Relational Metrics to Evaluate Chemistry-Transport and Chemistry-Climate Models

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This project will develop observation-based metrics for evaluating global atmospheric chemistry models. This suite of metrics will assist with climate model development and planning for the next chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (MIP) for the 7th IPCC assessment. This effort will document the development and improvements occurring in next-generation models and the traceability of confidence in policy-relevant model projections. A new or revised set of metrics focused on gas-phase chemistry will be developed involving high-order metrics (e.g., reaction rates, budgets, statistics, covariance of species) and/or relationships (e.g., budgets vs. perturbations, seasonal/interannual patterns in transport). Chemical transport models (CTM) at the University of California at Irvine and MIP archives will be used to draft the metrics. Scientific issues to be addressed include: (1) heterogeneity in chemical composition; (2) chemical budgets of tropospheric O3 and CH4; (3) CH4 chemistry feedback and O3 sensitivities; (4) tropospheric humidity, an emergent constraint; (5) N2O from the stratosphere to the surface; (6) stratospheric column ozone; (7) tropospheric column ozone and air mass; (8) photolysis rates and emergent constraints; and (9) surface O3, an air quality metric.A graduate student will participate in the design, testing, and documentation of the metrics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.