Exploring the Impact of Future Land Use Change on Global Air Quality and Nutrient Deposition

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The objective of this project is to characterize the impact of anticipated land-use change over the next century on air quality (ozone and fine particulate matter, PM 2.5) and nutrient deposition (nitrogen and phosphorus) from the atmosphere. This effort includes coupling the results of a land-use model with a global chemical transport model to better predict biosphere-atmosphere exchanges that are modulated by land use change. The project will couple output from Community Land Model (CLM2) simulations, driven by the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) land use change scenarios, to the global chemical transport model, GEOS-Chem. Four modules will be modified: biogenic VOC emissions, soil NOx emissions, bioaerosol emissions, and dry deposition. The project includes the development and observational evaluation of a phosphorus model and a harmonized land use scheme for GEOS-Chem. There are two overarching goals for this project: (1) Assessing the impact of projected land use change on short-lived atmospheric constituents (O3 and PM); and (2) Assessing the impact of projected land use change on nutrient deposition (phosphorus and nitrogen). This research effort will be led by a graduate student and a postdoctoral fellow. Continuation of the Frontiers in Atmospheric Chemistry Seminar Series (FACSS) will also be supported by this project. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.