Modeling the aerosol chemical composition of the tropopause over the Tibetan Plateau during the Asian summer monsoon

Jianzhong Ma, Christoph Brühl, Qianshan He, Benedikt Steil, Vlassis A. Karydis, Klaus Klingmüller, Holger Tost, Bin Chen, Yufang Jin, Ningwei Liu, Xiangde Xu, Peng Yan, Xiuji Zhou, Kamal Abdelrahman, Andrea Pozzer, and Jos Lelieveld

Abstract

Enhanced aerosol abundance in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) associated with the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is referred to as the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL). The chemical composition, microphysical properties, and climate effects of aerosols in the ATAL have been the subject of discussion over the past decade. In this work, we use the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) general circulation model at a relatively fine grid resolution (about 1.1×1.1^∘) to numerically simulate the emissions, chemistry, and transport of aerosols and their precursors in the UTLS within the ASM anticyclone during the years 2010–2012. We find a pronounced maximum of aerosol extinction in the UTLS over the Tibetan Plateau, which to a large extent is caused by mineral dust emitted from the northern Tibetan Plateau and slope areas, lofted to an altitude of at least 10 km, and accumulating within the anticyclonic circulation. ...