NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS 1407
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS
G E Thomas, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Copyright 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
Noctilucent, or ‘night luminous’, clouds are the
highest and coldest clouds on earth. Occupying a
narrow height zone near the high-latitude mesopause
region (80–85 km), they occasionally offer a splendid
sight during northern summer twilights (Figure 1).
Their almost phosphorescent appearance against a
darkened sky is due to the fact that at these extreme
heights, they are still fully illuminated by the sun. In
the latitude zone 50–651, the upper air remains fully
illuminated throughout the night while the lower
atmosphere is in comparative darkness. Since meso-
spheric clouds are too faint to be seen during daytime,
and their detection can be confused by ordinary
tropospheric clouds during twilight, their occurrence
only at solar depression angles between 61 and 161
(Figure 2) is crucial to their identification. Northern
noctilucent clouds (NLCs) have their southern coun-
terpart occurring in similar latitudes and times during
the austral summer.
Brief History
NLCs were first recognized as an upper atmospheric
phenomenon in the summer of 1885, when observers
throughout western Europe, Great Britain, and Russia
reported unusual cloud displays enduring past mid-
night. TW Backhouse and VK Tserassky share credit
for their ‘discovery’, although it is not suspected that
Figure 1 Photograph of an NLC. Taken on 13/14 July 1983 2140 UT (about 2300 h local time). Camera details: f/2, 50 mm lens,
Kodachrome K64 film, exposure unknown (probably about 30 s).
their late-nineteenth-century appearance may have
been the debut of a new effect, a result of anthro-
pogenic influences (to be described later).
Through the method of triangulation, Otto Jesse,
Tserassky and others determined that NLCs are the
highest clouds on earth, located at a mean height of
8275 km. NLCs (in German: leuchtende nachtwol-
ken; in Russian: serebristykh oblakov) are important
in the history of atmospheric science, as they provide
proof that the atmosphere extends to much greater
heights than previously imagined. It was established
quite early that the appearance of NLCs is quite
sporadic, varying from location to location and from
day to day. In addition, because many locations at
these latitudes have poor observing conditions (rain
and overcast skies), it was deemed important to
establish a network of geographically dispersed ob-
servers. Reports from widely varying locations could
thus determine the spatial extent and motions of
mesospheric clouds from night to night. It was hoped
by organizers of the early observing networks (such as
Paton in Scotland and Khostikov in the USSR) that
such systematic sightings would provide information
about the dynamical and thermal conditions of the
upper atmosphere. While many thousands of detailed
observations (both visual and photographic) describ-
ing NLC appearance, brightness, and drift velocities
have been collected since the 1920s, the early expec-
tations were never realized. We now understand that
observations of the apparent drift motion of clouds
were the result of phase motions of atmospheric waves
rather than that of the underlying winds. In addition,
the absence of any substantial information on the
physical conditions in the upper mesosphere made it
1408 NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS
 ' α below about 451 latitude. However, a remarkable
NLC
K'
K locations in the western US and Canada. It was
h = 82 km

O
H SC
SUN
α
Figure 2 Geometry of observation of an NLC. An observer at O
sees an NLC at a height of 82 km over an arc subtended by the
angular elevation angles k and k 0 . This occurs at the solar
depression angle a. Hsc is the screening height, above which the
solar ray is relatively unattenuated and below which it is highly
absorbed. The value of Hsc is variable, depending upon atmos-
pheric conditions, ranging between 7 and 20 km.
difficult to fashion credible theories with useful
predictive capabilities. The most significant result of
these early efforts was to establish the seasonal
‘climatology’ of occurrence probability. However,
these early records may yet prove to be of immense
value in documenting the evolution of the mesosphere
throughout the twentieth century.
Occurrence Patterns
NLCs occur almost exclusively at latitudes higher than
501, and only during summer. They exist between mid-
May and mid-August in the Northern Hemisphere,
and at similar times of the year (relative to solstice) in
the Southern Hemisphere. In North America, they
occur mainly in Canada and Alaska, although they are
now reported several times a year in North Dakota.
Occasionally there are reports of ‘out-of-season’
clouds, many of which can be discounted. It is
interesting that most such reputable sightings have
occurred in Antarctica. The NLC ‘season’ is about 90
days long, with peak occurrence a few weeks after
summer solstice. Spotting an NLC is not at all assured
even during clear tropospheric conditions, and even
for a keen-eyed observer at optimum latitude (about
551). At 60–651, where the summertime twilight
obscures the optically thin clouds until later in the
season, they are best seen in early August. Above 701,
they are seldom observed – by the time twilight has
returned, the clouds have vanished. (The physical
factors controlling their evolution will be discussed
later.) Until recently, NLCs were virtually unknown
NLC display was sighted on 22/23 June 1999 from
determined later from six widely separated reports
that the clouds extended from Canada deep into the
western US, as far south as Ignacio, CO (381 N). The
significance of this rare event is not clear: it may signal
the beginning of an era in which NLCs are visible to a
much greater population than previously, or it may
have been simply an extreme fluctuation of a naturally
variable phenomenon.
The Modern Era: The Discovery of the
Mesopause
Three developments have created renewed interest in
NLCs: (1) When their merit as a possible sensitive
proxy of upper atmosphere ‘climate’ change became
evident, to be discussed later. (2) When a closely
related phenomenon was discovered, that of polar
mesosphere summertime echoes (PMSEs). At some
locations, radar sounding of PMS ‘echoes’ has made it
possible to monitor the high-latitude mesospheric
region round the clock. (3) Recent developments in
atmospheric lidar technology (lidar stands for light
detection and ranging). The most advanced lidars have
made it possible to monitor NLCs even in broad
daylight. In addition, a key discovery was made in
1959 when rockets were used to probe the region. The
temperature structure was derived by measuring the
speed at which sound waves travel from grenades
launched from rockets at regular intervals. The sound
was registered by microphones mounted on the
rockets and the information telemetered to a ground
receiving station. The upper mesosphere where the
clouds occur was found to lie near a temperature
minimum (now called the mesopause). It underlies the
uppermost, much hotter region of the atmosphere,
known as the thermosphere. This discovery immedi-
ately clarified the nature and origin of NLC. It is now
known that the high-latitude summertime mesopause
region is the coldest region on Earth, routinely
reaching temperatures below 140 K. Water-ice crystals
are stable in such cold air, even under the extremely
desiccated conditions of the upper atmosphere. Ice
particles form in the cold layer of air near the
mesopause, and survive a few hours (possibly as long
as 3–4 days) until they are removed from the saturated
region by winds, diffusion, and/or gravitational set-
tling. The details of this process are complicated, and
many important aspects are still in question. They
occur at high latitude because the upper mesospheric

temperature is much lower at the summer poles than at
the winter poles. This behavior is opposite to that
occurring in the lower atmosphere, where summer air
is warmer than winter air. This anomaly is now
understood to be the result of a general upwelling of air
into the summer hemisphere (and a downwelling in
wintertime), caused by the deposition of wave mo-
mentum. An additional benefit to summertime cloud
formation is that more moisture and seed particles
(deposition nuclei) are transported upward from the
moister stratosphere into the summertime mesopause
region.
The full extent of the mesospheric cloud layer was
not revealed until the space age. As mentioned
above, NLCs cannot be observed north of the
Arctic circle because of the ‘white nights’ pheno-
menon during summer. In 1969, satellite-borne in-
struments revealed a daytime mesospheric layer
that extended to the geographic pole. The presence
of this much thicker and more pervasive mesospheric
cloud layer (today known as polar mesospheric
clouds (PMCs)) meant that the phenomenon is essen-
tially circumpolar, with the densest clouds at the
geographic pole. Despite the two different acronyms
(NLC and PMC), there is no evidence for any inherent
differences between the two phenomena. NLCs
are now understood to be the thinner and spatially
patchy boundary region of PMCs. Although the
situation is undoubtedly more complicated, NLCs
are analogous to icebergs, which have ‘broken off’
from the main body and possibly ‘drifted’ down to
lower latitudes.
Atmospheric waves launched upward by distur-
bances in the lower atmosphere (e.g., storm fronts)
and by the diurnal variation of solar heating
have a profound influence on both the environment
of mesospheric clouds and the cloud particles
themselves. These so-called gravity waves (or buoy-
ancy waves) and atmospheric tides affect the thermal
and dynamical state of the summertime mesosphere.
In their upward passage through the progressively
thinner air, the waves attain larger and larger
amplitudes. Due to the filtering action of the under-
lying seasonally varying winds, the waves that
reach the mesopause also vary seasonally in their
east–west direction. In the 80–120 km region they
break down into turbulence, in a similar fashion to
ocean breakers on a beach. The absorption of these
waves causes air to be accelerated westward in
summer and eastward in winter. This seasonal accel-
eration of the winds causes a chain of events, among
them an upward lifting/cooling of the air in summer, a
summer-to-winter – circulation, and a sinking/warm-
ing in winter. Typical wave structure in NLCs is
apparent in Figure 1.
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS 1409
The two-level structure of the mesopause region is
of particular interest. It has been proposed that two
mesopause ‘states’ exist: the regular mesopause at
about 100 km and the summer mesopause at about
88 km. The regular mesopause occurs throughout the
globe during the nine non-summer months, and year-
round in the tropics. It has a nearly constant temper-
ature of 180 K. In contrast, the summer mesopause
temperature occurs only at midlatitudes up to the
pole, and varies considerably in height with latitude
(Figure 3). NLCs occur in the cold high-latitude
portions of the summer mesopause, where mean
temperatures fall below 145 K during several months
around the June and December solstices. As described
by a model simulation, Figure 4 summarizes this
behavior in schematic form. It must be noted that, at
any given instant, waves may severely alter the
temperature profile to such an extent that the meso-
pause itself may be hardly recognizable.
Saturation as a Necessary Condition
for Clouds
Water-ice particles occur in the atmosphere as a result
of the ice surface temperature falling below the frost
point Tf. The value of Tf depends on (a) the amount of
water vapor present w, the volume mixing ratio; and
(b) the total atmospheric pressure p, according to the
formula
Tf ¼ 6077:4=½37:759 lnðwÞ lnðpފ
where w is expressed in parts per million (ppmv) and p
is in hectopascals (more conventionally known as
millibars). A nominal range of values of w appropriate
to NLC heights is 271 ppmv. p is a strong function of
height and is about 0.0004 mbar at 84 km. For the
above range of w, Tf is 14272 K. As shown in Figures
3 and 4, the condition for ice existence is satisfied for
mean summertime conditions at, for example, 691 N
but not at 541 N. Despite the lack of saturation in the
mean state, NLCs actually occur somewhat farther
south. These occasional forays into sub-Arctic lati-
tudes is explained by cold fluctuations in temperature,
which temporarily saturate the atmosphere. Ice crys-
tals will then form and grow until the next warm
episode, when the ice crystals quickly ‘evaporate’
(more accurately sublimate). Since the theoretical
growth rate depends on the uncertain amount of water
vapor (water in the gaseous phase) available for ice
formation, it is preferable to use observations to
determine whether waves enhance or destroy ice
particles. There is limited evidence that waves have
an overall destructive influence on the brightness of
NLCs.
1410 NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS

Zonal mean temperature (K), Lat. 67.5° 220

100 200 86 km
200
180

Temperature (K)
98 km
170
180
160 41°
90 150
Altitude (km)

160 54°
130
Frost-point 69°
180

140 140
150
80 170 160
170
120
180 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
20 (A)
0
200
Month

70 105
110 160 210 260
(A) Day number
100
Zonal mean temperature (K), day 170

Altitude (km)
100 200
95
180
170 90
160
1500
14 0
13 85
90
Altitude (km)

200
80
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
0

(B) Month
18

80 17
0
160

180 105
200
100
200 220
70
Altitude (km)

0 30 60 90 95
(B) Latitude (deg)

Figure 3 Isotherms in the 70–100 km atmospheric region, 90

derived from a comprehensive 3D general circulation model
(TIMED-GCM) of the upper atmosphere: (A) plotted against day 85
number and height at 67.51 N, and (B) plotted against latitude and
height near northern summer solstice (day 170). Shaded areas 80
emphasize saturation regions for water ice, i.e., regions colder than _90 _60 _30 0 30 60 90
142 K, where ice particles can exist at water vapor mixing ratios of (C) Geographic latitude
2 ppmv. Note the transition from the summer mesopause to the
regular mesopause at 301 N. Figure 4 Schematic variations of temperature versus time in the
season, and versus latitude. (A) Temperature versus month
(0 5 Jan 1) at three latitudes for the heights 86 km (solid line) and
98 km (dashed line). These two heights correspond to that of the
Even if the air is saturated, ice particles are not summertime mesopause and the regular mesopause, respective-
necessarily present. In very clean air, high levels of ly. The dotted line indicates the frost point temperature, below
saturation are needed in order for water vapor to which ice particles are stable. (B) Mesopause altitude at midlati-
spontaneously transform to ice. However, preexisting tude and at polar latitude. The dotted vertical lines indicate year-to-
aerosols will serve as sites on which ice particles will year variability in the time (or latitude) at which the sharp transitions
occur. (C) Latitudinal variation of mesopause altitude in May/June.
grow. These ‘seed’ particles may be either ‘smoke’
particles recondensed from the frictional ablation of
meteors or large hydrated ions that are stable only at Size and Charge Distribution of
low temperature. A third possibility is sulfuric acid
(H2SO4) ice particles that are expected to condense
Mesospheric Ice Particles
from the vapor phase at the mesopause. H2SO4 is Mesospheric ice particles find themselves in a medium
transported upward from the stratospheric sulfate that is weakly ionized (the 80–100 km region consti-
layer in the same upward flow as water vapor. Despite tutes the lower D-region of the ionosphere). The highly
our ignorance of the nature of the nuclei, there appears mobile electrons stick readily to ice particles, produc-
to be a plentiful supply from outside the region. ing a net negative charge. Despite their small size

(typically a few nanometers), the ice particles may be
sufficiently numerous to scavenge the ionosphere of its
local electron content, at least in narrow layers. Since
meter-scale irregularities in the electron density (more
correctly index of refraction) produced by turbulence
are responsible for radar wave reflections, ice particles
are thus indirectly responsible for the very strong radar
echoes reflected from the cold summertime mesopause
region (the PMSE phenomenon, mentioned above).
Despite the fact that this theory is yet to be verified in
detail, it seems to explain most of the observations.
The small particles believed to be responsible for
PMSEs are invisible in the optical spectrum. It is
necessary for the particle size to exceed a fractional
part (say about one-tenth)of the wavelength of light
before their cross-sections are large enough to be
visible through scattering of sunlight. The smallest
wavelength at which mesospheric clouds have been
observed is in the ultraviolet at about 215 nm. Thus,
mean ice particles sizes must exceed B20 nm before
they can be said to be qualify as mesospheric cloud
particles. It is important to note that only a small
fraction (a few tens to a few hundred per cubic
centimeter) of candidate particles actually grow to
optically visible sizes. These ‘large’ ice particles (20–
60 nm) are probably those which began their lives on
nucleating particles only slightly larger than their
neighbors. Larger particles have lower surface ener-
gies Es , and because the rate of deposition is expo-
nentially dependent on Es , they compete much more
efficiently for the available moisture.
The above picture of the evolution of ice particles is
consistent with many observed properties of PMC/
NLC and PMSE. However, many details are still
lacking. We still do not know the nature of the nuclei,
the effective lifetimes of ice particles, their relationship
to turbulence, how atmospheric waves influence the
particles, how seasonal variations of water vapor and
temperature changes force the various cloud properties,
etc. Such questions are subjects of current research. In
the following, we outline some of the ideas behind the
current interest in mesospheric clouds.
Long-Term Trends in NLCs:
Atmospheric Methane Changes
The first appearances of NLCs occurred 2 years after
the great eruption (in 1883) of the Krakatoa volcano in
Java (now Indonesia). It was once thought that the
1885 ‘discovery’ of NLCs was due to the increased
attention of observers of the volcanically perturbed
twilight skies. A recent alternate historical perspective
advanced in 1989 held that the 1883 eruption had a
transitory effect on NLCs, either by injecting nucleat-
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS 1411
ing particles and/or water vapor into the stratosphere.
(The 2-year time lag is consistent with model calcu-
lations for the interval needed to transport material
from the middle stratosphere to the mesosphere.) The
atmosphere eventually cleansed itself of this material,
and NLCs declined toward the end of the century.
However, NLCs reappeared during the early twentieth
century, despite the absence of large volcanic erup-
tions. The twentieth-century prominence of NLCs
may have been caused by increasing levels of water
vapor, produced by increased concentrations of at-
mospheric methane (CH4). Chemical analysis of air in
ice bubbles trapped in the polar ice cores shows that
since the industrial revolution, CH4 concentrations
have more than doubled in the lower atmosphere.
These molecules make their way upwards into the
stratosphere through upward transport by winds, and
are broken down by sunlight into hydrogen and
carbon compounds. The hydrogen compounds even-
tually are re-formed into water vapor through oxida-
tion reactions. A second source of upper atmospheric
water vapor is the amount that is transported upward
through the cold ‘barrier’ of the tropical tropopause. It
happens that most of the vertical exchange between
the lower troposphere and the stratosphere takes place
at low latitudes, where the air is vigorously uplifted by
convection over the warm tropical oceans. However,
the tropical tropopause (at about 18 km) is extremely
cold, and freezes out nearly all the moisture from the
ascending air. Thus the originally moist tropical air,
once it makes its way into the mesosphere, is respon-
sible for only about half of the miniscule water content
of the mesosphere. The other half is attributed to the
oxidation of CH4. Unlike H2O, this molecule does not
freeze out in the tropopause ‘cold trap’. The H2O
mixing ratio is about 6–7 ppmv at 50 km, but at higher
altitudes this amount is reduced to a few ppmv because
of destruction due to solar photodissociation.
The net result of the growth of anthropogenic
methane is that water vapor at all heights, and in
particular near the mesopause, has increased by about
20–25% since 1885. According to a detailed model of
ice evolution, this small increase of water could have
caused a factor of 10 increase in the brightness of NLC
particles (Figure 5). This nonlinear behavior is ex-
plained by more particles being formed in a more
saturated environment, and, in addition, becoming
larger before being lost from the region. The latter
factor is important because of the high sensitivity of
the scattered brightness I of small particles to particle
radius r (IBr6). However, visual observations have
revealed no obvious increases in the brightness of NLC
displays over the past 30 years. Yet cloud numbers
have changed substantially over this time period. Since
there were no quantitative measurements of cloud
1412 NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS
_1
10
Theoretical limb albedo, Al
45° (South SME)
_2
10
135° (North SME)
_
10 3
10
_4
120 122 124 126 128
Mesopause temperature [K]
Figure 5 Model calculations of UV albedo A1 as seen at the
atmospheric limb from space. A1 5 4pI1/F, where I1 is the scattered
limb intensity and F is the solar flux. The wavelength is 0.265 mm.
The model of ice formation and growth varies the mesopause
temperature, holding all other variables (such as water vapor and
rate of eddy diffusion) constant. The two curves apply to the
scattering angles (angle between solar ray and scattered ray)
observed by the orbiting Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME)
Ultraviolet Spectrometer Experiment. The SME mission observed
PMCs from 1981 to 1985 in both polar regions.
brightness until the modern era, the methane hypoth-
esis remains a viable explanation for the slow rise in
prominence of NLCs in the twentieth century. How-
ever, the CH4 hypothesis has difficulty in explaining
recent dramatic changes in NLC occurrence frequen-
cy. This is because of the glacial pace of expected
methane-related water vapor increases (4% per dec-
ade). As shown in Figure 6, NLC numbers have more
than doubled over the past 30 years, a rate that seems
to require an additional forcing mechanism. None-
theless, it appears that NLCs are at least partially an
indirect result of anthropogenic alteration of the
atmosphere’s chemistry. The slow rise in CH4 abun-
dance is due to increased biological sources in rice
paddies, landfills, domesticated animals, etc., although
industrial sources, such as mining, have a small
influence. In fact, CH4 is a direct result of life on the
planet. On a totally lifeless planet, otherwise similar to
our own, there would be no CH4 at all. In a sense, NLC
can be thought of as a product of life on Earth.
60
40
N
20
0
1970 1980 1990
Year
Figure 6 Year-to-year variation in the number of nights, N, on
which noctilucent clouds were reported. Cloud sightings were all
made in north-western Europe.
Long-Term Trends in NLCs:
130 132 134 Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Changes
Another important factor in the evolution of the
mesopause temperature is increased carbon dioxide
(CO2). Rather than altering the chemistry of the
mesosphere, the rather inert CO2 molecules change
the thermal environment because of their ability to
absorb and radiate infrared radiation. CO2 increases
due to growing anthropogenic activity may be the
main culprit in the observed 21C surface warming that
has occurred over the past 25 years. More CO2 means
more downward emitted infrared radiation, thereby
heating the surface. However, its increased radiation
to space causes the upper air to cool. Thus, upper
atmospheric cooling appears to be a necessary accom-
paniment to lower-level atmospheric greenhouse
warming. Since 1885, CO2 has increased by about
25%, from 300 to 370 ppmv. One recent model
predicts that this increase should have caused a
globally averaged cooling of 2.5 K. However, as
discussed below it is not clear that the high-latitude
summertime mesopause has participated in a net
cooling over the past century.
Interdecadal Changes in NLC
Figure 6 shows how the number of sightings of NLCs
have increased in recent decades. This plot shows the
number of NLCs recorded per summer season by a
network of experienced observers from 1964 to 1997.
The time series indicates both a periodic solar control

of NLC (over an 11 year cycle of solar sunspot activity)
and an upward trend. Whether the periodic behavior is
due to the 11 year solar cycle is not clear – the times of
maximum sunspot activity were in 1958, 1969, 1980,
and 1991. Thus each solar maximum occurs about 2
years prior to the minimum in NLC occurrences. The
anticorrelation with solar UV irradiance (which is in
phase with sunspot activity) is not unexpected, but the
2 year time lag suggests a more complicated mecha-
nism than simple UV heating and water vapor disso-
ciation. An equally interesting trend is the upward
increase in the number of NLC sightings. This
indicates that NLCs have more than doubled since
1964. This is despite the number of observers remain-
ing nearly constant over this time interval.
What could have caused this dramatic increase in
NLC numbers since 1964? As mentioned previously,
CH4 oxidation can account for only a fractional part
of this change. Now that direct measurements of
mesospheric composition from satellites are available
over long time intervals, we know that the upper
atmospheric water vapor in the past decade has
undergone more complicated changes than expected
from the slow CH4 increase (currently 0.5% per year).
The observed year-to-year variations in upper atmos-
pheric water vapor in the last decade may be due to
poorly understood alterations in the overall circula-
tion responsible for the exchange of air between the
troposphere and the stratosphere/mesosphere. In ad-
dition, the observed changes of mesospheric temper-
ature have been more dramatic than the models
predict. In fact, some data sets are now coming to
light which indicate that portions of the mid-meso-
sphere (B70 km) have cooled by more than 20 K in the
past 30 years. Assuming these data are reliable, there
must have occurred important time-varying influences
that are not captured in the current models. Although
the database for the mesopause temperature is not
much longer than one 11 year solar cycle, the evidence
from airglow measurements suggests only small
(o1 K/decade) long-term cooling rates occurring in
the uppermost mesospheric region (87 km). It appears
that the trends themselves have important height and
latitude variations. There appears to be no ‘smoking
gun’ responsible for the long-term changes in NLC
observations. The search continues for a viable
mechanism.
Possibilities of Future Changes in
NLCs
With regard to future changes, the modeled increased
size of the ‘NLC existence region’ due to a doubled
CO2/CH4 environment is shown in Figure 7. This
NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS 1413
Contours of cloud existence region
100 100
90 90
Altitude (km)
5 4 3 2 1
80 80
70 70
60 60
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Latitude [°]
Figure 7 Contours of ice-existence regions for five scenarios
(Table 1). The regions enclose air which is colder than the frost
point temperature (less 5 K).
situation is expected to occur late in the twenty-first
century. (This model predicts that the NLC region will
participate in future cooling of the middle atmos-
phere.) The effects are to enlargen dramatically the
saturation region from its current location at
moderately high latitudes. Future NLCs could
occur on a regular basis as far Equatorward as 401
latitude. A possible scenario is that NLCs could slowly
evolve to occupy a large fraction of the summertime
hemisphere. It should be kept in mind that the
arguments above predict slow changes that are hardly
perceptible over a single human lifetime. Nature has a
way of disproving our theoretical scenarios. As
already mentioned, a large NLC occurred in the
western US in 1999, long before it was expected from
CO2 increases.
Although short-term effects are understood in terms
of low temperatures and wave perturbations, at the
present time there is no consensus as to the principal
‘forcing agents’ or ‘drivers’ of long-term NLC activity.
Neither is there agreement on the nature and magni-
tude of long-term trends in the thermal or composit-
ional structure of the mesosphere. Whether NLC
variability is due to changes in water vapor, temper-
ature changes, or some combination (or possibly some
other influences such as wave activity) is still un-
known. More data are needed in this hard-to-access
region over time scales of decades. The best hope for a
breakthrough in understanding this phenomenon is a
satellite mission making global observations of PMCs
and all the suspected forcing variables. NLCs are
providing us with a coded signal that changes have
been underway in the upper atmosphere for some
time, are continuing today, and most likely will evolve
in the future with unknown consequences. Unfortu-
nately, we have not yet ‘broken the code’ (Table 1).
1414 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models

Table 1 Five scenarios for past, present, and future mesospheric Jensen E, Thomas GE and Toon OB (1989) On the diurnal
climate simulations variation of noctilucent clouds. Journal of Geophysical
Research 94: 14 693–14 702.
Scenario Date/epoch CO2 CH4 Latitude
(ppmv) (ppmv) boundarya Lübken F-J (1999) The thermal structure of the Arctic
(1) summer mesosphere. Journal of Geophysical Research
104: 9135–9149.
1 Glacial 165 0.75 67 Luo Z, Fritts DC, Protmann RW and Thomas GE (1995)
2 1895 290 0.9 63 Dynamical and radiative forcing of the summer meso-
3 Present 330 1.5 55 pause circulation and thermal structure. Part II: seasonal
4 Late 21st 660 1.5 43 variations. Journal of Geophysical Research 100: 3129–
Century
3137.
5 Late 21st 660 3.0 39
Nedoluha GE, Bevilacqua RM, Gomez RM, Siskind DE,
Century
Hicks BC, Russell III JM and Connor BJ (1998) Increases
a
The latitude boundary is defined as the latitude where the frost in middle atmospheric water vapor as observed by the
point temperature is Tf 5 5, which provides the best value describ- halogen occulation experiment and the ground-based
ing the current-day climatological boundary of NLCs at 551 N. water vapor millimeter-wave spectrometer from 1991 to
1997. Journal of Geophysical Research 103: 3531–3543.
She CY and von Zahn U (1998) Concept of a two-level
Further Reading mesopause: support through new lidar observations.
Andrews DG, Holton JR and Leovy CB (1987) Middle Journal of Geophysical Research 103: 5855–5863.
Atmosphere Dynamics. New York: Academic Press. Thomas GE (1991) Mesospheric clouds and the physics of
Cho J and Röttger J (1997) An updated review of polar the mesopause region. Reviews of Geophysics 29: 553–
mesospheric summer echoes: observation, theory, and 575.
their relationship to noctilucent clouds and subvisible Thomas GE (1996) Global change in the mesosphere–lower
aerosols. Journal of Geophysical Research 102: 2001– thermosphere region: has it already arrived? Journal of
2020. Atmospheric and Solar Terrestrial Physics 58(14): 1629–
Gadsden M (1998) The North-West Europe data on nocti- 1656.
lucent clouds: a survey. Journal of the Atmospheric and Thomas GE, Olivero JJ, Jensen EJ, Schroder Wand Toon OB
Solar Terrestrial Physics 60: 1163–1174. (1989) Relation between increasing methane and the
Gadsden M and Schröder W (1989) Noctilucent Clouds. presence of ice clouds at the mesopause. Nature 338:
Berlin: Springer Verlag. 490–492.

NORTH ATLANTIC AND ARCTIC OSCILLATION

See CLIMATIC VARIABILITY: North Atlantic and Arctic Oscillation

NUMERICAL MODELS

Contents

Chemistry Models
Methods

Chemistry Models
M P Chipperfield, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Copyright 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
Chemical models are used to test our understanding of
atmospheric chemistry, and for predictions of the
future state of the atmosphere. A model will contain
different modules to treat processes such as gas-phase
 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models 1415

chemistry, aqueous phase chemistry, heterogeneous Gas Phase Reactions

chemistry, photolysis reactions, and emission and
All models of atmospheric chemistry will deal with gas
deposition of species. The formulation of the model
phase reactions between species. Laboratory meas-
will depend on the problem being studied. The core of
urements provide data which can be used to calculate
any model is the chemical continuity equation, which
the rate constants for gas phase reactions in models.
is an expression of the rate of change of a chemical
For bimolecular reactions the rate constant usually
species. Integrating this continuity equation permits
depends only on temperature and can be calculated
the model to step forward in time. In general the large
from the Arrhenius equation (eqn [1]), where k is the
computational cost of calculating atmospheric chem-
rate constant at a temperature T, Ae is the Arrhenius
istry leads to a number of approximations in models,
factor, Ea is the activation energy, and R is the gas
such as using grouping species into families and
constant. The values for Ae and Ea are provided by
assuming some species are in steady state. Models
laboratory data.
that are used to study atmospheric chemistry range
from zero-dimensional ‘box’ models, which may kðT Þ ¼ Ae exp ð Ea =RT Þ ½1Š
contain very detailed chemistry schemes (e.g., 3000
species), to global three-dimensional models which Other expressions are used to fit certain bimolecular
may contain around 50. reactions which show a pressure dependency (e.g.,
HNO31OH) and termolecular (three body) reactions.
Expert panels regularly review the body of chemical
Use of Models kinetics literature and produce reports of recommend-
Numerical models are a mathematical summary ed rate constants for use in atmospheric models. As
of our current understanding of atmospheric chemis- well as providing modelers with an expert analysis of
try. A good model should contain a representa- photochemical data, their common use permits model
tion of all of the important species, reactions, and results to be referenced and for predictions from
processes relevant for the particular system that different models to be more easily compared.
is being studied. A numerical model can then be
Liquid Phase Reactions
used for:
Models dealing with tropospheric chemistry will need
to account for the uptake of gases by cloud droplets,
 testing our understanding of atmospheric chemistry
and chemical reactions within the clouds (aqueous
by comparison between model calculations and
chemistry). This gas uptake and reaction involves
observations;
several steps (diffusion of gas to droplet, dissolution in
 investigating the effect of a newly discovered reac-
droplet, diffusion through droplet, reaction in droplet,
tion or process on other species;
diffusion of products, and evaporation of dissolved
 predicting the future state of the atmosphere based
products at the droplet surface). Treating aqueous
on a series of assumptions.
chemistry in a model is more complicated than gas
phase chemistry. First, the lifetimes of aqueous species
The components of the model (physical and chemical
are usually short and the system of differential
processes considered, number of chemical species and
equations to solve is stiff (see below). Second, when
reactions) will depend on the problem being addressed
dissolved species are removed by reactions they are
(e.g., spatial and temporal scale). The model needs to
rapidly replaced by dissolution of more species from
have an appropriate domain (e.g., global, regional),
the gas phase. Therefore, the processes of dissolution
resolution (e.g., size of gridboxes) and time step. The
and chemical reaction need to be solved in a coupled
model must contain all of the necessary processes,
way.
but other factors (usually computer resources) often
constrain those that can be included. Heterogeneous Reactions
Heterogeneous reactions involve the collision of a gas-
Components of a Chemical Model phase molecule with a solid or liquid particle, followed
by a chemical reaction. An example is the hydrolysis of
In order to calculate the time-dependent concentra-
N2O5 shown by reaction [I].
tions of chemical species in the atmosphere, a model
must contain a representation of the important chem- N2 O5 ðgÞ þ H2 OðaqÞ ! 2HNO3 ðgÞ ½IŠ
ical and physical processes. Figure 1 illustrates these
components and how they are used in each model This reaction is normally parametrized in models
timestep to calculate the chemical concentrations. using a measured ‘reaction probability’ (g) that an
1416 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models

Heterogeneous/ Gas phase

Photolysis
aqueous chemistry
rate
chemistry calculation

Chemical continuity equation

d[AB]/dt = sources − sinks

Emissions: Physical removal:

natural/ wet/dry deposition
anthropogenic Chemistry

Radiation Dynamics

Radiative heating: Lagrangian − trajectories

longwave (IR) Eulerian − advection
shortwave (UV) convection

Figure 1 Components of a chemical model. A multidimensional model will also include dynamical and radiation modules. These may be
combined so that the chemistry is or is not coupled (where changes in chemical species feed back on the radiation and dynamics).

N2O5 molecule colliding with a surface will react, and
a ‘collision frequency’ calculated using kinetic theory
and the known or assumed concentration of aerosols.
This treatment can also be used for heterogeneous
reactions involving solid particles. An alternative
treatment for liquid aerosols, when both reactants
are soluble, is to treat the reaction as a liquid-phase
reaction (as above).
Photolysis Rate Coefficients
The photolysis rate coefficient (or photodissociation
frequency) J is the first-order rate constant for the
process shown by reaction [II], where h is the planck
constant and n is the frequency of the radiation.
AB þ hn ! A þ B
As solar radiation is the driving force for atmospheric
chemistry, the accurate calculation of J rates is an
important component of models.
The photolysis rate coefficient for species AB (JAB ) is
calculated from eqn [2], where Iðl; zÞ is the photon
flux at wavelength l and altitude z in the atmosphere,
and s is the absorption cross-section.
Z or an average value over daylight or 24 h period. An
JAB ðzÞ ¼ Iðl; zÞsAB ðlÞdl ½2Š
In an atmospheric model eqn [2] is solved by replacing
the integration over wavelength by a summation over
discrete wavelength intervals. The World Meteoro-
logical Organization Report No. 16 gives a list of 158
wavelength intervals, covering the range 175 nm to
850 nm, which are typically used in stratosphere–
troposphere models. Fewer wavelength intervals can
be used for troposphere-only models to save computer
time.
The photon flux at a point in the atmosphere, Iðl; zÞ,
is calculated using the flux at the top of the atmosphere
and the Beer–Lambert law,
Itr ¼ I0 expð eclÞ ½3Š
½IIŠ
where I0 is the incident radiation, Itr is the transmitted
radiation, e is the absorption (or extinction) coeffi-
cient, c is the concentration of the absorber and l is the
path length. The flux at altitude z depends on
attenuation by absorbing gases (mainly O2 and O3),
scattering by molecules and aerosols, and reflection by
the surface and clouds.
Models may calculate an instantaneous value of J,
instantaneous and regularly updated value of J is
necessary for a model to reproduce the diurnal cycle on
 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models 1417

short-lived species (e.g., OH). However, this approach Table 1 Subset of gas phase reactions important in stratospheric
can be expensive computationally. For simulations chemistry
of long-lived species, where it is not necessary to
explicitly resolve the diurnal cycle, day- or 24-h Cl þ O3 ! ClO þ O2 ½IIIŠ
averaged J rates can be used. As the interactive, online
calculation of J rates is nevertheless expensive, some ClO þ O ! Cl þ O2 ½IVŠ
models use precalculated ‘lookup’ tables. The J for the
required conditions is interpolated from the tabulated ClO þ NO ! Cl þ NO2 ½VŠ
values.
ClO þ NO2 þ M ! ClONO2 þ M ½VIŠ
Emissions and Physical Removal
All chemical models, except those simulating isolated ClONO2 þ hn ! Cl þ NO3 ½VIIŠ
air masses over short periods, require a representation
of the processes that input and remove chemicals from OH þ HO2 ! H2 O þ O2 ½VIIIŠ
the atmosphere. Emissions of trace gases may occur
through natural (e.g., vegetation) or anthropogenic Oð1 DÞ þ H2 O ! 2OH ½IXŠ
processes (e.g., industrial emissions, aircraft). Expert
panels regularly review the strength of these emission
OH þ NO2 þ M ! HNO3 þ M ½XŠ
sources and provide data sets for input into models
[e.g., the Global Emissions Inventory Activity (GEIA)
OH þ HNO3 ! H2 O þ NO3 ½XIŠ
of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry
(IGAC) program].
HNO3 þ hn ! OH þ NO2 ½XIIŠ
Chemical species may be physically removed from
the atmosphere by wet or dry deposition processes.
Dry deposition removes gases and particles at air–
surface interfaces. Wet deposition involves the disso-
lution of a gas into a cloud droplet, which is then either produce (reaction [X]) or destroy (reactions [XI]
rained out. and [XII]) HNO3. Based on this reaction set the
chemical continuity equation for the rate of change of
the concentration of HNO3 contains three terms and
Chemical Continuity Equation can be represented as [5],
Chemical models aim to use the known concentrations
d½HNO3 Š
of chemical species at time t, and calculated rates of ¼ kX ½OHŠ½NO2 Š½MŠ kXI ½OHŠ½HNO3 Š
dt
change, to calculate the concentrations at the end of
the chemical timestep t þ Dt. The heart of the model is JXII ½HNO3 Š ½5Š
‘chemical continuity equation’. This is an expression
where kn is the rate constant for reaction n and Jn
for the rate of change of a chemical species due to the
is the photolysis frequency. A continuity equation
chemical reactions that produce or destroy it. It is an
can be written for each chemical species contained in
expression of the conservation of mass and can be
the model. This gives a set of coupled first-order
expressed as eqn [4], where P is the rate of chemical
ordinary differential equations. In all but the very
production and L is the rate of chemical loss (which
simplest cases (e.g., the decay of a radioactive
usually depends on [AB]), and square brackets ([])
tracer), an analytical solution is not possible and the
indicate a concentration. Other terms can be included
coupled differential equations must be solved numer-
in eqn [4] to account for other processes that affect
ically. This system of differential equations is usually
[AB] (e.g., physical removal).
‘stiff’, i.e., the lifetimes (or time scales) of the chemical
d½ABŠ species being solved vary by several orders of magni-
¼P L½ABŠ ½4Š tude (e.g., seconds to years). Therefore, sophisticated
dt
(and computationally expensive) solvers need to be
Table 1 lists a small subset of the 100 reactions that used.
are important in the chemistry of the stratosphere. A chemical continuity equation similar to [4] can be
This subset is used here to illustrate the form of a written for each species contained in the reaction
continuity equation, but note that detailed atmos- scheme. However, in practice a number of conceptual
pheric models will include many more species and simplifications and numerical approximations can be
reactions. There are three reactions in Table 1 which made.
1418 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models

Photochemical Steady State 60

For a chemical species with a very short chemical

lifetime it is not necessary, or desirable, to integrate the 50
chemical continuity equation. The short lifetime
increases the stiffness of the system and would require

Altitude (km)
a short chemical time step. Computer time can be 40
saved by placing short-lived species in steady state.
In the chemistry of the stratosphere and tropo-
30
sphere, the chemical lifetime of OH is of the order
minutes or less. Therefore, the concentration of OH
Cl
can be derived by placing it in photochemical (or 20 ClO
photostationary) steady state. Based on the reaction ClOx
scheme given above, this would give eqn [6].
10
d½OHŠ 10
−2
10
0
10
2
10
4
10
6
¼0
dt Lifetime (s)

¼ 2kIX O 1 D ½H2 OŠ þ JXII ½HNO3 Š



Figure 2 Photochemical lifetimes [defined as 1/(first-order loss
rate)] of Cl, ClO, and ClOx (5 Cl1ClO). The ClOx family has a much
longer lifetime than the family members, resulting in a less stiff
kX ½OHŠ½NO2 Š½MŠ kXI ½OHŠ½HNO3 Š system of equations to solve.

kVIII ½OHŠ½HO2 Š ½6Š

Therefore, at each time step in the model the [OH] can
be derived from the calculated concentration of other
species and the appropriate rate constants and pho-
tolysis rates. The calculated concentration of OH
will vary throughout the diurnal cycle (e.g., as JXII
changes), although at each time step the instantaneous
concentration is assumed to be constant. Note that as
several interdependent species may be treated to be in
steady state (e.g., both [OH] and [HO2] in the above
example), the steady state concentration of these
species should be derived iteratively.
Chemical Families
The number of continuity equations to be solved (and
computational time) can be reduced by grouping
closely coupled chemical species together in a family.
As well as needing to solve only one continuity
equation, the photochemical lifetime of the family is
generally longer than the lifetimes of the individual
members, producing a less stiff system (see Figure 2).
Finally, using chemical families has advantages in
multidimensional models. Generally, it is not desirable
to transport short-lived species separately as they have
strong gradients (e.g., near the terminator) which can
cause numerical problems (undershoots and over-
shoots) in advection schemes. A chemical family will
generally have a smoother distribution and pose fewer
problems for the advection scheme.
In stratospheric models a ClOx family is often defined
as [ClOx] 5 [ClO]1[Cl]. This is justified because
Cl is in rapid photochemical equilibrium with ClO,
and change in the concentration of ClO will also affect
Cl through the reactions which interconvert the two.
When a chemical family is used in a model a single
chemical continuity equation is written for the overall
rate of change of the family. Based on the reactions
given in Table 1, the continuity equation for ClOx can
be expressed by eqn [7], where M represents any air
molecule.
d½ClOx Š
¼0
dt
¼ kVI ½ClOŠ½NO2 Š½MŠ þ JVII ½ClONO2 Š ½7Š
Note that reaction [III] for example, which simply
interconverts Cl and ClO has no net effect of ClOx and
does not appear in eqn [7]. The concentration of the
total family must be divided among the n individual
members. This is achieved by writing n 1 steady
state expressions for n 1 members. In the case of
the ClOx family, by placing Cl in steady state
ðd½ClŠ=dt ¼ 0Þ we can derive eqn [8] for the ratio of
[Cl]/[ClO].
½ClŠ kIV ½OŠ þ kV ½NOŠ þ JVII ð½ClONO2 Š=½ClOŠÞ
¼
½ClOŠ kIII ½O3 Š
½8Š
Although this equation is derived by assuming Cl is in
steady state, the concentration of Cl (and ClO) will
vary over the model time step as ClOx changes.
However, eqn [8] effectively fixes the ratio of Cl : ClO
over this time step.
Care is needed when deriving these expressions for
the partitioning of family members. Most terms in eqn

[7] can be identified with reactions [III], [IV], and [V],
which directly interconvert Cl and ClO. However,
there is also a term involving [ClONO2]/[ClO] which
is related to the two-step interconversion of ClO and
Cl via the formation and photolysis of ClONO2. It is
very important to include these indirect terms as they
are often associated with catalytic cycles which
destroy stratospheric O3 via the reaction [III]. In order
for the model to correctly determine the O3 loss, the
calculated [Cl] must be accurate.
Another chemical family commonly used in atmos-
pheric models is ‘odd oxygen’, which is defined as
Ox 5 O(3P)1O(1D)1O3. This family provides a very
convenient way of calculating the atmospheric abun-
dances of O3 , O(3P), and O(1D) below about 70 km.
Above this altitude the photochemical lifetime of O
becomes long (due to the low air density) and so O and
O3 can no longer be assumed to be in photochemical
equilibrium.
Mechanism Reduction
The number of species and reactions involved in
chemical reactions of organic species in the polluted
(urban) troposphere is huge. For example, the Univer-
sity of Leeds Master Chemical Mechanism model
contains around 3800 species and 10 000 reactions.
For many practical purposes the number of reactions
needs to be reduced. The methods used for reducing
the number of species in urban photochemical models
are: (i) the carbon-bond lumping method (when
organic species are separated into a few common
bond groups), (ii) the surrogate species method (where
species with similar reactivity are grouped together
and solved as one species), and (iii) the lumped species
method (where species are grouped together but the
reaction rate constants for the lumped group is a mole
fraction weighted average of the rate constants for the
individual species).
Types of Models
A range of chemical models exist appropriate for
studying different problems. In all cases the model
consists essentially of a chemical ‘box’ model (with the
description of the required chemistry) either used
alone, or within an array of grid boxes in a multidi-
mensional model.
Box Models and Trajectory Models
A chemical ‘box’ model solves the chemical continuity
equations in a single air mass. These models can be
computationally cheap, allowing detailed reaction
schemes to be included (e.g., up to 500 species) and
avoiding the need for numerical approximations such
NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models 1419
as chemical families. Box models can either represent
a stationary, idealized air mass, or can be combined
with a calculated air mass trajectory to produce a
‘Lagrangian’ model (i.e. one in which the model boxes
follow the actual movement of air parcels). Several
chemical trajectory models can be integrated simulta-
neously to create a ‘domain-filling trajectory model’,
in which the number of model boxes is sufficient to fill
a region of the atmosphere so that 3D distributions can
be obtained.
Results from trajectory box models are generally
valid over the time scale on which the approximation
of no mixing in to, or out of, the box is valid. This
depends on the location in the atmosphere and may
vary from a few days in the troposphere to a few weeks
to months in the polar lower stratosphere.
Three-Dimensional Models
Three dimensional (3D) models solve the chemistry on
a longitude  latitude  altitude array of grid boxes.
Dynamical processes are included that transfer chem-
ical species between these fixed grid boxes in a so-
called ‘Eulerian’ model. The chemical component of a
3D model is essentially a chemical box model. How-
ever, the high computational cost of a 3D model means
that reactions schemes have to be limited (e.g., to
around 40–50 species) and some careful approxima-
tions used (e.g., families). The nature of 3D models,
with their arrays of chemical box models, mean that
they can be written to take good advantage of high
performance vector and parallel computers. Never-
theless, when included in a 3D model, the cost of
chemistry normally dominates the cost of other
processes (e.g., radiative and dynamical calculations).
The chemistry and transport in a 3D model can be
combined in an ‘operator split’ approach. In this
method the chemical integration is separated from the
dynamical integration and the advection of tracers.
This decoupling of chemical and dynamical time steps
is often more efficient as optimum time steps can be
chosen for each process (e.g., the need for a short
chemical time step does not imply an equally short
dynamical time step). A multidimensional chemical
model requires a module for transporting chemical
species – i.e., an ‘advection scheme’. The advection
scheme should ideally be: conservative, monotonic (no
undershoots and overshoots), nondiffusive (maintain
tracer gradients), and nondispersive (tracer features
should advect independent of their scale). The advect-
ion scheme should also advect species independent of
their concentration. In practice, essentially all of the
tracer advections schemes in use compromise on one
or more of these criteria.
1420 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models

Table 2 Details of the SLIMCAT 3D stratospheric chemical transport model

Chemistry Coupled short-lived species Ox ( 5 O31O(3P)1O(1D)), H2O2

NOx ( 5 N1NO1NO2), NO3 , N2O5 , HNO3 , HO2NO2 ,
ClOx ( 5 Cl1ClO12Cl2O2), ClONO2 , HCl, HOCl, OClO,
BrOx ( 5 Br1BrO), BrONO2 , BrCl, HBr, HOBr

Steady state H, OH, HO2 ,

CH3 , CH3O2 , CH3O, CH2O, HCO, CH3OOH

Source gases and long-lived species CH4 , N2O, CO, H2O, CFCl3 , CF2Cl2 ,
CHF2Cl, C2F3Cl3 , CH3Cl, CH3CCl3 , CCl4 ,
CH3Br, CBrClF2 , CBrF3 ,
COF2 , COFCl, HF

Fixed O2 , N2 , H2

Reactions 120 gas-phase

8 heterogeneous
36 photodissociation

Dynamics Meteorology From meteorological analyses (e.g., UK Met. Office,

ECMWF)
Tracer advection Finite volume scheme

Resolution Horizontal Variable: 101  101–0.51  0.51

Vertical Variable: 0.5–3 km
Domain Global stratosphere: 10–60 km

Computational Language Fortran

Platform Vector/parallel machines or workstation

Two types of 3D chemical models are commonly
used. General circulation models (GCMs) are global
radiative dynamical models used in numerical weather
prediction and climate studies. Chemistry can be
included in these models to produce a chemical GCM,
allowing the calculation of the coupled effects of
chemical and dynamical changes. In these coupled
models, a chemically induced change in O3 , for
example, will affect the atmospheric heating rates,
temperature, and therefore the dynamics. In turn,

Table 3 Details of the TOMCAT 3D tropospheric chemical transport model

Chemistry Coupled short lived species Ox ( 5 O31O(3P)1O(1D)), H2O2 ,

NOx ( 5 NO1NO21NO3), N2O5 , HNO3 , HO2NO2 , HONO,
CH2O, CH3OOH, CH3CHO, C2H6 , C2H5OOH, C2H5CHO,
C3H8 , i-C3H7OOH, n-C3H7OOH, (CH3)2CO, CH3COCH2OOH,
CH3COO2NO2 , C2H5COO2NO2 , CH3ONO2
Steady state OH, HO2 , CH3O2 , CH3CO3 , MeCOCH2OO,
C2H5OO, i–C3H7OO, n-C3H7OO, C2H5COO2
Long-lived CH4 , CO, H2O
Fixed O2 , N2 , H2 , CO2
Reactions 101 gas phase
27 photodissociation
Physics Deposition Dry and wet deposition
Emissions Surface (natural and anthropogenic), lightning, aircraft
Dynamics Meteorology From meteorological analyses (e.g. ECMWF)
Sub-grid Convection and boundary layer mixing
Tracer advection Finite volume scheme
Resolution Horizontal Variable: 7.51  7.51 1.01  1.01
Vertical Variable: 0.5–3 km
Domain Global troposphere and lower stratosphere: surface – 30 km
Computational Language Fortran
Platform Vector/parallel machines
 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models 1421

these dynamical changes redistribute O3. As GCMs tion of the real atmosphere and these models are no
calculate their own circulation, the results do not longer used.
correspond to a specific day, but represent the typical Two-dimensional (latitude–height) radiative dyna-
behavior of the atmosphere. Therefore, the results of mical chemical models calculate the zonal mean
GCMs need to be compared with observations in a state of the atmosphere. They were the principal
climatological sense. computational tool in the 1980s–1990s and are still in
Offline chemical transport models (CTMs) do not
calculate the atmospheric circulation. Instead the
wind (and temperature) fields are read in from another
source (e.g., meteorological analyses). This has a
number of advantages: the model is cheaper to run
compared to the full GCM and, importantly, the
model dynamics are constrained to the ‘real’ meteor-
ological situation. This permits direct comparison
between model calculations and observations. As the
circulation in CTMs is fixed, they cannot be used for
future predictions involving coupling of chemistry and
dynamics. The meteorological analyses used to force
CTMs come from weather services such as the
European Centre for Medium Range Weather fore-
casts (ECMWF), U.K. Met Office (UKMO) or the
National Centers for Environmental Prediction
(NCEP). They are produced as part of the routine
weather prediction and now usually extend from the
surface to the upper stratosphere. The accuracy of
CTM results depend critically on the quality of
these meteorological analyses and how they are
used in the model. In the stratosphere the advection
by the analyzed winds is usually the only transport
process considered, while in the troposphere the (A) 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.8
model will usually need to parameterize ‘sub-grid- O3 distribution (µmol mol−1)
scale’ transport processes such as convection and
boundary layer mixing. Table 2 illustrates the 4
chemistry which is included in a typical stratospheric
CTM while Table 3 illustrates a similar tropo- 3.5
spheric model. The stratospheric model contains
Ozone VMR (µmol mol−1)

3
detailed halogen chemistry, while the tropospheric
model contains more hydrocarbon species. Simula- 2.5
tions of Arctic O3 depletion from the stratospheric
model are shown in Figure 3. Figure 4 shows examples 2
of CO and NOx distributions from the tropospheric
model. 1.5

One-Dimensional and Two-Dimensional Models
Before computer power permitted the use of 3D
chemical models one-dimensional (1D) and two-
dimensional (2D) models were widely used for atmos-
pheric studies. One-dimensional models represent
variations of tracers with altitude and were the main
tool in the 1970s and early 1980s. The models
generally represent a global mean atmosphere at
each layer and vertical motion is parametrized as a
diffusion processes. Clearly this is gross approxima-
1
Ozone sondes 450 K
0.5
− 50 0 50
(B) Date (day of year 2000)
Figure 3 Example results from the SLIMCAT three-dimensional
chemical transport model (see Table 2) for the Arctic winter of
1999–2000. The model was run with a horizontal resolution of 2.51
latitude  3.751 longitude. (A) The distribution of O3 near 17 km on
17 March 2000. The model is in good agreement with O3 sonde
observations at around 17 km (450 K) at the Arctic station of Ny
Alesund (781 N). (B) The difference between the model O3 and the
‘passive’ O3 indicates the chemical destruction since 1 January
1999. VMR, volume mixing ratio.
1422 NUMERICAL MODELS / Chemistry Models

use. Although 2D models cannot capture the motion example, they are computationally cheap and are
of stratospheric polar vortex or the longitudinal useful for calculating a wide range of multiyear
asymmetry of tropospheric surface emissions, for scenarios and for sensitivity studies.

ppbv

300
275
250
225
200
175
150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20

(A)

pptv

75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5

(B)

Figure 4 Example results from the TOMCAT three-dimensional tropospheric chemical transport model (see Table 3) for January 1996.
The model was run with a horizontal resolution of 5.61 latitude  5.61 longitude. The upper panel shows the distribution of CO near the
surface. The lower panel shows the distribution of NOx at 6.5 km. CO is enhanced in regions of strong emission, such as the industrial
regions of the Northern Hemisphere and in regions of tropical biomass burning. The high levels of NOx at 6.5 km are from similar emission
sources which are then transported, for example by convection, to the mid-troposphere. (Figure courtesy of Marcus Koehler.)

Testing Models
Given the complexities of atmospheric chemistry, and
the many interactions with other processes, atmos-
pheric chemical models can be very large programs.
Much care is needed to write the code in a rigorous
way to minimize the risk of errors. Generally the
program should make use of all of the options
available in a particular language, and on a particular
machine, to test for coding errors. When a model is
running it is validated by comparison with observa-
tions. Periodically different atmospheric models are
intercompared in international workshops to asses the
uncertainties in model calculations due to differences
in approach.
See also
Chemistry of the Atmosphere: Chemical Kinetics; Gas
Phase Reactions. Cloud Chemistry. Deposition.
Numerical Models: Methods. Radiative Transfer:
Absorption and Thermal Emission. Stratospheric
Chemistry and Composition: Overview.
Methods
J Thuburn, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Copyright 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
The Need for Numerical Solutions
Only in a small number of special cases can exact
analytic solutions be found for the differential equa-
tions describing the fluid dynamics, physics, and
chemistry of the atmosphere. In all other cases
solutions can be found only by approximating the
differential equations by algebraic equations and then
finding specific numerical solutions to these algebraic
equations. Because of the vast amount of arithmetic
involved, numerical solutions are virtually always
found with the aid of electronic computers.
Types of Equations
In broad terms, the method for finding a numerical
solution generally reflects the type of equation being
solved, which in turn reflects the nature of the physics
that the equation describes. For example, an equation
describing how a variable evolves in time is called a
prognostic equation. A prognostic equation is solved by
specifying the solution at some initial time, along with
appropriate boundary conditions, and then repeatedly
NUMERICAL MODELS / Methods 1423
Further Reading
Atkinson R, et al. (1997) IUPAC (International Union of
Pure and Applied Chemistry), Evaluated kinetic, photo-
chemical and heterogeneous data for atmospheric chem-
istry. 5. IUPAC Subcommittee on Gas Kinetic Data
Evaluation for Atmospheric Chemistry. Journal of
Physical and Chemical Reference Data 26: 521–1011.
Brasseur G and Solomon S (1986) Aeronomy of the Middle
Atmosphere, 2nd edn. Dordrecht, Netherlands: D. Reidel
Publishing.
Brasseur GP, Orlando JJ and Tyndall GS (eds) (1999)
Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Jacobsen MZ (1999) Fundamentals of Atmospheric Mod-
eling. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Park J, et al. (1999) Models and Measurements Intercom-
parison II. NASA Publication NASA/TM-1999-209554,
Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA.
Sander SP, et al. (2000) NASA/JPL, Chemical Kinetics and
Photochemical Data for Use in Stratospheric Modeling,
Evaluation no. 13. JPL publication 00-003.
WMO (1985) World Meteorological Organization, Atmos-
pheric Ozone. Global Ozone Research and Monitoring
Project, Report No. 16, WMO, Geneva, CH 1211,
Geneva 20, Switzerland.
using the available information to advance the solution
to the next time level. On the other hand, an equation
describing a relationship among a number of variables
all at the same instant in time is called a diagnostic
equation. The ideal gas law is an example of a local
diagnostic equation. Nonlocal diagnostic equations are
also important; they are often boundary value problems
and often describe some kind of balance such as hydro-
static balance or the relationship between quasi-geo-
strophic potential vorticity and streamfunction (see
Dynamic Meteorology: Overview). They also arise in
connection with implicit time stepping schemes – see
below. Boundary value diagnostic equations require
different solution methods from prognostic equations
because the solution at any point in the domain depends
simultaneously on all of the boundary and forcing values.
The equations used to model the atmosphere are
nearly always a combination of prognostic and diag-
nostic, and so a corresponding combination of nu-
merical solution methods is used.
Representation of Data; Resolution
and Aliasing
Fields like temperature and velocity are usually con-
sidered to exist throughout a continuous region of
1424 NUMERICAL MODELS / Methods
>

>
> >

Figure 1 Gridpoint representation of a simple function. Five data
values are stored, indicated by the diamond symbols.
space and time and so contain, potentially, an infinite
amount of information. For a numerical solution to be
obtained, these fields must be represented approxi-
mately by a finite set of data values that can be stored in
a computer. There are several possible ways to do this.
 Gridpoint representation. In gridpoint methods a
field is represented by its values at a finite set of
points called the grid or mesh points (Figure 1).
 Finite volume representation. Each value stored in
the computer represents the value of a field not at a
point but averaged over a finite volume or grid cell
(Figure 2).
 Finite element representation. Each field f is repre-
sented as a series in terms of certain basis functions
ci ðxÞ (eqn [1]) and the coefficients f^ are stored in
i
the computer (Figure 3).
X
fðxÞ ¼ f^ c ðxÞ ½1Š
i i
i ever smaller scales, and eventually on scales that must
Usually the ci are simple local functions that are
piecewise constant or piecewise linear over a small
number of gird cells and zero elsewhere.
 Spectral representation. As for finite element meth-
Figure 3 Finite element representation of a simple function. In
this case the individual elements are ‘witch’s hats’, which are
continuous, piecewise linear, and nonzero over only two cells. Five
data values are stored.
In more than one dimension combinations of the
above methods can be used, e.g., gridpoint in the
horizontal and finite element in the vertical, or spectral
in the horizontal and gridpoint in the vertical.
The number of data values used to represent a field
defines the model resolution: a greater number of data
values corresponds to higher resolution and means
that smaller-scale structures in the field can be repre-
sented. Nevertheless, for any fixed number of data
values there will be some limiting scale below which
structures cannot be represented. Structures on small-
er scales than this will be misrepresented, or aliased, as
features of some other scale (Figure 5). Aliasing is an
important problem because, even if the initial data are
smooth, the nonlinearity of the equations describing
atmospheric dynamics tends to generate structure on
be aliased. This is one reason why models often include
some form of scale-selective dissipation to damp
poorly resolved near-grid-scale structure.
>

ods, each field is represented as a series in terms of

certain basis functions, but here the basis functions
are mutually orthogonal global functions. The
simplest example in one dimension is a Fourier
series representation in which the basis functions are
sines and cosines (Figure 4). For modeling the >
atmosphere on a spherical planet, a spectral method (A)
based on spherical harmonics is often used.
>
>

>
(B)
>

Figure 2 Finite volume representation of a simple function. Five Figure 4 (A) Fourier representation (dotted curve) of a simple
grid-cell-average values are stored, indicated by the histogram function (solid curve). The coefficients of five Fourier components
values. are stored; those components are shown in (B).

Figure 5 Example of aliasing. A wavenumber 7 Fourier compo-
nent sampled by only 6 data points appears the same as a
wavenumber 1 Fourier component.
Roundoff Error and Truncation Error
Numerical solutions are subject to roundoff error and
truncation error. Roundoff error arises because of the
finite number of digits, and hence limited precision,
used to store numbers in a computer. On a typical
workstation using standard precision the roundoff
error is about 73 in the eighth decimal digit. For most
purposes this error is so small as to be insignificant.
However, the effects of roundoff error can be greatly
amplified in certain calculations – for example, when
adding small numbers to large ones or when taking
differences of nearly equal numbers.
Truncation errors are those that arise through
approximating a continuous field by a finite set of
data values and through approximating derivatives or
integrals by algebraic operations such as differences or
sums. They are a function of the resolution of the
model, and are usually much more significant than
roundoff errors.
Taylor Series, Approximation
of Derivatives
For gridpoint methods, derivatives are approximated
by finite differences. The approximations are derived
from Taylor series. For example, if the grid spacing is
Dx then eqn [2] leads to eqn [3].
qf q2 f Dx2
fðx þ DxÞ ¼ fðxÞ þ Dx þ 2 þ OðDx3 Þ ½2Š
qx qx 2
qf fðx þ DxÞ fðxÞ
¼ þ OðDxÞ
qx Dx
Combination of eqn [2] with the corresponding
formula for fðx DxÞ leads to eqn [4].
qf fðx þ DxÞ fðx DxÞ
¼ þ OðDx2 Þ
qx 2Dx
The difference between the exact derivative and the
approximation is the truncation error, and the de-
NUMERICAL MODELS / Methods 1425
pendence of the truncation error on Dx determines
the order of accuracy of the approximation. Formula
[3] is said to be first-order accurate, since the
truncation error decreases as fast as Dx to the power
one as Dx ! 0, while formula [4] is second-order
accurate. Higher-order approximations can be sys-
tematically constructed but lead to more complex
formulas.
Local Truncation Error, and
Consistency
The local truncation error is the residual left over when
the true solution is substituted into the finite difference
version of an equation. It is a measure of how well the
difference equation approximates the differential
equation locally, and is closely related to the trunca-
tion error discussed above. For example, consider the
linear advection eqn [5] (v a constant).
qf qf
þv ¼0 ½5Š
qt qx
When this is approximated by eqn [6], where fnj means
the numerical solution for f at the point jDx and time
nDt, j and n integers, then the local truncation error is
OðDtÞ þ OðDxÞ.
fnþ1
j fnj fnj fnj 1
þv ¼0 ½6Š
Dt Dx
A difference scheme is said to be consistent if the
local truncation error tends to zero as Dt ! 0 and
Dx ! 0.
Convergence, Stability
A scheme is said to be convergent if the finite difference
solution approaches the true solution as Dt ! 0 and
Dx ! 0. Consistency is not sufficient to ensure con-
vergence. For example, a scheme might be consistent
but fail to converge because it is unstable. There are
several slightly different definitions of stability.
For most practical purposes a useful definition is
that a scheme is unstable if it produces numerical
solutions that grow much more rapidly than the true
½3Š
solution.
For example, by investigating the behavior of a trial
solution of the form fnj ¼ An eikjDx with A a complex
constant (a technique called von Neumann stability
analysis), it can be shown that scheme [6] is stable if
½4Š and only if 0  v ðDt=DxÞ  1. Thus, although the
scheme is consistent, the numerical solution will not
approach the true solution as Dt ! 0 and Dx ! 0
unless vðDt=DxÞ lies within this range.
1426 NUMERICAL MODELS / Methods

A-grid B-grid approach will typically lead to a set of simultaneous

equations involving df ^ =dt multiplied by a sparse
i
u, v, T u, v, T T T matrix called the mass matrix. Once these are
solved for df ^ =dt, f ^ may be stepped forward in
i i
time, for example, using a temporal finite difference
u, v
formula.
Perhaps because of the need to solve simultaneous
u, v, T u, v, T T T equations to find df ^ =dt, finite element methods have
i
been used relatively little to date for modeling the
atmosphere. For spectral methods, on the other hand,
because the basis functions are mutually orthogonal,
C-grid D-grid the mass matrix is diagonal and therefore trivial to
invert.
T u T T v T Several terms in the model equations would be
difficult or expensive to evaluate directly in terms of
u u the spectral coefficients f ^ . In practice it is simpler and
v v i
more efficient to transform the model fields to a
gridpoint representation fj , to evaluate those terms,
T u T T v T
and then to transform the result back into the spectral
representation. The transforms can be carried out
efficiently with the aid of a fast Fourier transform
E-grid algorithm. This method is called the spectral trans-
form method. The advantages of spectral methods,
u, v T u, v including their high intrinsic accuracy and their
facilitation of the solution of elliptic problems – see
below – has made the spectral transform method very
T u, v T
important in global weather prediction and climate
models.
u, v T u, v

Figure 6 The arrangement of variables on the five staggered
grids analysed by Arakawa.
Staggered Grids
The accuracy of some gridpoint methods can be
improved by storing different variables, such as the
different wind components and temperature, on dif-
ferent grids that are staggered with respect to each
other in space. The best-known are the five grids,
known as the A-grid, B-grid, etc., that were classified
and analysed by Arakawa (Figure 6). It is also possible
to store fields in a way that is staggered in time, or both
space and time, but this is rarely used.
Finite Element and Spectral Methods
For finite element and spectral methods the object is to
determine how the coefficients f ^ evolve in time. One
i
way to do this is to require that the residual, which is
the amount left over when the approximate solution
[1] is substituted into the original equation, be
orthogonal to each of the basis functions. This
The CFL Criterion
According to the Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL)
criterion, a necessary condition for the stability of a
numerical scheme for a hyperbolic equation is that the
domain of dependence of the numerical solution at any
point (jDx; nDt) should include the domain of de-
pendence of the true solution at the same point. For
example, for the scheme [6] the numerical domain of
dependence of fnj consists of the points ðj 1ÞDx and
jDx at time ðn 1ÞDt. Since, for the true solution of the
linear advection equation, information propagates at
velocity v, the domain of dependence of the true
solution consists of the single point jDx vDt at time
ðn 1ÞDt. In this case the numerical domain of
dependence contains the true domain of dependence
if and only if 0  vðDt=DxÞ  1. In general, satisfac-
tion of the CFL criterion is necessary but not sufficient
to guarantee stability, though in the example just given
it turns out to be sufficient too.
The quantity vðDt=DxÞ is called the Courant
number. An analogous quantity can be defined for
other equations with wavelike solutions, e.g. gravity
waves, with v replaced by the speed of the equation’s
characteristics. Many schemes are stable only for a
 NUMERICAL MODELS / Methods 1427

limited range of Courant numbers, so that at any given Implicit Time Stepping and
model resolution it is important to use a time step Semi-Implicit Time Stepping
small enough to ensure stability; this, of course, affects
the overall cost of the model. Consider the following two schemes (eqns [9] and
[10]) for time discretization of the equation
qf=qt ¼ RðfÞ.
Semi-Lagrangian Advection
fnþ1 fn 1
Semi-Lagrangian schemes are a way of modeling the ¼ Rðfn Þ ½9Š
2Dt
advection terms in fluid dynamical equations while
satisfying the CFL criterion and ensuring stability
without any restriction on the time step. By removing fnþ1 fn 1 
¼ Rðfn Þ þ R fnþ1


½10Š
one of the major constraints on the time step, they Dt 2
allow models to be run more cheaply, and as a result Scheme [9] is an example of an explicit scheme;
they are now widely used. fnþ1 is given explicitly in terms of known quan-
An equation of the form Df=Dt ¼ S, where S tities fn 1 and fn . Scheme [10], on the other
represents all terms other than the advection term, is hand, is an example of an implicit scheme; fnþ1
typically discretized along an air parcel trajectory appears on both sides of the equation, making it
starting from some departure point xd at time nDt and more difficult to solve. The advantage of scheme
arriving at a grid point xj at time ðn þ 1ÞDt as in eqn [7] [10] is that it is stable for any size of time step and
(Figure 7). any reasonable R, whereas scheme [9] is stable only
for a limited range of time steps and for certain
fnþ1
j fnd forms of R.
¼
S ½7Š
Dt Implicit time schemes are often used for modeling
atmospheric chemistry, where short reaction time
Here  S is some estimate of S averaged along the scales would require very short time steps for
trajectory, fnþ1
j is the value of f at xj and time stability if an explicit time scheme were used. Implicit
ðn þ 1ÞDt, and fnd is the value of f at xd and time nDt. schemes are also often used in atmospheric models
In general xd will not coincide with a model grid point to model the gravity wave terms, and, if the hydro-
so that the value fnd must be found by interpolation. static approximation is not made, the acoustic wave
Cubic interpolation is typically used. terms. Acoustic and gravity waves are the highest-
The departure point xd is given implicitly by eqn [8], frequency signals in the atmosphere and would
where v is an estimate of the average velocity along the strongly constrain the time step if explicit time
trajectory, e.g., v ¼ ðvnþ1
j þ vnd Þ=2. Equation [8] is schemes were used. One effect of implicit time schemes
implicit because  v depends on xd ; when large time steps are used is artificially to slow the
xj xd highest-frequency waves. This is usually considered
v
¼ ½8Š acceptable, since acoustic and gravity waves are not
Dt
the most significant meterological features on synoptic
it is solved iteratively using typically two or three scales.
iterations, with vnd estimated by linear interpolation at Because the equations describing the atmosphere
each iteration. are nonlinear, an implicit discretization in the form
[10] would be difficult and expensive to solve for fnþ1.
Instead a semi-implicit discretization is usually used
(eqn [11]).
n +2
fnþ1 fn 1
n +1 ¼ ½Lðfn Þ þ Lðfnþ1 ފ
Dt 2
n
xd þ Rðfnþ1=2 Þ Lðfnþ1=2 Þ ½11Š
n−1
Here L is an approximation to R (or to that part of R
j−4 j−3 j−2 j−1 j j +1 describing gravity waves) obtained by linearizing
about a suitable reference state, usually a stratified
Figure 7 Schematic showing how a semi-Lagrangian advection
scheme can carry information along an air parcel trajectory from the atmosphere at rest, and fnþ1=2 is an estimate of f
departure point xd at time nDt to the arrival grid point xj at time at time ðn þ 1=2ÞDt obtained, for example, by
ðn þ 1ÞDt. extrapolating from times ðn 1ÞDt and nDt. This
1428 NUMERICAL MODELS / Methods
leads to a much simpler, linear problem for fnþ1
(eqn [12]).
Dt
fnþ1 Lðfnþ1 Þ ¼ ðknown termsÞ ½12Š
2 eigenfunctions of the horizontal part of the Helmholtz
Equation [12] is usually of a form similar to eqn
[13] for some coefficients n, known as a Helmholtz
equation.
fnþ1 nr2 fnþ1 ¼ ðknown termsÞ ½13Š
Thus, an elliptic problem with suitable boundary
conditions must be solved to determine fnþ1 .
The combination of a semi-Lagrangian treatment of
advection terms with a semi-implicit treatment of
gravity waves and acoustic waves removes most of the
stability constraints on the time step size, allowing the
time step to be chosen on the basis of accuracy rather
than stability considerations, and thus making models
more efficient. For this reason, models based on semi-
implicit semi-Lagrangian schemes have become
widely used.
Elliptic Equations
Elliptic problems arise in atmospheric models when
some form of balance is assumed, e.g., when deter-
mining the streamfunction from the quasigeostrophic
potential vorticity, or when a semi-implicit time
scheme gives rise to a Helmholtz equation. They also
arise when vorticity and divergence are predicted
variables and it is necessary to derive the wind velocity
from these fields via a streamfunction and velocity
potential.
Discretization in space of an elliptic problem like
eqn [13] leads to an equation of the form [14], where
M is a sparse matrix.
Mfnþ1 ¼ ðknown termsÞ ½14Š
Direct inversion of the matrix M is usually prohibi-
tively expensive for three-dimensional problems.
However, there are several other possible approaches
to solving eqn [14]. If a spectral representation of f
were used and the basis functions could be chosen to be
eigenfunctions of the Helmholtz operator, then M
would be diagonal and the solution would be trivial. In
practice it is possible to choose the basis functions to be
operator, e.g. spherical harmonics in spherical geo-
metry. Then eqn [14] separates into a number of much
smaller problems whose matrices correspond to the
vertical part of the Helmholtz operator; these can be
solved by direct matrix inversion.
If a spectral representation is not used then eqn [14]
is usually solved iteratively. One set of methods
involves relaxation of an approximate solution to
obtain a better approximation at each iteration. The
convergence of the iteration procedure can be greatly
accelerated by carrying out some iterations on coarser
grids than that on which the final solution is required;
this is a multigrid method. Another iterative method
involves reformulating eqn [14] as a minimization
problem and then solving it using a minimization
algorithm such as the conjugate gradient algorithm.
See also
Dynamic Meteorology: Overview. Middle Atmos-
phere: Gravity Waves. Numerical Models: Chemistry
Models. Weather Prediction: Ensemble Prediction;
Seasonal and Interannual Weather Prediction.
Further Reading
Durran DR (1999) Numerical Methods for Wave Equations
in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics. New York: Springer-
Verlag.
Haltiner JG and Williams RT (1980) Numerical Prediction
and Dynamic Meteorology. Chichester: Wiley.
LeVeque RJ (1992) Numerical Methods for Conservation
Laws. Basel: Birkhäuser.
Pielke RA (1984) Mesoscale Meteorological Modeling.
London: Academic Press.
Press WH, Teukolsky SA, Vetterling WT and Flannery BP
(1992) Numerical Recipes in FORTRAN 77: The Art of
Scientific Computing, 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.