Online coupled mesoscale meteorology atmospheric chemistry models haveundergone a rapid evolution in recent years. Although mainly developed bythe air quality modelling community, these models are also of interest fornumerical weather prediction and regional climate modelling as they canconsider not only the effects of meteorology on air quality, but also thepotentially important effects of atmospheric composition on weather. Twoways of online coupling can be distinguished: online integrated and onlineaccess coupling. Online integrated models simulate meteorology and chemistryover the same grid in one model using one main time step for integration.Online access models use independent meteorology and chemistry modules thatmight even have different grids, but exchange meteorology and chemistry dataon a regular and frequent basis. This article offers a comprehensive reviewof the current research status of online coupled meteorology and atmosphericchemistry modelling within Europe. Eighteen regional online coupled modelsdeveloped or being used in Europe are described and compared. Topicsdiscussed include a survey of processes relevant to the interactions betweenatmospheric physics, dynamics and composition; a brief overview of existingonline mesoscale models and European model developments; an analysis on howfeedback processes are treated in these models; numerical issues associatedwith coupled models; and several case studies and model performanceevaluation methods. Finally, this article highlights selected scientificissues and emerging challenges that require proper consideration to improvethe reliability and usability of these models for the three scientificcommunities: air quality, numerical meteorology modelling (including weatherprediction) and climate modelling. This review will be of particularinterest to model developers and users in all three fields as it presents asynthesis of scientific progress and provides recommendations for futureresearch directions and priorities in the development, application andevaluation of online coupled models.
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