ACP Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ACP 1680-7324 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acp-8-721-2008 Formation and transport of photooxidants over Europe during the July 2006 heat wave – observations and GEM-AQ model simulations Struzewska J. 1 Kaminski J. W. 2 Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland Atmospheric Modelling and Data Assimilation Laboratory, Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada 13 02 2008 8 3 721 736 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/721/2008/acp-8-721-2008.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/721/2008/acp-8-721-2008.pdf

The European heat wave of July 2006 was caused by advection of very hot and dry air from North Africa. Air masses were transported on the western edge of the high pressure system, centred over Eastern Europe, resulting in exceptionally high air temperatures over large areas of the continent. In the first two weeks of July 2006 a severe heat wave affected Central and North-Eastern Europe. We present a synoptic analysis of the July 2006 European heat wave, resulting formation and transport of photooxidants over Europe as simulated by the on-line tropospheric chemistry model GEM-AQ. The model was executed on a global variable grid with ~15 km resolution over the entire European continent. Modelling results have been compared with surface observations and vertical soundings of meteorological and air quality parameters. We find that the calculated error measures, as well as analysis of time series and trends for selected quantities, indicate good model performance over the simulation period. The spatial pattern of two exposure indicators – SOMO35 and AOT40 – showed similarities with the high temperatures distribution. The zone of highest exposure was located over Central Europe along the advection path of the hot African air mass. The exposure to high ozone concentrations in higher latitudes was reduced by the dilution and aging of polluted air masses advected from over Central Europe.

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