The aerosol modeling testbed: A community tool to objectively evaluate aerosol process modules

Regional and global models are becoming more complex as they incorporate new representations for the size distribution of aerosol mass and number and new parameterizations of aerosol processes. One consequence of the current modeling paradigm is that the performance and computational efficiency of multiple treatments for a specific aerosol process cannot be quantitatively compared, because many other processes among aerosol models are different as well. In contrast to global aerosol models, regional-scale aerosol models can resolve much of the observed spatial and temporal variations in aerosols and consequently are more compatible with measurements that are often available over sampling intervals of an hour or less. The performance of new treatments can then be quantified and compared to existing treatments before they are incorporated into regional and global climate models. Because the AMT is a community tool, it also provides a means of enhancing collaboration and coordination among aerosol modelers.