The global reactive gases theme covers daily forecasts and reanalyses of the tropospheric and stratospheric chemical composition with a focus on ozone, carbon monoxide (CO) and NO_x, but including many other short-lived gas-phase substances as well. The integrated MACC forecasting system uses operational and research satellite products for assimilation of ozone, CO, NO₂ and SO₂. The ECMWF weather forecast model has been coupled to the MOZART and TM5 chemistry transport models in order to take into account the changes in the atmosphere’s chemical composition due to emissions, chemical reactions and deposition processes. The MACC G-RG model system is described in Flemming et al. (2009).

Services

Latest Surface Ozone Forecast	Latest Ozone Total Column Forecast

Specific services developed in MACC G-RG are:

• the stratospheric ozone service (including independent assimilation products for cross-comparison)
• the provision of tropospheric trace-gas column data products
• the provision of boundary conditions for regional air quality simulations (both within the MACC project and for external partners)
• the support of scientific field campaigns measuring chemical compounds in the atmosphere

In addition, the G-RG fields constitute an integral part of the MACC reanalysis and will soon be used to provide time-varying oxidant fields in the MACC greenhouse gas and aerosol simulations.

Work Plan

Major activities of the G-RG theme in the MACC project are consolidation of the G-RG services, including further development of validation tools, and the development of a new integrated chemistry module within the ECMWF integrated forecasting system (IFS). Specific activities are listed in the table below. Further information is provided in the detailed G-RG work plan.

The Team

The MACC G-RG team comprises 13 partners and is led by Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. The partners and their involvement in the project are:

Publications

Flemming, J., A. Inness, H. Flentje, V. Huijnen, P. Moinat, M. G. Schultz, and O. Stein (2009): Coupling global chemistry transport models to ECMWF’s integrated forecast system, Geosci. Model Dev., 2, 253–265.

Flemming, J., A. Inness, L. Jones, H.J. Eskes, V. Huijnen, D. Kinnison, M.G. Schultz, O. Stein, D. Cariolle and G. Brasseur (2010): Forecasts and assimilation experiments of the Antarctic Ozone Hole 2008, Technical Memorandum No. 613, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), 26pp.

Huijnen, V., H.J. Eskes, B. Amstrup, R. Bergstrom, K.F. Boersma, H. Elbern, J. Flemming, G. Foret, E. Friese, A. Gross, M. D'Isidoro, I. Kioutsioukis, A. Maurizi, D. Melas, V.-H. Peuch, A. Poupkou, L. Robertson, M. Sofiev, O. Stein, A. Strunk, A. Valdebenito, C. Zerefos, and D. Zyryanov (2009): Comparison of OMI NO2 tropospheric columns with an ensemble of global and European regional air quality models, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 9, 22271-22330.

Inness, A., J. Flemming, M. Suttie and L. Jones  (2009): GEMS data assimilation system for chemically reactive gases, Technical Memoradum No. 587, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), 26pp.

Ordóñez, C., N. Elguindi, O. Stein, V. Huijnen, J. Flemming, A. Inness, H. Flentje, E. Katragkou, P. Moinat, V.-H. Peuch, A. Segers, V. Thouret, G. Athier, M. van Weele, C. S. Zerefos, J.-P. Cammas, and M. G. Schultz: Global model simulations of air pollution during the 2003 European heat wave, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 789–815, 2010.

These publications also cover work done in the corresponding component of the GEMS project.