Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3348
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3348
10 Dec 2024
 | 10 Dec 2024

Sensitivity of climate-chemistry model simulated atmospheric composition to lightning-produced NOx parameterizations based on lightning frequency

Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón, Francisco J. Gordillo-Vázquez, Heidi Huntrieser, Patrick Jöckel, and Eric J. Bucsela

Abstract. Lightning-produced nitrogen oxides (LNOx=LNO+LNO2) are an important source of upper tropospheric ozone. Typical parameterizations of LNOx in chemistry-climate models introduce a constant amount of NOx per flash or per flash type. However, recent satellite-based NO2 measurements suggest that the production of LNOx per flash depends on the lightning flash frequency. In this study, we implement a new parameterization of LNOx production per flash based on the lightning flash frequency into a chemistry-climate model to investigate the implications for the chemical composition of the atmosphere. We find that a larger injection of LNOx in weak thunderstorms leads to a larger mixing ratio of NOx in the lower and the middle troposphere, and to a lower mixing ratio of NOx in the upper troposphere. The mixing ratios of O3, CO, HOx, HNO3 and HNO4 in the troposphere are influenced by the simulated changes of LNOx. Our findings indicate a larger release of nitrogen oxides from lightning in the lower and the middle atmosphere, producing a slightly better agreement with the measurements of tropospheric ozone at a global scale. In turn, we obtain a small decrease of the lifetime of methane and of carbon monoxide.

Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics.

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.
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Lightning plays a significant role in tropospheric chemistry by producing substantial amounts of...
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