We have incorporated an aerosol module into the NASA GMAO GEOS-4 general circulation model and data assimilation system.  Aerosols are particles and droplets suspended in the atmosphere and transported by the winds.  Including the aerosols in the GEOS-4 model allows us to simulate their global distributions.  Aerosols play important roles in Earth’s climate system, by reflecting and absorbing solar and thermal radiation, by modifying the properties of clouds, and by interacting chemically with other constituents in the atmosphere.

 

As a part of this research we are forecasting the global distributions of tropospheric aerosol species such as dust, smoke, sulfate, and seasalt particles.  The purpose of these chemical weather forecasts is to support decision making in NASA field missions.  Potential applications of this work are to climate and air quality studies.

 

Click below for a link to our forecasting site: