Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/TeX/fontdata.js
Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2937
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-2937
06 Feb 2024
 | 06 Feb 2024

Performance evaluation of UKESM1 for surface ozone across the pan-tropics

Flossie Brown, Gerd Folberth, Stephen Sitch, Paulo Artaxo, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Alexander W. Cheesman, Matteo Detto, Ninong Komala, Luciana Rizzo, Nestor Rojas, Ines dos Santos Vieira, Steven Turnock, Hans Verbeeck, and Alfonso Zambrano

Abstract. Surface ozone monitoring sites in the tropics are limited, despite the risk that surface ozone poses to human health, tropical forest, and crop productivity. Atmospheric chemistry models allow us to assess ozone exposure in unmonitored locations and evaluate the potential influence of changing policies and climate on air quality, human health, and ecosystem integrity. Here, we utilise in situ ozone measurements from ground-based stations in the pan-tropics to evaluate ozone from the UK Earth system model, UKESM1, with a focus on remote sites. The study includes ozone data from areas with limited previous data, notably Tropical South America, central Africa, and tropical North Australia. Evaluating UKESM1 against observations beginning in 1987 onwards, we show that UKESM1 is able to capture changes in surface ozone concentration at different temporal resolutions, albeit with a systematic high bias of 18.1 nmol mol-1 on average. We use the Diurnal Ozone Range (DOR) as a metric for evaluation and find that UKESM1 captures the observed DOR (mean bias of 2.7 nmol mol-1 and RMSE of 7.1 nmol mol-1) and the trend in DOR with location and season. Results from this study demonstrate the applicability of hourly output from UKESM1 for human and ecosystem health-based impact assessments, increase confidence in model projections, and highlight areas that would benefit from further observations. Indeed, hourly surface ozone data has been crucial to this study, and we encourage other modelling groups to include hourly surface ozone output as a default.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.
Share

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

13 Nov 2024
Performance evaluation of UKESM1 for surface ozone across the pan-tropics
Flossie Brown, Gerd Folberth, Stephen Sitch, Paulo Artaxo, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Alexander W. Cheesman, Matteo Detto, Ninong Komala, Luciana Rizzo, Nestor Rojas, Ines dos Santos Vieira, Steven Turnock, Hans Verbeeck, and Alfonso Zambrano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12537–12555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024, 2024
Short summary
Download

The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Short summary
Ozone is a pollutant that is detrimental to human and plant health. Ozone monitoring sites in...
Share