Alba Badia

Autonomous University of Barcelona | UAB · Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technologies (ICTA)

Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) is used to quantify the carbon capture potential of the biosphere because of its direct correlation with CO2 uptake during photosynthesis. However, to constrain the urban biosphere signal, it is necessary to evaluate potential anthropogenic sources. We conducted two sampling campaigns in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AM...

Improving air quality in highly polluted cities is a challenge for today’s society. Most of the proposed strategies include green policies that aim to introduce green infrastructures helping to improve air quality. To design new cities with more green infrastructures, the WRF-Chem model is used to analyze the evolution of the most common pollutants...

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is an important surface pollutant in urban areas, and it has complex formation mechanisms that depend on the atmospheric chemistry and meteorological factors. The severe reductions observed in anthropogenic emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic can further our understanding of the photochemical mechanisms leading to O3 form...

Severe measures concerting the mobility of people have been implemented worldwide to contain the spread of COVID-19. This exceptional situation during COVID-19 can serve as a chemical experiment that expands our understanding of photochemical processes in the atmosphere. In this study, we analyze changes in the urban air quality during COVID lockdo...

Street trees are an important driver of street microclimate through shading and transpirative cooling, which are key mechanisms for improving thermal comfort in urban areas. Urban canopy models (UCM) with integrated trees are useful tools because they represent the impacts of street trees on neighborhood-scale climate, resolving the interactions be...

Tropospheric ozone (O3) concentrations depend on a combination of hemispheric, regional, and local-scale processes. Estimates of how much O3 is produced locally vs. transported from further afield are essential in air quality management and regulatory policies. Here, a tagged-ozone mechanism within the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled...

Tropospheric ozone (O3) concentrations are known to depend on a combination of hemispheric, regional, and local-scale processes. Estimates of how much O3 is produced locally vs. transported from further afield are essential in air quality management and regulatory policies. Here, a tagged-ozone mechanism within the WRF-Chem model is used to quantif...

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is an important greenhouse gas and a surface pollutant. The future evolution of O3 abundances and chemical processing are uncertain due to a changing climate, socioeconomic developments, and missing chemistry in global models. Here, we use an Earth System Model with natural halogen chemistry to investigate the changes in the...

Severe and persistent haze events in northern China, characterized by high loading of fine aerosol especially of secondary origin, negatively impact human health and the welfare of ecosystems. However, current knowledge cannot fully explain the formation of this haze pollution. Despite field observations of elevated levels of reactive halogen speci...

Due to increased urbanization and global warming, cities are experiencing more heat wave (HW) events that cause extreme heat stress. To mitigate such effects, a better understanding of the impact of urban morphology on the boundary layer development is needed. This study investigates the sensitivity of mesoscale simulations using the WRF model coup...

The rigorous traffic limitations during COVID-19 have forced many people to work from home, reaching an outstanding degree of teleworking and reduction in air pollution. This exceptional situation can be examined as a large-scale pilot test to determine the potential of improving urban air quality through teleworking. Based on observed traffic redu...

Air pollution exposure is a major environmental risk to health and has been estimated to be responsible for 7 million premature deaths worldwide every year. This is of special concern in cities, where there are high levels of pollution and high population densities. Not only is there an urgent need for cities to monitor, analyze, predict and inform...

Recent observations have shown the ubiquitous presence of iodine oxide (IO) in the Indian Ocean marine boundary layer (MBL). In this study, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem version 3.7.1), including halogen (Br, Cl, and I) sources and chemistry, to quantify the impacts of the observed levels of iodi...

The frequency and intensity of heat waves (HW) in cities are on the rise due to climate change as well as urban fabric materials and anthropogenic activities that affect heat accumulation. The efficacy of HW mitigation strategies depends on a city's specific and unique morphology, land use, building materials, climate and geography. In this study,...

Ocean-going ships supply products from one region to another and contribute to the world's economy. Ship exhaust contains many air pollutants and results in significant changes in marine atmospheric composition. The role of reactive halogen species (RHS) in the troposphere has received increasing recognition and oceans are the largest contributors...

Recent observations have shown the ubiquitous presence of iodine oxide (IO) in the Indian Ocean marine boundary layer (MBL). In this study, we use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem version 3.7.1), including halogens (Br, Cl and I) sources and chemistry, to quantify the impacts of the observed levels of iodi...

Air pollution has been a hazard in China over recent decades threatening the health of half a billion people. Much effort has been devoted to mitigating air pollution in China leading to a significant reduction in primary pollutants emissions from 2013 to 2017, while a continuously worsening trend of surface ozone (O3, a secondary pollutant and gre...

Reactive atmospheric halogens destroy tropospheric ozone (O3), an air pollutant and greenhouse gas. The primary source of natural halogens is emissions from marine phytoplankton and algae, as well as abiotic sources from ocean and tropospheric chemistry, but how their fluxes will change under climate warming, and the resulting impacts on O3, are no...

This study investigates the impact of reactive halogen species (RHS, containing chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br) or iodine (I)) on atmospheric chemistry in the tropical troposphere and explores the sensitivity to uncertainties in the fluxes of RHS to the atmosphere and their chemical processing. To do this, the regional chemistry transport model WRF-Che...

This study investigates the impact of halogens on atmospheric chemistry in the tropical troposphere and explores the sensitivity of this to uncertainties in the fluxes of halogens to the atmosphere and the chemical processing. To do this the regional chemistry transport model WRF-Chem has been extended, for the first time, to include halogen chemis...

This paper presents a comprehensive description and benchmark evaluation of the tropospheric gas-phase chemistry component of the Multiscale Online Nonhydrostatic AtmospheRe CHemistry model (NMMB-MONARCH), formerly known as NMMB/BSC-CTM, that can be run on both regional and global domains. Here, we provide an extensive evaluation of a global annual...

Simulations from chemical weather models are subject to uncertainties in the input data (e.g. emission inventory, initial and boundary conditions) as well as those intrinsic to the model (e.g. physical parameterization, chemical mechanism). Multi-model ensembles can improve the forecast skill, provided that certain mathematical conditions are fulfi...

Forecasts from chemical weather models are subject to uncertainties in the input data (e.g. 3 emission inventory, initial and boundary conditions) as well as the model itself (e.g. physical 4 parameterization, chemical mechanism). Multi-model ensemble forecasts can improve the 5 forecast skill provided that certain mathematical conditions are fulfi...

This paper presents a comprehensive description and benchmark evaluation of the tropospheric gas-phase chemistry component of the NMMB/BSC Chemical Transport Model (NMMB/BSC-CTM), an online chemical weather prediction system conceived for both the regional and the global scale. We provide an extensive evaluation of a global annual cycle simulation...

Abstract The second phase of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) brought together sixteen modeling groups from Europe and North America, running eight operational online-coupled air quality models over Europe and North America on common emissions and boundary conditions. With the advent of online-coupled models provid...

The second phase of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) brought together seventeen modeling groups from Europe and North America, running eight operational online-coupled air quality models over Europe and North America using common emissions and boundary conditions. The simulated annual, seasonal, continental and sub...

Abstract Air pollution simulations critically depend on the quality of the underlying meteorology. In phase 2 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII-2), thirteen modeling groups from Europe and four groups from North America operating eight different regional coupled chemistry and meteorology models participated in a c...

The Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) has now reached its second phase which is dedicated to the evaluation of online coupled chemistry-meteorology models. Sixteen modelling groups from Europe and five from North America have run regional air quality models to simulate the year 2010 over one European and one North Ameri...

The Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative Phase2 aims to intercompare online coupled regional-scale models over North America and Europe. The NMMB/BSC Chemical Transport Model (NMMB/BSC-CTM) is a fully online integrated system for meso- to global-scale applications under development at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center. The NMMB/B...

The Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) Phase-2 aims to inter-compare on-line couple regional-scale models over North America and Europe. Common chemical boundary conditions, emissions, and domain configurations are pre-defined. In this study, we present the 2010 annual modelling results from two on-line integrated models...

The NMMB/BSC Chemical Transport Model (NMMB/BSC-CTM) is a new air quality modeling system under development at the Earth Sciences Department of BSC in collaboration with several research institutions. It is an on-line model based on the NCEP new global/regional Nonhydrostatic Multiscale Model on the B grid (NMMB). NMMB is an evolution of the WRF-NM...

Chemical Transport Model (NMMB/BSC-CTM), simulations are presented that assess the impact of this chemistry on global air quality. Results show that if the NO∗ chemistry is considered following Crowley and Carl [1997], it produces an enhancement of ozone surface concentrations of 4-6 ppbv in rural areas and 6-15 ppbv in urban locations, reaching a...

Stratospheric chemistry is dominated by ozone-related reactions. Atmospheric ozone distribution heavily depends on the dynamical, chemical and radiative coupling between the stratosphere and the troposphere. A detailed description of stratospheric ozone photochemistry would involve hundreds of chemical species and reactions, requiring higher compu...

The model NMMB/BSC-CHEM is a new fully on-line chemical weather prediction system for meso to global scale applications currently under development at Barcelona Supercomputing Center. The atmospheric driver is the NCEP/NMMB numerical weather prediction model developed at National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Its unified non-hydrosta...