Global Budgets of Atmospheric Trace Gases: A Three-dimensional (3-D) Model Analysis

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Three-dimensional (3-D) modeling studies will be carried out aimed at an improved understanding of the global budgets of several important atmospheric trace gases. Specifically, the project will focus on oxygenated organics (methanol, acetaldehyde, propanal, and acetone), methyl halides (methyl chloride and bromide), and carbon-containing gases from combustion (hydrogen cyanide, acetylene, ethane, and carbon monoxide). A combination of forward and inverse modeling will be used. Forward model simulations based on best a priori estimates of sources and sinks will be compared to both observed concentrations and species-species correlations. Airborne data from various field programs will be used for this purpose. Inverse analysis will be used when appropriate to better quantify the magnitudes of individual source terms and corresponding errors. The work on trace carbon gases will be carried out in collaboration with Jennifer Logan (Harvard University), and will use data from a worldwide network of IR absorption measurements and ship cruises. Improved knowledge of the atmospheric budgets of the above gases will have important and general implications for the understanding of global atmospheric chemistry and broader problems of biogeochemical cycling. This award will provide educational opportunities for graduate students and a post-doctoral student.