EuroDelta phase 3: an intercomparison of 7 european chemistry-transport models against observations from 4 EMEP measurement campaigns

In the frame of the UNECE Task Force on Measurement and Modelling (TFMM) under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP), the EuroDelta project (phase 1) was initiated in 2004 with a validation study of models against observational data. In phase 2 of the project the focus was on the impact of sectorwise emission reductions on the quality of air in Europe. The third phase of EuroDelta builds upon the methodology of the earlier phases. The objective of this phase is to analyse the behaviour of models on 4 EMEP intensive 1-month measurement campaigns which took place in 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. In particular we focus on the behaviour of the EMEP model, which is the official model of the CLRTAP Convention and involved in the EU air quality policy making process. The results of this model intercomparison are presented in terms of model performances for regulatory pollutants and also for Particulate Matter (PM) components and their precursors. To better assess the ability of models to simulate the physical and chemical processes, the results are analyzed on hourly and daily bases. The meteorology is also assessed. The 7 chemistry-transport models (EMEP, CHIMERE, LOTOS, RCGC, CAMX, MINNI, CMAQ) were run over the 4 campaigns and analyzed using the DeltaTool, a Tool for validation and benchmarking developed at the JRC-Ispra in the frame of FAIRMODE. Apart from the model-observation comparisons for the 4 campaigns, we will shortly discuss near-future EuroDelta activities on the retrospective analysis, and on trend analysis