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Titel |
Impact of 2000–2050 climate change on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality inferred from a multi-model analysis of meteorological modes |
VerfasserIn |
A. P. K. Tai, L. J. Mickley, D. J. Jacob |
Medientyp |
Artikel
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Sprache |
Englisch
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ISSN |
1680-7316
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Digitales Dokument |
URL |
Erschienen |
In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ; 12, no. 23 ; Nr. 12, no. 23 (2012-12-03), S.11329-11337 |
Datensatznummer |
250011633
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Publikation (Nr.) |
copernicus.org/acp-12-11329-2012.pdf |
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Zusammenfassung |
Studies of the effect of climate change on fine particulate matter
(PM2.5 air quality using general circulation models (GCMs) show
inconsistent results including in the sign of the effect. This reflects
uncertainty in the GCM simulations of the regional meteorological variables
affecting PM2.5. Here we use the CMIP3 archive of data from fifteen
different IPCC AR4 GCMs to obtain improved statistics of 21st-century
trends in the meteorological modes driving PM2.5 variability over the
contiguous US. We analyze 1999–2010 observations to identify the dominant
meteorological modes driving interannual PM2.5 variability and their
synoptic periods T. We find robust correlations (r > 0.5)
of annual mean PM2.5 with T, especially in the eastern US where
the dominant modes represent frontal passages. The GCMs all have significant
skill in reproducing present-day statistics for T and we show that
this reflects their ability to simulate atmospheric baroclinicity. We then
use the local PM2.5-to-period sensitivity (dPM2.5/dT) from
the 1999–2010 observations to project PM2.5 changes from the 2000–2050
changes in T simulated by the 15 GCMs following the SRES A1B
greenhouse warming scenario. By weighted-average statistics of GCM results
we project a likely 2000–2050 increase of ~ 0.1 μg m−3
in annual mean PM2.5 in the eastern US arising from less
frequent frontal ventilation, and a likely decrease albeit with greater
inter-GCM variability in the Pacific Northwest due to more frequent maritime
inflows. Potentially larger regional effects of 2000–2050 climate change on
PM2.5 may arise from changes in temperature, biogenic emissions,
wildfires, and vegetation, but are still unlikely to affect annual
PM2.5 by more than 0.5 μg m−3. |
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