Models

Modeling is an important component of the research performed by the BAI group. Models are used to help interpret field and laboratory results, scale leaf-level and local measurements to regional and global scales, and to investigate the various interactions between the biosphere and the atmosphere.

Here we provide information about the models we are currently developing and/or applying for these purposes.

The NCAR Master Mechanism

The NCAR Master Mechanism is a chemical box model that allows us to interpret chemical measurements made in laboratory and field measurements. It can be downloaded from the Community Data Portal.

MEGAN (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature)

MEGAN is a modeling system for estimating the net emission of gases and aerosols from terrestrial ecosystems into the atmosphere. It is driven by landcover, weather, and atmospheric chemical composition. MEGAN is a global model with a base resolution of ~ 1 km. It can run as a stand-alone model for generating emission inventories but is also being incorporated as an on-line component of chemistry/transport and earth system models. A simple approach (MEGAN-EZ) has been developed and a preliminary version is available. MEGAN is currently being evaluated and will be released by December 2005.

FIRE EMISSIONS MODEL

Fire emissions can contribute significant amounts of particulate matter and trace gases to the atmosphere. We have developed a fire emissions model that produces daily fire emissions at a high resolution (1km2) appropriate for regional chemical modelers. The model domain currently encompasses North America.

More information to come. Contact: Christine at christin@ucar.edu

CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality)

The CMAQ Modeling System is a regional chemical transport model developed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

WRF-CHEM (Weather Research Forecasting Model with Chemistry)

The WRF-Chem is a coupled regional modeling system where meteorology, land surface processes, emissions and chemistry and modeled simultaneously. WRF-Chem Working Group.

MOZART (Model for OZone And Related chemical Tracers)

MOZART is a comprehensive global chemical transport model of atmospheric composition designed to simulate tropospheric chemical and transport processes. It is driven by standard meteorogical fields output from any number of meteorological centers (e.g. the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), or Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (DMAO)) or by fields generated from general circulation models.