Investigating the Role of Organic Aerosol Schemes in the Simulation of Atmospheric Particulate Matter in a Large Mediterranean Urban Agglomeration

Anastasia Poupkou (), Serafim Kontos, Natalia Liora, Dimitrios Tsiaousidis, Ioannis Kapsomenakis, Stavros Solomos, Eleni Liakakou, Eleni Athanasopoulou, Georgios Grivas, Aikaterini Bougiatioti, Kalliopi Petrinoli, Evangelia Diapouli, Vasiliki Vasilatou, Stefanos Papagiannis, Athena Progiou, Pavlos Kalabokas, Dimitrios Melas, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Evangelos Gerasopoulos, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis and Christos Zerefos
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Anastasia Poupkou: Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10680 Athens, Greece
Serafim Kontos: Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Natalia Liora: Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10680 Athens, Greece
Dimitrios Tsiaousidis: Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Ioannis Kapsomenakis: Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10680 Athens, Greece
Stavros Solomos: Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10680 Athens, Greece
Eleni Liakakou: Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
Eleni Athanasopoulou: Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
Georgios Grivas: Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
Aikaterini Bougiatioti: Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
Kalliopi Petrinoli: Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
Evangelia Diapouli: Environmental Radioactivity & Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric and Climate Impact Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences & Technology, Energy & Safety, National Centre For Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310 Athens, Greece
Vasiliki Vasilatou: Environmental Radioactivity & Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric and Climate Impact Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences & Technology, Energy & Safety, National Centre For Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310 Athens, Greece
Stefanos Papagiannis: Environmental Radioactivity & Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric and Climate Impact Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences & Technology, Energy & Safety, National Centre For Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310 Athens, Greece
Athena Progiou: AXON Enviro-Group Ltd., 11257 Athens, Greece
Pavlos Kalabokas: Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10680 Athens, Greece
Dimitrios Melas: Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Nikolaos Mihalopoulos: Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
Evangelos Gerasopoulos: Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, 15236 Athens, Greece
Konstantinos Eleftheriadis: Environmental Radioactivity & Aerosol Technology for Atmospheric and Climate Impact Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear & Radiological Sciences & Technology, Energy & Safety, National Centre For Scientific Research “Demokritos”, 15310 Athens, Greece
Christos Zerefos: Research Centre for Atmospheric Physics and Climatology, Academy of Athens, 10680 Athens, Greece

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-21

Abstract: Air quality simulations were performed for Athens (Greece) in ~1 km resolution applying the models WRF-CAMx for July and December 2019 with the secondary organic aerosol processor (SOAP) and volatility basis set (VBS) organic aerosol (OA) schemes. CAMx results were evaluated against particulate matter (PM) and OA concentrations from the regulatory monitoring network and research monitoring sites (including PM 2.5 low-cost sensors). The repartition of primary OA (POA) and secondary OA (SOA) by CAMx was compared with positive matrix factorization (PMF)-resolved OA components based on aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) measurements. In July, OA concentrations underestimation was decreased by up to 24% with VBS. In December, VBS introduced small negative biases or resulted in more pronounced (but moderate) underestimations of OA with respect to SOAP. CAMx performance for POA was much better than for SOA, while VBS decreased the overestimation of POA and the underestimation of SOA in both study periods. Despite the SOA concentrations increases by VBS, CAMx still considerably underestimated SOA (e.g., by 65% in July). Better representation of simulated OA concentrations in Athens could benefit by accounting for the missing cooking emissions, by improvements in the biomass burning emissions, or by detailed integration of processes related to OA chemical aging.

Keywords: organic aerosol; CAMx; SOAP; VBS; Athens; air pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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