Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 7 16 2007 10.5194/acp-7-4295-2007 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/4295/2007/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/4295/2007/acp-7-4295-2007.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/7/4295/2007/acp-7-4295-2007.pdf 4295 4309 2007-08-22 Sensitivity of PM_2.5 to climate in the Eastern US: a modeling case study J. P. Dawson P. J. Adams S. N. Pandis spyros@andrew.cmu.edu Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Patras, 26500, Patra, Greece The individual effects of various meteorological parameters on PM_2.5 concentrations in the Eastern US are examined using the PMCAMx chemical transport model so that these effects and their relative magnitudes can be better understood. A suite of perturbations in temperature, wind speed, absolute humidity, mixing height, cloud cover, and precipitation are imposed individually on base case conditions corresponding to periods in July 2001 and January 2002 in order to determine the sensitivities of PM_2.5 concentrations and composition to these separate meteorological parameters. Temperature had a major effect on average PM_2.5 in January (−170 ng m^−3 K^−1) due largely to the evaporation of ammonium nitrate and organic aerosol at higher temperatures; increases in sulfate production with increased temperature counteracted much of this decrease in July. Changes in mixing height also had major effects on PM_2.5 concentrations: 73 ng m^−3 (100 m)^−1 in January and 210 ng m^−3 (100 m)^−1 in July. Changes in wind speed (30 to 55 ng m^−3 %^−1) and absolute humidity (15 to 20 ng m^−3 %^−1) also had appreciable effects on average PM_2.5 concentrations. 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