Multipollutant modeling of ozone, reactive nitrogen and HAPs across the continental US with CMAQ-CB6.

The accuracy of atmospheric chemical mechanisms used in air quality models is critical for robustly predicting the production and decay of air pollutants and thus to develop strategies to reduce concentrations that are above levels harmful to humans and ecosystems. In this study we document, evaluate and analyze the implementation of the CB6r3 chemical mechanism used in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, including changes that have been to the standard version, and demonstrate the impact of this update on predictions. In general, CB6r3 slightly improves the predictions of ozone and oxides of nitrogen, while providing more consistency with current scientific understanding. Nitric acid is generally overpredicted in both winter and summer, and ongoing work continues to address this overprediction and update other aspects of the mechanism.