Three-Dimensional (3D) Modeling and Observational Studies of Lightning-Produced Nitric Oxides

该项目是对过去研究雷暴中NOx(反应性氮氧化物：一氧化氮和二氧化氮的总和)研究的继续和扩展，使用现场观测和数值风暴模拟相结合的方法，以更好地估计闪电和随后在整个雷雨云中的输送产生的氮氧化物。这项工作将有助于更好地理解活性氧化氮是如何在雷暴中分布的，因为它是由闪电产生并受到后续化学反应的影响。该项目涉及建模和现场测量、显式云尺度建模，以说明云中闪电放电的几个关键过程，这些过程受飞机对气象参数的测量和电活性对流云团内的NO的限制。这项研究的更广泛影响包括：模型开发将改善用于模拟和量化大型电活动对流风暴对光化学活性氧化剂的生产和再分配的影响的云尺度模型的稳健性和代表性方面的性能，特别强调进一步限制高度不确定的全球氮氧化物预算--这是对全球气候的一个重要考虑。该项目包括研究生研究培训，研究成果将用于教学。

This project continues and extends upon past studies investigating NOx (reactive nitrogen oxides: the sum of nitric oxide, NO, and nitrogen dioxide, NO2) formation in thunderstorms, using a combination of in situ observations and numerical storm simulations to gain a better estimate of nitrogen oxides production by lightning and subsequent transport throughout the thundercloud. The work will result in a better understanding of how reactive oxidized nitrogen is distributed within thunderstorms as it is generated by lightning and affected by subsequent chemical reactions. The project involves modeling and field measurements, explicit cloud-scale modeling to account for several critical processes of the in-cloud lightning discharge constrained by aircraft measurements of meteorological parameters and NO within the electrically active convective cloud cell. Broader impacts of this research include model developments that will improve performance in terms of robustness and representativeness for cloud-scale models used to simulate and quantify the effect of large electrically-active convective storms on the production and redistribution of photochemically active oxidants, with particular emphasis on further constraining the highly uncertain global NOx budget - an important consideration with regard to global climate. The project includes graduate student research training and results from the study will be used in teaching.