Atmospheric chemistry
Lightning NO fixes upper-air ozone in CMAQ
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Adding lightning nitric oxide to CMAQv5.2 raises underestimated mid/upper-tropospheric ozone and nitrate rain, especially when flashes are timed with observations.
Study at a glance
- Design
- Computational / modelling — CMAQv5.2 April–September 2011 runs with and without lightning-NO schemes
- N
- Base plus three LNO schemes on a 12 km CONUS domain; not an observational sample N
- Population
- US atmospheric chemistry (ozone, NOx, nitrate wet deposition) in CMAQv5.2
- Outcome
- Improved mid/upper-tropospheric ozone and nitrate deposition when lightning NO is included
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
Key findings
Without LNO, mid/upper tropospheric ozone and domain-wide nitrate wet deposition (except the Pacific Coast) are too low. Hourly lightning timing (hNLDN) often best matches surface ozone in the Northeast. Where the Base already overpredicts surface ozone, adding LNO can worsen bias while still raising correlation—other NOx sources remain wrong.
Methodology
Authors ran CMAQv5.2 (CB6, 12 km, April–September 2011) with Base (no LNO) and three lightning-NO schemes (mNLDN, hNLDN, pNLDN), then compared DM8HR ozone, NOx, DISCOVER-AQ P-3B profiles, sondes, and NADP nitrate wet deposition.
Limitations
Schemes inherit WRF convection errors. pNLDN is for forecasts without observed flashes, not a substitute for process truth. One US summer 2011 cannot generalize globally, and vertical LNO placement remains uncertain.
How this study connects
Role on claims
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Evidence for the claim as stated.
Adding lightning nitric oxide to CMAQv5.2 raises underestimated mid/upper-tropospheric ozone and nitrate rain, especially when flashes are timed with observations.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
A regional ozone study or a mechanism evaluation is not a full global chemical climate model.
Evidence for the claim as stated.
Open questions
Tensions this paper is part of
From concept pages' “where studies disagree.” Disagreement means the same question; scope means different assays, populations, or outcomes.
A regional ozone study or a mechanism evaluation is not a full global chemical climate model.
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