Influence of grid resolution and meteorological forcing on simulated European air quality: A sensitivity study with the modeling system COSMO–MUSCAT

Model evaluation studies are essential for determining model performance as well as assessing model deficiencies, and are the focus of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII). The chemistry-transport model system COSMO–MUSCAT participates in this initiative. In this paper the robustness and variability of the model results against changes in the model setup are analyzed. Special focus is given to the formation of secondary particulate matter and the ability to reproduce unusually high levels of PM10 in Central Europe caused by long-range transported smoke of fires in western Russia. Seven different model configurations are investigated in this study. The COSMO–MUSCAT results are evaluated in comparison with ground-based measurements in Central Europe. The analysis is performed for two selected periods in April/May 2006 and October 2006 which are characterized by elevated concentrations of PM. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the results is studied against the used grid resolution and the meteorological forcing. Here, COSMO–MUSCAT is applied with different horizontal grid sizes and, alternatively, forced by reanalysis data with finer resolution. The use of finer grid resolutions in COSMO–MUSCAT has direct consequences on the meteorological forcing as well as on the calculated emission and deposition rates. The presented results suggest a large impact of the meteorological effects on the PM concentrations. The more accurate spatial appointment of the emissions and deposition fluxes seems to be of little consequence compared to the meteorological forcing.