Development of high-resolution regional aerosol climate model: SCALE-SPRINTARS

Abstract This study developed the integration of the Spectral Radiation-Transport Model for Aerosol Species (SPRINTARS) aerosol module into Scalable Computing for Advanced Library and Environment (SCALE), a regional meteorological and climate model which can simulate three-dimensional aerosol distribution with extremely high spatiotemporal resolution capable of resolving cloud physics. SPRINTARS calculates aerosol transport processes as well as aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions. The integrated model called SCALE-SPRINTARS treats the processes of the major tropospheric aerosols: sulfate, black carbon, organic matter, soil dust, and sea salt. Simulated aerosol distributions by the SCALE-SPRINTARS throughout the year targeting the Asian region were generally consistent with in-situ, satellite and reanalysis data. The SCALE-SPRINTARS is expected to serve as a fundamental tool for quantitatively assessing the impact of aerosols on local phenomena such as tropical cyclones and thunderstorms, as well as for reproducing and predicting aerosol distributions at ultra-high resolution, anticipating future advancements in computer power. Furthermore, its capability for Large Eddy Simulation-scale simulations, including aerosol-cloud interactions, brings it closer to realistically representing cloud and precipitation processes in meteorological and climate models.