A corrected formulation of the Multilayer Model (MLM) for inferring gaseous dry deposition to vegetated surfaces

Abstract

The Multilayer Model (MLM) has been used for many years to infer dry deposition fluxes from measured trace species concentrations and standard meteorological measurements for national networks in the U.S., including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet). MLM utilizes a resistance analogy to calculate deposition velocities appropriate for whole vegetative canopies, while employing a multilayer integration to account for vertically varying meteorology, canopy morphology and radiative transfer within the canopy. However, the MLM formulation, as it was originally presented and as it has been subsequently employed, contains a non-physical representation related to the leaf-level quasi-laminar boundary layer resistance that affects the calculation of the total canopy resistance. In this note, the non-physical representation of the canopy resistance as originally formulated in MLM is discussed and a revised, physically consistent, formulation is suggested as a replacement. The revised canopy resistance formulation reduces estimates of HNO₃ deposition velocities by as much as 38% during mid-day as compared to values generated by the original formulation. Inferred deposition velocities for SO₂ and O₃ are not significantly altered by the change in formulation (<3%). Inferred deposition loadings of oxidized and total nitrogen from CASTNet data may be reduced by 10–20% and 5–10%, respectively, for the Eastern U. S. when employing the revised formulation of MLM as compared to the original formulation.