Evaluating Atmospheric Transport and Aerosol Removal Using Short-Lived Radionuclide Tracers in Global Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Models
| Title: |
Evaluating Atmospheric Transport and Aerosol Removal Using Short-Lived Radionuclide Tracers in Global Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Models |
| DNr: |
NAISS 2026/3-232 |
| Project Type: |
NAISS Medium |
| Principal Investigator: |
Zhendong Wu <zhendong.wu@mgeo.lu.se> |
| Affiliation: |
Lunds universitet |
| Duration: |
2026-03-30 – 2026-10-01 |
| Classification: |
10503 |
| Homepage: |
https://www.nateko.lu.se/zhendong-wu |
| Keywords: |
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Abstract
Understanding atmospheric transport and removal processes is essential for interpreting the distribution of atmospheric aerosols and trace species. Short-lived radionuclides such as Be-7, Pb-210, and Rn-222 provide powerful diagnostics for evaluating large-scale atmospheric circulation, vertical mixing, and aerosol deposition processes. Be-7 is produced by cosmic-ray interactions in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, while Rn-222 is continuously emitted from continental surfaces and acts as an effective tracer of boundary-layer transport and continental outflow. Pb-210 is produced from the radioactive decay of Rn-222 and rapidly attaches to aerosol particles, making it a useful tracer for studying aerosol transport and wet deposition.
In this project, we will employ a suite of state-of-the-art global atmospheric chemistry and climate models, including ECHAM6.3-HAM2.3, ECHAM6.3-SALSA2.0 and GEOS-Chem to simulate the production, transport, and deposition of Be-7, Pb-210, and Rn-222. Control simulations covering the past several decades will be conducted to reproduce their global distributions and deposition fluxes. Model results will be evaluated against available observational datasets to assess the representation of vertical transport, stratosphere–troposphere exchange, and aerosol removal processes in the models. Sensitivity experiments will further investigate the influence of meteorology, aerosol processes, and deposition parameterizations on the simulated radionuclide distributions. These simulations will provide an integrated framework for evaluating atmospheric transport processes and improving the reliability of global atmospheric chemistry and climate models.
