Lightning NO₂ simulation over the contiguous US and its effects on satellite NO₂ retrievals

• Main Authors: Q. Zhu, J. L. Laughner, R. C. Cohen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2019-10-01
• Series: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• Online Access: https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/19/13067/2019/acp-19-13067-2019.pdf
• ISSN: 1680-7316; 1680-7324

<p>Lightning is an important <span class="inline-formula">NO_<i>x</i></span> source representing <span class="inline-formula">∼10</span>&thinsp;% of the global source of odd N and a much larger percentage in the upper troposphere. The poor understanding of spatial and temporal patterns of lightning contributes to a large uncertainty in understanding upper tropospheric chemistry. We implement a lightning parameterization using the product of convective available potential energy (CAPE) and convective precipitation rate (PR) coupled with the Kain–Fritsch convective scheme (KF/CAPE-PR) into the Weather Research and Forecasting-Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model. Compared to the cloud-top height (CTH) lightning parameterization combined with the Grell 3-D convective scheme (G3/CTH), we show that the switch of convective scheme improves the correlation of lightning flash density in the southeastern US from 0.30 to 0.67 when comparing against the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network; the switch of lightning parameterization contributes to the improvement of the correlation from 0.48 to 0.62 elsewhere in the US. The simulated <span class="inline-formula">NO₂</span> profiles using the KF/CAPE-PR parameterization exhibit better agreement with aircraft observations in the middle and upper troposphere. Using a lightning <span class="inline-formula">NO_<i>x</i></span> production rate of 500&thinsp;mol&thinsp;NO flash<span class="inline-formula">⁻¹</span>, the a priori <span class="inline-formula">NO₂</span> profile generated by the simulation with the KF/CAPE-PR parameterization reduces the air mass factor for <span class="inline-formula">NO₂</span> retrievals by 16&thinsp;% on average in the southeastern US in the late spring and early summer compared to simulations using the G3/CTH parameterization. This causes an average change in <span class="inline-formula">NO₂</span> vertical column density 4 times higher than the average uncertainty.</p>