Effects of Soil Moisture on Temperatures, Winds, and Pollutant Concentrations in Los Angeles

Abstract
This paper examines the effects of soil moisture initialization in a coupled air quality–meteorological model on temperature profiles, wind speeds, and pollutant concentrations. Three simulations, each with different initial soil moisture fields, were run. In the baseline simulation, predicted temperatures, wind speeds, and gas/aerosol pollutant concentrations accurately matched observations. In the other two simulations, soil moisture contents were initialized about 4% lower and higher, respectively, than in the baseline simulation. In the low-moisture case, predicted temperature profiles were hotter, near-surface wind speeds were faster, and near-surface pollutant concentrations were lower than observations and baseline predictions. In the high-moisture case, predicted temperatures were colder, wind speeds were slower, and pollutant concentrations were higher than observations and baseline predictions. Initial soil moisture contents affected vertical temperature profiles up to 600-mb altitude a... Abstract This paper examines the effects of soil moisture initialization in a coupled air quality–meteorological model on temperature profiles, wind speeds, and pollutant concentrations. Three simulations, each with different initial soil moisture fields, were run. In the baseline simulation, predicted temperatures, wind speeds, and gas/aerosol pollutant concentrations accurately matched observations. In the other two simulations, soil moisture contents were initialized about 4% lower and higher, respectively, than in the baseline simulation. In the low-moisture case, predicted temperature profiles were hotter, near-surface wind speeds were faster, and near-surface pollutant concentrations were lower than observations and baseline predictions. In the high-moisture case, predicted temperatures were colder, wind speeds were slower, and pollutant concentrations were higher than observations and baseline predictions. Initial soil moisture contents affected vertical temperature profiles up to 600-mb altitude a...

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