A numerical scheme for the integration of the gas-phase chemical rate equations in three-dimensional atmospheric models

A numerical integration scheme, designed for the gas-phase chemistry module in a 3D regional tropospheric chemistry model, is presented. Species in the chemical system are partitioned into “slow” and “fast” species, according to their lifetime under typical atmospheric conditions. A Newton-Raphson iterative scheme (implicit) is used for the fast species, while an explicit scheme is used for the slow ones. The hybrid implicit/explicit approach is tested against the Gear integration scheme for several rural and urban conditions (with and without emission/deposition). Comparisons with an exponential approximation scheme are also presented. The present integration scheme is shown to be accurate and efficient. With a 30 min integration step, the implicit/explicit scheme is at least 10-times faster than the Gear integration (with an equivalent integration step).