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Article ? AI-assigned paper type based on the abstract. Classification may not be perfect — flag errors using the feedback button. Tier 2 ? Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence. Detection Methods Environmental Sources Food & Water Sign in to save

FLEXPART version 11: improved accuracy, efficiency, and flexibility

Geoscientific model development 2024 30 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Silvia Bucci, Daria Tatsii, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Silvia Bucci, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Daria Tatsii, Silvia Bucci, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Daria Tatsii, Silvia Bucci, Daria Tatsii, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, A. Stohl Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, A. Stohl A. Stohl Anne Tipka, Anne Tipka, Anne Tipka, Silvia Bucci, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Sabine Eckhardt, Silvia Bucci, Sabine Eckhardt, Rona L. Thompson, A. Stohl Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl Andreas Plach, A. Stohl Sabine Eckhardt, A. Stohl A. Stohl Silvia Bucci, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, Marina Dütsch, Rona L. Thompson, A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Lucie Bakels, Marina Dütsch, Marina Dütsch, Michael Blaschek, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Silvia Bucci, Sabine Eckhardt, Michael Blaschek, Michael Blaschek, Silvia Bucci, Petra Seibert, Petra Seibert, Sabine Eckhardt, Petra Seibert, A. Stohl A. Stohl Petra Seibert, Andreas Plach, A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl Katharina Baier, Katharina Baier, Sabine Eckhardt, Martin Vojta, Silvia Bucci, Silvia Bucci, Petra Seibert, Sabine Eckhardt, Petra Seibert, Silvia Bucci, Massimo Cassiani, Ignacio Pisso, Silvia Bucci, Massimo Cassiani, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Sabine Eckhardt, Massimo Cassiani, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, Stephan Henne, Stephan Henne, Christine Groot Zwaaftink, P. Kaufmann, Marie D. Mulder, Marie D. Mulder, P. Kaufmann, Vincent Lechner, Vincent Lechner, A. Stohl Vincent Lechner, Vincent Lechner, Christian Maurer, Rona L. Thompson, Christian Maurer, Christian Maurer, Christian Maurer, Marie D. Mulder, Marie D. Mulder, Marie D. Mulder, Marie D. Mulder, Ignacio Pisso, Ignacio Pisso, Andreas Plach, Andreas Plach, Rakesh Subramanian, Rakesh Subramanian, Martin Vojta, Martin Vojta, A. Stohl A. Stohl A. Stohl

Summary

This paper describes major upgrades to FLEXPART, a widely used computer model for tracking how particles and gases move through the atmosphere. The new version improves accuracy and runs faster by using better numerical methods and modern computing techniques. While not directly about microplastics, this type of atmospheric transport modeling is used in research that tracks how airborne microplastic particles travel across the globe.

Abstract. Numerical methods and simulation codes are essential for the advancement of our understanding of complex atmospheric processes. As technology and computer hardware continue to evolve, the development of sophisticated code is vital for accurate and efficient simulations. In this paper, we present the recent advancements made in the FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model (FLEXPART), a Lagrangian particle dispersion model, which has been used in a wide range of atmospheric transport studies over the past 3 decades, extending from tracing radionuclides from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, to inverse modelling of greenhouse gases, and to the study of atmospheric moisture cycles. This version of FLEXPART includes notable improvements in accuracy and computational efficiency. (1) By leveraging the native vertical coordinates of European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) instead of interpolating to terrain-following coordinates, we achieved an improvement in trajectory accuracy, leading to a ∼8 %–10 % reduction in conservation errors for quasi-conservative quantities like potential vorticity. (2) The shape of aerosol particles is now accounted for in the gravitational settling and dry-deposition calculation, increasing the simulation accuracy for non-spherical aerosol particles such as microplastic fibres. (3) Wet deposition has been improved by the introduction of a new below-cloud scheme, by a new cloud identification scheme, and by improving the interpolation of precipitation. (4) Functionality from a separate version of FLEXPART, the FLEXPART CTM (chemical transport model), is implemented, which includes linear chemical reactions. Additionally, the incorporation of Open Multi-Processing parallelisation makes the model better suited for handling large input data. Furthermore, we introduced novel methods for the input and output of particle properties and distributions. Users now have the option to run FLEXPART with more flexible particle input data, providing greater adaptability for specific research scenarios (e.g. effective backward simulations corresponding to satellite retrievals). Finally, a new user manual (https://flexpart.img.univie.ac.at/docs/, last access: 11 September 2024) and restructuring of the source code into modules will serve as a basis for further development.

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