Aerosol studies during the ESCOMPTE experiment: an overview

Preliminary results from the 0D and 3D versions of the MesoNH-aerosol model show that, with optimised gas and particle sources, the model accounts satisfactorily for the measured aerosol concentrations. The formation of secondary particles in the model is currently underway; initial encouraging results show that the model accounts for the formation of secondary species, such as sulphate and organic particles. Finally, radiative calculations suggest that the role of the fine aerosol fraction is predominant mostly due to the presence of black carbon (BC) particles, which could induce a regional atmospheric heating.