Photolytic impact of a stratocumulus cloud layer upon the chemistry of an offshore advected plume of pollutants during the NARE 1993 intensive experiment: a numerical study

Layers of pollutants are frequently exported from the North American continent over the North Atlantic Ocean. Several intensive experiments were dedicated to study this long-range transport, which frequently occurs over cloud bands. Therefore, the photolytic impact of a persistent cloud layer upon an advected plume of pollutants is an important question and is addressed in the framework of the North Atlantic Regional Experiment (NARE) 1993 experiment, at a distance of 300 km from the continent. The comprehensive RAMS model coupled on-line with a gaseous and an aqueous chemical module is used to follow the chemistry of the photochemically aged plume. A thin cloud layer involves radicals (OH and HO2) and hydrogen peroxide production in the polluted air advected over it and increases the oxidizing capacity of atmosphere. Additional sensitivity tests to study the radiative impact of the accompanying aerosol layer upon the photolysis rates are conducted. It is shown that aerosols moderate this radiative impact due to the cloud layer.