GEOS-Chem chemistry mechanisms
On this page, we provide an overview of the chemistry mechanisms used in GEOS-Chem.
Contents
Overview
GEOS-Chem can perform many different types of chemical simulations, including:
- Several detailed ozone chemistry mechanisms
- Specialty simulations for tracers with simpler chemistry, including
- Radon-Lead-Beryllium
- Carbon gases (CO, CO2)
- Mercury
- Methane
- etc.
You may find more information about each of these mechanisms in the subsections below.
--Bob Y. 10:08, 1 October 2013 (EDT)
NOx-Ox-hydrocarbon-aerosol chemistry and variants
The NOx-Ox-hydrocarbon-aerosol (aka "full-chemistry") simulations have undergone several updates in recent GEOS-Chem versions. We provide a summary of these updates in this section.
Mechanisms in GEOS-Chem v9-01-03 and prior versions
In GEOS-Chem v9-01-03, users could select from one of four pre-defined chemistry mechanisms:
| Mechanism | Description | Nickname | Solvers |
|---|---|---|---|
| standard |
|
Full-chemistry, fullchem |
|
| SOA |
|
SOA |
|
| Dicarbonyls |
|
Dicarbonyls |
|
| isoprene |
|
Caltech isoprene scheme, Paulot isoprene scheme |
|
The bromine tracers and species were added to the standard mechanism just prior to the release of GEOS-Chem v9-01-03.
-Bob Y. 17:00, 30 September 2013 (EDT)
Mechanisms in GEOS-Chem v9-02 and later versions
Several modifications were made to the above-mentioned chemistry mechanisms in GEOS-Chem v9-02, as listed below:
| Mechanism | Description | Nickname | Solvers |
|---|---|---|---|
| standard |
|
Full-chemistry, fullchem |
|
| SOA |
|
SOA |
|
| Dicarbonyls |
|
Dicarbonyls |
|
Starting with v9-02, family tracers (NOx, Ox) have now been removed from all GEOS-Chem mechanisms. The individual family members (NO, NO2, O3, etc.) are now carried as individual advected tracers and chemical species. Also, the isoprene mechanism from v9-01-03 now has been folded into the standard mechanism.
--Bob Y. 09:56, 1 October 2013 (EDT)
Mechanisms in GEOS-Chem v10
We propose adding the Unified tropospheric-stratospheric Chemistry eXtension (UCX) mechanism into the release following GEOS-Chem v9-02. UCX, which was developed by Steven Barrett's group (the MIT Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment), combines the existing GEOS-Chem "standard" mechanism (based on v9-01-03) with several new stratospheric species and reactions.
Because UCX will be a major update to GEOS-Chem, we propose naming the version in which it ships to GEOS-Chem v10-01. This will make it easier to denote versions that contain UCX from versions that do not.
--Bob Y. 10:04, 1 October 2013 (EDT)
Flexchem
We also propose to add a cleaner implementation of KPP into GEOS-Chem. This implementation, which we have named Flexchem, will allow users to customize the chemical mechanism according to their research interests. Flexchem will remove the existing SMVGEAR and KPP infrastructure, and all related input files (i.e. globchem.dat, mglob.dat, etc.)
As of this writing (Oct 2013), Flexchem is still under development. We hope to have it installed in a version of GEOS-Chem sometime in 2014.
--Bob Y. 10:17, 1 October 2013 (EDT)
Specialty simulations
GEOS-Chem can also perform "specialty simulations" (aka "offline simulations"). These are simulations for species having simpler chemistry mechanisms that do not require the use of the full chemical solver. Many of these simulations rely on oxidant fields (O3, OH) saved out from one a "full-chemistry" simulation.
The following table provides more information about the available specialty simulations in GEOS-Chem. Please note that some of these simulations are out of date and will need some intervention to be brought back to the state of the science. Contact the relevant GEOS-Chem Working Groups for more information.
