospheric reaction mechanism that currently includes: 1) the basic O3, CH4, HOx, and NOx, chemistry, 2) non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) chemistry, 3) halogen (Cl, Br, I) chemistry, and 4) sulfur chemistry. Not only gas-phase chemistry but also aqueous-phase and heterogeneous reactions are considered. Arbitrary subsets of the comprehensive mechanism can be selected according to the research objectives. The program code resulting from the chemical mechanism can easily be used in any kind of model, from a simple box model to a sophisticated global general circulation model

Technical note: The new comprehensive atmospheric chemistry module MECCA

In this technical note we present the multi-purpose atmospheric chemistry model MECCA. Owing to its versatility and modular structure, it can be used for tropospheric as well as stratospheric chemistry calculations. Extending the code to other domains (e.g. mesospheric or oceanic chemistry) is easily possible. MECCA contains a comprehensive atmospheric reaction mechanism that currently includes: 1) the basic O₃, CH₄, HO_x, and NO_x chemistry, 2) non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) chemistry, 3) halogen (Cl, Br, I) chemistry, and 4) sulfur chemistry. Not only gas-phase chemistry but also aqueous-phase and heterogeneous reactions are considered. Arbitrary subsets of the comprehensive mechanism can be selected according to the research objectives. The program code resulting from the chemical mechanism can easily be used in any model, from a simple box model to a comprehensive global general circulation model

Halogenated organic species over the tropical South American rainforest

Airborne measurements of the halogenated trace gases methyl chloride, methyl bromide and chloroform were conducted over the Atlantic Ocean and about 1000 km of pristine tropical rainforest in Suriname and French Guyana (3–6° N, 51–59° W) in October 2005. In the boundary layer (0–1.4 km), maritime air masses, advected over the forest by southeasterly trade winds, were measured at various distances from the coast. Since the organohalogens presented here have relatively long atmospheric lifetimes (0.4–1.0 years) in comparison to the advection times from the coast (1–2 days), emissions will accumulate in air traversing the rainforest. The distributions of methyl chloride, methyl bromide and chloroform were analyzed as a function of time the air spent over land and the respective relationship used to determine net fluxes from the rainforest for one week within the long dry season. <br><br> Net fluxes from the rainforest ecosystem have been calculated for methyl chloride and chloroform as 9.5 (±3.8 2σ) and 0.35 (±0.15 2σ)μg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. No significant flux was observed for methyl bromide within the limits of these measurements. <br><br> The global budget of methyl chloride contains large uncertainties, in particular with regard to a possible source from tropical vegetation. Our measurements are used in a large-scale approach to determine the net flux from a tropical ecosystem to the planetary boundary layer. The obtained global net flux of 1.5 (±0.6 2σ) Tg yr<sup>-1</sup> for methyl chloride is at the lower end of current estimates for tropical vegetation sources, which helps to constrain the range of tropical sources and sinks (0.82 to 8.2 Tg yr<sup>-1</sup> from tropical plants, 0.03 to 2.5 Tg yr<sup>-1</sup> from senescent/dead leaves and a sink of 0.1 to 1.6 Tg yr<sup>-1</sup> by soil uptake). Nevertheless, these results show that the contribution of the rainforest ecosystem is the major source in the global budget of methyl chloride. <br><br> For chloroform, the extrapolated global net flux from tropical ecosystems is 56 (±23 2σ) Gg yr<sup>−1</sup>, which is of minor importance compared to the total global sources and might be already contained in the soil emission term

Technical note: A new comprehensive SCAVenging submodel for global atmospheric chemistry modelling

International audienceWe present the new scavenging scheme SCAV, simulating the removal of trace gases and aerosol particles by clouds and precipitation in global atmospheric chemistry models. The scheme is quite flexible and can be used for various purposes, e.g. long term chemistry simulations as well as detailed cloud and precipitation chemistry calculations. The presence of clouds can substantially change the chemical composition of the atmosphere. We present a new method of mechanistically coupling gas phase, aerosol, cloud and precipitation chemistry, which enables studies of feedbacks between multiphase chemistry and transport processes

Technical Note: Simulation of detailed aerosol chemistry on the global scale using MECCA-AERO

International audienceWe present the MESSy submodel MECCA-AERO, which simulates both aerosol and gas phase chemistry within one comprehensive mechanism. Including the aerosol phase into the chemistry mechanism increases the stiffness of the resulting set of differential equations. The numerical aspects of the approach followed in MECCA-AERO are presented. MECCA-AERO requires input of an aerosol dynamical/microphysical model to provide the aerosol size and particle number information of the modes/bins for which the chemistry is explicitly calculated. Additional precautions are required to avoid the double counting of processes, especially for sulphate in the aerosol dynamical and the chemistry model. This coupling is explained in detail. To illustrate the capabilities of the new aerosol submodel, examples for species usually treated in aerosol dynamical models are shown. The aerosol chemistry as provided by MECCA-AERO is very sumptuous and not readily applicable for long-term simulations, though it provides a reference to evaluate simplified approaches

Halogenated organic species over the tropical rainforest

International audienceAirborne measurements of the halogenated trace gases methyl chloride, methyl bromide and chloroform were conducted over the Atlantic Ocean and 1000 km of pristine tropical rainforest in Suriname and French Guyana (3–6° N, 51–59° W) in October 2005. In the boundary layer (0–1.4 km), maritime air masses initially low in forest hydrocarbons, advected over the forest by southeasterly trade winds, were measured at various distances from the coast. Since the organohalogens presented here have relatively long atmospheric lifetimes (0.4–1.0 years) in comparison to the transport times (1–2 days), emissions will accumulate in air traversing the rainforest. The distributions of methyl chloride, methyl bromide and chloroform were analyzed as a function of forest contact time and the respective relationship used to determine fluxes from the rainforest during the long dry season. Emission fluxes have been calculated for methyl chloride and chloroform as 9.4 (±4.0 2s) and 0.34 (0.14± 2s) µg m-2 h-1, respectively. No significant flux from the rainforest was observed for methyl bromide within the limits of these measurements. The flux of methyl chloride was in general agreement with the flux measured over the same region in March 1998 during the LBA Claire project using a different analytical system. This confirms that the rainforest is a strong source for methyl chloride and suggests that this emission is relatively uniform throughout the year. In contrast the chloroform flux derived here is a factor of three less than previous measurements made in March 1998 suggesting a pronounced ecosystem variation. The differences in chloroform fluxes could not be attributed to either temperature or rainfall changes. The global extrapolation of the derived fluxes led to 1.5 (±0.6 2s) Tg yr-1 for methyl chloride, which is in the range of the missing source postulated by previous model studies and 55 (±22 2s) Gg yr-1 for chloroform

Global cloud and precipitation chemistry and wet deposition: tropospheric model simulations with ECHAM5/MESSy1

International audienceThe representation of cloud and precipitation chemistry and subsequent wet deposition of trace constituents in global atmospheric chemistry models is associated with large uncertainties. To improve the simulated trace gas distributions we apply the new submodel SCAV, which includes detailed cloud and precipitation chemistry and present results of the atmospheric chemistry general circulation model ECHAM5/MESSy1. A good agreement with observed wet deposition fluxes for species causing acid rain is obtained. The new scheme enables prognostic calculations of the pH of clouds and precipitation, and these results are also in accordance with observations. We address the influence of detailed cloud and precipitation chemistry on trace constituents based on sensitivity simulations. The results confirm previous results from regional scale and box models, and we extend the analysis to the role of aqueous phase chemistry on the global scale. Some species are directly affected through multiphase removal processes, and many also indirectly through changes in oxidant concentrations, which in turn have an impact on the species lifetime. While the overall effect on tropospheric ozone is relatively small (3 can reach ?20%, and several important compounds (e.g., H2O2, HCHO) are substantially depleted by clouds and precipitation

Technical Note: The MESSy-submodel AIRSEA calculating the air-sea exchange of chemical species

The new submodel AIRSEA for the Modular Earth Submodel System (MESSy) is presented. It calculates the exchange of chemical species between the ocean and the atmosphere with a focus on organic compounds. The submodel can be easily extended to a large number of tracers, including highly soluble ones. It is demonstrated that the application of explicitly calculated air-sea exchanges with AIRSEA can induce substantial changes in the simulated tracer distributions in the troposphere in comparison to a model setup in which this process is neglected. For example, the simulations of acetone, constrained with measured oceanic concentrations, shows relative changes in the atmospheric surface layer mixing ratios over the Atlantic Ocean of up to 300%

Simulating organic species with the global atmospheric chemistry general circulation model ECHAM5/MESSy1: a comparison of model results with observations

The atmospheric-chemistry general circulation model ECHAM5/MESSy1 is evaluated with observations of different organic ozone precursors. This study continues a prior analysis which focused primarily on the representation of atmospheric dynamics and ozone. We use the results of the same reference simulation and apply a statistical analysis using data from numerous field campaigns. The results serve as a basis for future improvements of the model system. ECHAM5/MESSy1 generally reproduces the spatial distribution and the seasonal cycle of carbon monoxide (CO) very well. However, for the background in the Northern Hemisphere we obtain a negative bias (mainly due to an underestimation of emissions from fossil fuel combustion), and in the high latitude Southern Hemisphere a yet unexplained positive bias. The model results agree well with observations of alkanes, whereas severe problems in the simulation of alkenes and isoprene are present. For oxygenated compounds the results are ambiguous: The model results are in good agreement with observations of formaldehyde, but systematic biases are present for methanol and acetone. The discrepancies between the model results and the observations are explained (partly) by means of sensitivity studies