C. Maurer¹ , M. Kalinowski² , J. Kusmierczyk-Michulec² , J. Baré² , T. Bowyer³

¹Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG), Vienna, Austria
²CTBTO Preparatory Commission, Vienna, Austria
³Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA

Abstract:

After successfully performing an ATM challenge in 2015 the idea of having another and more complex one emerged. The new challenge met with big response from the respective community. 17 organizations from 10 different countries took part. One purpose of the 2nd ATM Challenge 2016 was once again to ascertain the level of agreement one can achieve between real IMS measurements and those simulated using only stack release data and ATM. Another purpose was to compare results of the current challenge in terms of model performances with those from the previous one. Whereas the distance between the source (IRE) and the selected IMS station (DEX33) added up to around 380 km in the 2015 exercise, distances between the source (ANSTO) and the selected IMS stations (six on the Southern hemisphere) varies between around 690 km (AUX04) and around 13500 km (BRX11) for the 2016 exercise. In addition, the locations of the two challenges (~50°N versus ~34°S) are completely almost on the opposite sides of the globe and, consequently, very different atmospheric circulation patterns have to be expected. Final results will be presented, including a discussion about the main driving factors of model performance.