AERO-MAP: A data compilation and modelling approach to understand spatial variability in fine and coarse mode aerosol composition

Abstract

Aerosol particles are an important part of the Earth system, but their concentrations are spatially and temporally heterogeneous, as well as variable in size and composition. Particles can interact with incoming solar radiation and outgoing long wave radiation, change cloud properties, affect photochemistry, impact surface air quality, change the surface albedo of snow and ice, and modulate carbon dioxide uptake by the land and ocean. High particulate matter concentrations at the surface represent an important public health hazard. There are substantial datasets describing aerosol particles in the literature or in public health databases, but they have not been compiled for easy use by the climate and air quality modelling community. Here we present a new compilation of PM2.5 and PM10 aerosol observations, focusing on the spatial variability across different observational stations, including composition, and demonstrate a method for comparing the datasets to model output. Overall, most of the planet or even the land fraction does not have sufficient observations of surface concentrations, and especially particle composition to understand the current distribution of particles. Most climate models exclude 10–30 % of the aerosol particles in both PM2.5 and PM10 size fractions across large swaths of the globe in their current configurations, with ammonium nitrate and agricultural dust aerosol being the most important omitted aerosol types.