Updating sea spray aerosol emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.0.2

Abstract

Abstract. Sea spray aerosols (SSA) impact the particle mass concentration and gas-particle partitioning in coastal environments, with implications for human and ecosystem health. Despite their importance, the emission magnitude of SSA remains highly uncertain with global estimates varying by nearly two orders of magnitude. In this study, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was updated to enhance fine mode SSA emissions, include sea surface temperature (SST) dependency, and reduce coastally-enhanced emissions. Predictions from the updated CMAQ model and those of the previous release version, CMAQv5.0.2, were evaluated using several regional and national observational datasets in the continental US. The updated emissions generally reduced model underestimates of sodium, chloride, and nitrate surface concentrations for an inland site of the Bay Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE) near Tampa, Florida. Including SST-dependency to the SSA emission parameterization led to increased sodium concentrations in the southeast US and decreased concentrations along parts of the Pacific coast and northeastern US. The influence of sodium on the gas-particle partitioning of nitrate resulted in higher nitrate particle concentrations in many coastal urban areas due to increased condensation of nitric acid in the updated simulations, potentially affecting the predicted nitrogen deposition in sensitive ecosystems. Application of the updated SSA emissions to the California Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex) study period resulted in modest improvement in the predicted surface concentration of sodium and nitrate at several central and southern California coastal sites. This SSA emission update enabled a more realistic simulation of the atmospheric chemistry in environments where marine air mixes with urban pollution.