A review of the current status of knowledge on dry deposition

Dry deposition can account for a large portion of the removal of trace chem icals from the troposphere. Resistance schemes used in modeling often perfo rm quite well in daytime conditions over flat terrain. Model results for hi lly or mountainous areas, however, are considerably less reliable than thos e for flat terrain. Even for homogeneous atmospheric and surface conditions and flat terrain, an inadequate model description of surface properties su ch as vegetative species and soil moisture stress can lead to large differe nces between modeled and measured fluxes. Third-generation models of mesosc ale meteorology and atmospheric chemistry have the potential to achieve sev eral advances, but scaling up of local to regional flux information remains a subject of research. Also, the integrated modeling of gaseous emissions and deposition, which need to be tied together at a low level of model stru cture, has not yet been accomplished. Many of the processes affecting dry d eposition of O-3 over individual types of surfaces an fairly well understoo d. The role of rapid in-air chemical reactions involving NO, NO2, and O-3 a re difficult to quantify comprehensively, and the effects of water from rai n or dew on uptake of gases can be highly variable. The influence of lipid solubility on the uptake of organic substances is not well understood. For large bodies of water, the dry deposition rate of most gases appears to be determined largely by water solubility. Parameterizations for the depositio n of fine particles tend to be empirical or based on theories untested in n atural settings outdoors. Direct measurements of fluxes are required for im proved parameterizations for gases and particles and have been made success fully in many past experiments. Micrometeorological approaches have been us ed extensively, but they are sometimes limited by chemical instrumentation. Long-term flux measurements for diverse terrain and relatively large areas remain difficult. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.