Simulation of aerosol fields over South Asia using CHIMERE – part-I: spatio-temporal characteristics and heterogeneity

Abstract

In order to understand the regional climate implications of aerosols over Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), a major Indo-US field experiment, Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment (GVAX) was conducted during 2011–12. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) mobile facility (AMF) was deployed at the northern Indo-Gangetic Plain over the high-altitude site, Manora Peak, Nainital (29° 21′33.84″N, 79°27′29.27″E, 1980 m amsl) in Central Himalayas, for an year-round measurementof aerosols, clouds and other climate-relevant atmospheric parameters. One of the objectives of GVAX was examining the ability of models to simulate aerosols over Indian region and validate the simulations. In part-1 of this two-part paper, we examine use of the chemical transport model ‘CHIMERE’ to simulate aerosol fields over Indian region (4–37.5°N; 67–88.5°E) for multiple years (2006, 2007 and 2008) by simulating the spatial and temporal distribution of PM10, BC mass concentrations and OC/BC ratios. It is seen that the model successfully captures the broad features of the regional distribution of aerosols, including the most conspicuous IGP hotspot and its seasonality.