The proposed research will support the airborne and satellite investigation of asian air quality (asia-AQ) field campaign by providing multi-scale chemistry model forecasts and analyses to support…

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), operating as the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), was awarded a $695,407 grant by the National Science Foundation to support the Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) field campaign. This research initiative will develop multi-scale chemistry model forecasts and analyses to facilitate flight planning and post-campaign interpretation of observations. UCAR will deploy a suite of atmospheric modeling tools including a variable-resolution configuration of the Community Earth System Model with Chemistry (CESM/CAM-CHEM), designated MUSICAV0 (Multi-Scale Infrastructure for Chemistry and Aerosols, Version 0), along with the Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-CHEM) and the FLEXPART Lagrangian transport model. These tools will integrate satellite retrievals and ground-based remote sensing data to quantify pollution drivers and transboundary transport mechanisms across Asia while resolving both urban-scale emissions and hemispheric-scale pollution dynamics.

The work, scheduled for completion by April 30, 2026, will incorporate data assimilation of satellite retrievals for atmospheric composition measurements (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and aerosols) to enhance forecast accuracy and emissions estimates. During the field campaign phase, UCAR will provide daily chemical forecasts and participate in operational flight planning activities while leveraging geostationary satellite observations from GEMS and ground-based measurements from the PANDORA remote sensing network. This grant represents core funding for UCAR's atmospheric research capabilities and aligns with the National Science Foundation's emphasis on advancing Earth system science and environmental monitoring capabilities. The work will be performed at UCAR's primary facility in Boulder, Colorado.

The proposed research will support the airborne and satellite investigation of asian air quality (asia-AQ) field campaign by providing multi-scale chemistry model forecasts and analyses to support flight planning, and post-campaign interpretation of observations. Global, regional and trajectory models will be used to connect the in situ and remote sensing observations from the ground and aircraft, along with satellite retrievals, to quantify the drivers of air pollution in the study regions and across asia. A new configuration of the global community atmosphere model with chemistry, a component of the community earth system model, cesm(cam-chem), with variable resolution, labeled MUSICAV0 (multi-scale infrastructure for chemistry and aerosols, version 0), will provide the large-scale impact of transboundary pollution transport on local air quality. The variable resolution grid will allow simulation at local-to-regional scales, resolving urban-scale emissions and associated chemical processing, while simultaneously simulating hemispheric-scale pollution transport. Data assimilation of satellite retrievals of atmospheric composition (CO, NO2, aerosols) will be included in MUSICAV0, improving the accuracy of predictions by correcting errors in emissions and transport. In addition, forecast products from the regional weather research and forecasting (WRF) model with chemistry (WRF-chem) and WRF with tracers, with domains over asia. Trajectory forecasts from the lagrangian transport model flexpart will provide urban-scale source contributions for flight planning and analysis. The gems geostationary satellite retrievals will provide crucial diurnal, continental-scale observations, and we will use these along with the pandora ground-based remote sensing network, to improve emissions estimates and evaluate, and improve, the model results. During the field phase of asia-AQ, we will provide chemical forecasts from our suite of models and participate in daily flight planning meetings. Following the campaign we will work closely with the science team, including the partners in the study regions, to analyze all of the observations in conjunction with the models from our group, and others. We will use the unique observations that will be provided by the aircraft campaign to evaluate the capability of models to predict air quality and improve the model processes such as boundary layer structure and other dynamics, as well as chemistry and aerosol mechanisms. Our model results will be available to the full science team, and we will collaborate on their use and will help coordinate model intercomparison activities to improve model prediction and understand the drivers and source contributions of air pollution in the study regions across asia.