Forecasting of Tracer Fields During TRACE-P with the Global Climate Model ECHAM

Johann Feichter, Martin Schultz, and Hans-Stefan Bauer
Max-Planck-Institut für Meteorologie, Hamburg, Germany

Project Description

1. Realtime forecast simulations during the TRACE-P deployment phase

We will perform real-time forecast simulations of global meteorological and tracer fields with the general circulation model ECHAM for two weeks prior and during the field deployment of TRACE-P. The simulations shall be based on ECMWF forecast fields and will be performed in T106 resolution (~ 1° x 1°) with 19 vertical levels from the surface to 10 hPa.

Standard maps and animated sequences shall be automatically generated prior to each flight, and they will be made available for use in the field in order to assist the science team in detailed flight planning. It is planned that one scientist from the Max-Planck-Institute will accompany the DC-8 aircraft to all major bases of operation for this purpose. We will provide the following products with a 6-hour time resolution at the surface, 750 mbar, 500 mbar, and 300 mbar (additional products can be requested):

•    geopotential height

•    specific humidity

•    wind vectors

•    potential vorticity

•    tracer concentrations of pseudo CO and pseudo acetylene (same emission fields as CO in atmospheric CTM, constant lifetime of 30 days and 5 days, respectively)

•    concentrations of CO tracer labeled according to source region (East Asia, West Asia, Europe, US, elsewhere)

•    Radon concentrations

In order to reduce internet traffic, these products shall be generated in Hamburg and downloaded to the field site as GIF or JPEG images. We will also try to make animated sequences available if feasible.

2. Model study of the budgets of ozone and nitrogen oxides in the TRACE-P region

After the mission is completed, we will perform simulations with the chemical transport model MOZART (using analyzed winds from ECMWF) and we will analyze the budgets of ozone and nitrogen oxides in the TRACE-P region. These simulations will also be performed in T106 resolution, and tracers (e.g. CO) will again be marked according to their region of origin. The model results will be made available to the science team as global fields and sampled along the flight tracks of both aircraft. The evaluation of the simulated tracer fields shall be performed in close collaboration with the experimentalists from the science team.