Stratospheric Ozone Distribution and Tropospheric General Circulation: Interconnections in the UTLS Region

Science.gov (United States)

Barodka, S.; Krasovsky, A.; Shalamyansky, A.

2014-12-01

The height of the tropopause, which divided the stratosphere and the troposphere, is a result of two rival categories of processes: the tropospheric vertical convection and the radiative heating of the stratosphere resulting from the ozone cycle. Hence, it is natural that tropospheric and stratospheric phenomena can have effect each other in manifold processes of stratosphere-troposphere interactions. In the present study we focus our attention to the "top-down" side of the interaction: the impact of stratospheric ozone distribution on the features of tropospheric circulation and the associated weather patterns and regional climate conditions. We proceed from analyzes of the observational data performed at the A.I. Voeikov Main Geophysical Observatory, which suggest a distinct correlation between stratospheric ozone distribution, synoptic formations and air-masses boundaries in the upper troposphere and the temperature field of the lower stratosphere [1]. Furthermore, we analyze local features of atmospheric general circulation and stratospheric ozone distribution from the atmospheric reanalyses and general circulation model data, focusing our attention to instantaneous positions of subtropical and polar stationary atmospheric fronts, which define regional characteristics of the general circulation cells in the troposphere and separate global tropospheric air-masses, correspond to distinct meteorological regimes in the TOC field [2, 3]. We assume that by altering the tropopause height, stratospheric ozone-related processes can have an impact on the location of the stationary atmospheric fronts, thereby exerting influence on circulation processes in troposphere and lower stratosphere. For midlatitudes, the tropopause height controls the position of the polar stationary front, which has a direct impact on the trajectory of motion of active vortices on synoptic tropospheric levels, thereby controlling weather patterns in that region and the regional climate. This

Multimodel ensemble simulations of present-day and near-future tropospheric ozone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stevenson, D.S.; Dentener, F.J.; Schultz, M.G.; Ellingsen, K.; Noije, van T.P.C.; Wild, O.; Zeng, G.; Amann, M.; Atherton, C.S.; Bell, N.; Bergmann, D.J.; Bey, I.; Butler, T.; Cofala, J.; Collins, W.J.; Derwent, R.G.; Doherty, R.M.; Drevet, J.; Eskes, H.J.; Fiore, A.M.; Gauss, M.; Hauglustaine, D.A.; Horowitz, L.W.; Isaksen, I.S.A.; Krol, M.C.; Lamarque, J.F.; Lawrence, M.G.; Montanaro, V.; Muller, J.F.; Pitari, G.; Prather, M.J.; Pyle, J.A.; Rast, S.; Rodriguez, J.M.; Sanderson, M.G.; Savage, N.H.; Shindell, D.T.; Strahan, S.E.; Sudo, K.; Szopa, S.

2006-01-01

Global tropospheric ozone distributions, budgets, and radiative forcings from an ensemble of 26 state-of-the-art atmospheric chemistry models have been intercompared and synthesized as part of a wider study into both the air quality and climate roles of ozone. Results from three 2030 emissions

Tropospheric Ozone Change from 1980 to 2010 Dominated by Equatorward Redistribution of Emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yuqiang; Cooper, Owen R.; Gaudel, Audrey; Thompson, Anne M.; Nedelec, Philippe; Ogino, Shin-Ya; West, J. Jason

2016-01-01

Ozone is an important air pollutant at the surface, and the third most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas in the troposphere. Since 1980, anthropogenic emissions of ozone precursors methane, non-methane volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides (NOx) have shifted from developed to developing regions. Emissions have thereby been redistributed equatorwards, where they are expected to have a stronger effect on the tropospheric ozone burden due to greater convection, reaction rates and NOx sensitivity. Here we use a global chemical transport model to simulate changes in tropospheric ozone concentrations from 1980 to 2010, and to separate the influences of changes in the spatial distribution of global anthropogenic emissions of short-lived pollutants, the magnitude of these emissions, and the global atmospheric methane concentration. We estimate that the increase in ozone burden due to the spatial distribution change slightly exceeds the combined influences of the increased emission magnitude and global methane. Emission increases in Southeast, East and South Asia may be most important for the ozone change, supported by an analysis of statistically significant increases in observed ozone above these regions. The spatial distribution of emissions dominates global tropospheric ozone, suggesting that the future ozone burden will be determined mainly by emissions from low latitudes.

Tropospheric ozone and its precursors from the urban to the global scale from air quality to short-lived climate forcer

Science.gov (United States)

Monks, P. S.; Archibald, A. T.; Colette, A.; Cooper, O.; Coyle, M.; Derwent, R.; Fowler, D.; Granier, C.; Law, K. S.; Mills, G. E.; Stevenson, D. S.; Tarasova, O.; Thouret, V.; von Schneidemesser, E.; Sommariva, R.; Wild, O.; Williams, M. L.

2015-08-01

Ozone holds a certain fascination in atmospheric science. It is ubiquitous in the atmosphere, central to tropospheric oxidation chemistry, yet harmful to human and ecosystem health as well as being an important greenhouse gas. It is not emitted into the atmosphere but is a byproduct of the very oxidation chemistry it largely initiates. Much effort is focused on the reduction of surface levels of ozone owing to its health and vegetation impacts, but recent efforts to achieve reductions in exposure at a country scale have proved difficult to achieve owing to increases in background ozone at the zonal hemispheric scale. There is also a growing realisation that the role of ozone as a short-lived climate pollutant could be important in integrated air quality climate change mitigation. This review examines current understanding of the processes regulating tropospheric ozone at global to local scales from both measurements and models. It takes the view that knowledge across the scales is important for dealing with air quality and climate change in a synergistic manner. The review shows that there remain a number of clear challenges for ozone such as explaining surface trends, incorporating new chemical understanding, ozone-climate coupling, and a better assessment of impacts. There is a clear and present need to treat ozone across the range of scales, a transboundary issue, but with an emphasis on the hemispheric scales. New observational opportunities are offered both by satellites and small sensors that bridge the scales.

A model study of ozone in the eastern Mediterranean free troposphere during MINOS (August 2001

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G. J. Roelofs

2003-01-01

Full Text Available A coupled tropospheric chemistry-climate model is used to analyze tropospheric ozone distributions observed during the MINOS campaign in the eastern Mediterranean region (August, 2001. Modeled ozone profiles are generally in good agreement with the observations. Our analysis shows that the atmospheric dynamics in the region are strongly influenced by the occurrence of an upper tropospheric anti-cyclone, associated with the Asian summer monsoon and centered over the Tibetan Plateau. The anti-cyclone affects the chemical composition of the upper troposphere, where ozone concentrations of about 50 ppbv were measured, through advection of boundary layer air from South-East Asia. A layer between 4-6 km thickness was present beneath, containing up to 120 ppbv of ozone with substantial contributions by transport from the stratosphere and through lightning NOx. Additionally, pollutant ozone from North America was mixed in. Ozone in the lower troposphere originated mainly from the European continent. The stratospheric influence may be overestimated due to too strong vertical diffusion associated with the relatively coarse vertical resolution. The estimated tropospheric ozone column over the eastern Mediterranean is ~50 DU in summer, to which ozone from recent stratospheric origin contributes about 30%, ozone from lightning 13%, and from South-East Asia, North America and Europe about 7%, 8% and 14%, respectively, adding to a long-term hemispheric background of 25% of the column.

Perspectives regarding 50 years of research on effects of tropospheric ozone air pollution on US forests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karnosky, David F. [School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Tech University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931 (United States)]. E-mail: karnosky@mtu.edu; Skelly, John M. [5316 Wyndemere Circle, Mineral, VA 23117 (United States); Percy, Kevin E. [Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service-Atlantic Forestry Centre, PO 1350 Regent Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick, E3B 5P7 (Canada); Chappelka, Art H. [School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 206 M. White-Smith Hall, Auburn, AL 36849-5418 (United States)

2007-06-15

Tropospheric ozone (O{sub 3}) was first determined to be phytotoxic to grapes in southern California in the 1950s. Investigations followed that showed O{sub 3} to be the cause of foliar symptoms on tobacco and eastern white pine. In the 1960s, 'X' disease of ponderosa pines within the San Bernardino Mountains was likewise determined to be due to O{sub 3}. Nearly 50 years of research have followed. Foliar O{sub 3} symptoms have been verified under controlled chamber conditions. Studies have demonstrated negative growth effects on forest tree seedlings due to season-long O{sub 3} exposures, but due to complex interactions within forest stands, evidence of similar losses within mature tree canopies remains elusive. Investigations on tree growth, O{sub 3} flux, and stand productivity are being conducted along natural O{sub 3} gradients and in open-air exposure systems to better understand O{sub 3} effects on forest ecosystems. Given projected trends in demographics, economic output and climate, O{sub 3} impacts on US forests will continue and are likely to increase. - Elevated tropospheric ozone remains an important phytotoxic air pollutant over large areas of US forests.

Perspectives regarding 50 years of research on effects of tropospheric ozone air pollution on US forests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karnosky, David F.; Skelly, John M.; Percy, Kevin E.; Chappelka, Art H.

2007-01-01

Tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) was first determined to be phytotoxic to grapes in southern California in the 1950s. Investigations followed that showed O 3 to be the cause of foliar symptoms on tobacco and eastern white pine. In the 1960s, 'X' disease of ponderosa pines within the San Bernardino Mountains was likewise determined to be due to O 3 . Nearly 50 years of research have followed. Foliar O 3 symptoms have been verified under controlled chamber conditions. Studies have demonstrated negative growth effects on forest tree seedlings due to season-long O 3 exposures, but due to complex interactions within forest stands, evidence of similar losses within mature tree canopies remains elusive. Investigations on tree growth, O 3 flux, and stand productivity are being conducted along natural O 3 gradients and in open-air exposure systems to better understand O 3 effects on forest ecosystems. Given projected trends in demographics, economic output and climate, O 3 impacts on US forests will continue and are likely to increase. - Elevated tropospheric ozone remains an important phytotoxic air pollutant over large areas of US forests

Multimodel ensemble simulations of of present-day and near-future tropospheric ozone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stevenson, D.S.; Dentener, F.J.; van Noije, T.P.C.; Eskes, H.J.; Krol, M.C.

2006-01-01

Global tropospheric ozone distributions, budgets, and radiative forcings from an ensemble of 26 state-of-the-art atmospheric chemistry models have been intercompared and synthesized as part of a wider study into both the air quality and climate roles of ozone. Results from three 2030 emissions

Analysis of the summertime buildup of tropospheric ozone abundances over the Middle East and North Africa as observed by the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer instrument

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jane J.; Jones, Dylan B. A.; Worden, John R.; Noone, David; Parrington, Mark; Kar, Jay

2009-03-01

We use the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to interpret observations of tropospheric ozone from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) satellite instrument in summer 2005. Observations from TES reveal elevated ozone in the middle troposphere (500-400 hPa) across North Africa and the Middle East. Observed ozone abundances in the middle troposphere are at a maximum in summer and a minimum in winter, consistent with the previously predicted summertime "Middle East ozone maximum." This summertime enhancement in ozone is associated with the Arabian and Sahara anticyclones, centered over the Zagros and Atlas Mountains, respectively. These anticyclones isolate the middle troposphere over northeast Africa and the Middle East, with westerlies to the north and easterlies to the south, facilitating the buildup of ozone. Over the Middle East, we find that in situ production and transport from Asia provides comparable contributions of 30-35% to the ozone buildup. Over North Africa, in situ production is dominant (at about 20%), with transport from Asia, North America, and equatorial Africa each contributing about 10-15% to the total ozone. We find that although the eastern Mediterranean is characterized by strong descent in the middle and upper troposphere in summer, transport from the boundary layer accounts for about 25% of the local Middle Eastern contribution to the ozone enhancement in the middle troposphere. This upward transport of boundary layer air is associated with orographic lifting along the Zagros Mountains in Iran and the Asir and Hijaz Mountain ranges in Saudi Arabia, and is consistent with TES observations of deuterated water.

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Present-day distribution and trends of tropospheric ozone relevant to climate and global atmospheric chemistry model evaluation

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A. Gaudel

2018-05-01

Full Text Available 'The Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report' (TOAR is an activity of the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project. This paper is a component of the report, focusing on the present-day distribution and trends of tropospheric ozone relevant to climate and global atmospheric chemistry model evaluation. Utilizing the TOAR surface ozone database, several figures present the global distribution and trends of daytime average ozone at 2702 non-urban monitoring sites, highlighting the regions and seasons of the world with the greatest ozone levels. Similarly, ozonesonde and commercial aircraft observations reveal ozone’s distribution throughout the depth of the free troposphere. Long-term surface observations are limited in their global spatial coverage, but data from remote locations indicate that ozone in the 21st century is greater than during the 1970s and 1980s. While some remote sites and many sites in the heavily polluted regions of East Asia show ozone increases since 2000, many others show decreases and there is no clear global pattern for surface ozone changes since 2000. Two new satellite products provide detailed views of ozone in the lower troposphere across East Asia and Europe, revealing the full spatial extent of the spring and summer ozone enhancements across eastern China that cannot be assessed from limited surface observations. Sufficient data are now available (ozonesondes, satellite, aircraft across the tropics from South America eastwards to the western Pacific Ocean, to indicate a likely tropospheric column ozone increase since the 1990s. The 2014–2016 mean tropospheric ozone burden (TOB between 60°N–60°S from five satellite products is 300 Tg ± 4%. While this agreement is excellent, the products differ in their quantification of TOB trends and further work is required to reconcile the differences. Satellites can now estimate ozone’s global long-wave radiative effect, but evaluation is difficult due to limited

On the impact of temperature on tropospheric ozone concentration ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The influence of temperature on tropospheric ozone (O3)concentrations in urban and photochemically polluted areas in the greater Athens region are investigated in the present study.Hourly values of the ambient air temperature used for studying the urban heat island effect in Athens were recorded at twenty-three ...

Tropospheric ozone annual variation and possible troposphere-stratosphere coupling in the Arctic and Antarctic as derived from ozone soundings at Resolute and Amundsen-Scott stations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gruzdev, A.N.; Sitnov, S.A. (Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow (Russian Federation). Inst. of Atmospheric Physics)

1993-01-01

The tropospheric ozone annual variation in the northern and southern polar regions is analyzed from ozone sounding data obtained at Resolute during a 15-year period and Amundsen-Scott during a 7-year period. The phase of ozone annual variation above Resolute changes (increases) gradually from the stratosphere across the tropopause to the middle troposphere. Unlike this, the phase of the Antarctic ozone annual harmonic has a discontinuity in the layer of the changing tropopause level, so that the annual harmonic in the upper troposphere, lower stratosphere is 4-to-5 months out of phase (earlier) to that above and beneath. Above both the Arctic and Antarctic stations, the ozone mixing ratio and its vertical gradient evolve in a similar manner in the wide layer from the lower stratosphere to the middle troposphere. This likely points out that ozone in this layer is controlled from above. An indication of the stratospheric-tropospheric ozone exchange above Resolute is noted from mid-winter to spring. The analysis of columnar tropospheric ozone changes gives a lower estimate of the cross-tropopause ozone flux up to 5x10[sup 10] mol cm[sup -2] s[sup -1]. Above the South Pole, the cross-tropopause ozone flux is not usually large. There is also some evidence that early in the spring, when the stratospheric ozone 'hole' is developed, the stratospheric-tropospheric exchange conducts the influence of the 'hole' into the upper troposphere, where the integrated ozone destruction is estimated to be 8x10[sup 10] mol cm[sup -2] s[sup -1]. Correlation analysis gives no ozone-tropopause correlation in the Antarctic in winter, while in other seasons as well as during all seasons in the Arctic, there are negative correlation peaks just above the tropopause. (19 refs., 6 figs.).

Global ozone–CO correlations from OMI and AIRS: constraints on tropospheric ozone sources

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P. S. Kim

2013-09-01

Full Text Available We present a global data set of free tropospheric ozone–CO correlations with 2° × 2.5° spatial resolution from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS satellite instruments for each season of 2008. OMI and AIRS have near-daily global coverage of ozone and CO respectively and observe coincident scenes with similar vertical sensitivities. The resulting ozone–CO correlations are highly statistically significant (positive or negative in most regions of the world, and are less noisy than previous satellite-based studies that used sparser data. Comparison with ozone–CO correlations and regression slopes (dO3/dCO from MOZAIC (Measurements of OZone, water vapour, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides by in-service AIrbus airCraft aircraft profiles shows good general agreement. We interpret the observed ozone–CO correlations with the GEOS (Goddard Earth Observing System-Chem chemical transport model to infer constraints on ozone sources. Driving GEOS-Chem with different meteorological fields generally shows consistent ozone–CO correlation patterns, except in some tropical regions where the correlations are strongly sensitive to model transport error associated with deep convection. GEOS-Chem reproduces the general structure of the observed ozone–CO correlations and regression slopes, although there are some large regional discrepancies. We examine the model sensitivity of dO3/dCO to different ozone sources (combustion, biosphere, stratosphere, and lightning NOx by correlating the ozone change from that source to CO from the standard simulation. The model reproduces the observed positive dO3/dCO in the extratropical Northern Hemisphere in spring–summer, driven by combustion sources. Stratospheric influence there is also associated with a positive dO3/dCO because of the interweaving of stratospheric downwelling with continental outflow. The well-known ozone maximum over the tropical South Atlantic is

Development of a portable instrument to measure ozone production rates in the troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Sklaveniti, Sofia; Locoge, Nadine; Stevens, Philip; Kumar, Vinod; Sinha, Vinayak; Dusanter, Sébastien

2015-04-01

Ground-level ozone is a key species related to air pollution, causing respiratory problems, damaging crops and forests, and affecting the climate. Our current understanding of the tropospheric ozone-forming chemistry indicates that net ozone production occurs via reactions of peroxy radicals (HO2 + RO2) with NO producing NO2, whose photolysis leads to O3 formation. Production rates of tropospheric ozone, P(O3), depend on concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NOx = NO + NO2) and Volatile Organic Compounds (V OCs), but also on production rates of ROx radicals (OH + HO2 + RO2). The formation of ozone follows a complex nonlinear chemistry that makes strategies for reducing ozone difficult to implement. In this context, atmospheric chemistry models are used to develop emission regulations, but there are still uncertainties associated with the chemical mechanisms used in these models. Testing the ozone formation chemistry in atmospheric models is needed, in order to ensure the development of effective strategies for ozone reduction. We will present the development of an instrument for direct measurements of ozone production rates (OPR) in ambient air. The OPR instrument is made of three components: (i) two quartz flow tubes to sample ambient air, one exposed to solar radiation and one covered by a UV filter, (ii) a NO2-to-O3 conversion unit, and (iii) an ozone analyzer. The total amount of ozone exiting each flow tube is conserved in the form of Ox = NO2 + O3. Ozone production rates P(O3) are derived from the difference in Ox concentration between the two flow tubes, divided by the exposure time of air inside the flow tubes. We will present studies that were carried out in the laboratory to characterize each part of the instrument and we will discuss the performances of the OPR instrument based on experiments carried out using synthetic air mixtures of known composition (NOx and V OCs). Chemical modeling will also be presented to assess the reliability of ozone

Spectropolarimetric Measurements of Scattered Sunlight in the Huggins Bands: Retrieval of Tropospheric Ozone Profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, D.; Sander, S. P.; Stutz, J.; Pongetti, T. J.; Yung, Y. L.; Wong, M.; Natraj, V.; Li, K.; Shia, R.

2009-12-01

Ozone concentrations in the troposphere have increased over the past century as a result of anthropogenic emissions of NOx and volatile organic compounds. In addition to being harmful to human health and plant life, ozone is an important greenhouse gas, especially in the middle and upper troposphere. Therefore, accurate monitoring of tropospheric ozone vertical distributions is crucial for a better understanding of air quality and climate change. Simulations of vector radiative transfer in the near ultraviolet region have shown that tropospheric ozone profiles can be retrieved using polarization measurements. However, to date there has been no experimental test of this method. A new compact, portable spectropolarimeter has been built for atmospheric remote sensing. The first comprehensive description of the configuration and performance of this instrument for ground-based operation is provided and sample atmospheric scattered sunlight spectra are shown. Using optimal estimation retrieval theory we study the information content of polarization spectra in the Huggins band and uncertainties in the retrieval associated with the measurement parameters, such as aerosol scattering.

Extreme value modeling for the analysis and prediction of time series of extreme tropospheric ozone levels: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Escarela, Gabriel

2012-06-01

The occurrence of high concentrations of tropospheric ozone is considered as one of the most important issues of air management programs. The prediction of dangerous ozone levels for the public health and the environment, along with the assessment of air quality control programs aimed at reducing their severity, is of considerable interest to the scientific community and to policy makers. The chemical mechanisms of tropospheric ozone formation are complex, and highly variable meteorological conditions contribute additionally to difficulties in accurate study and prediction of high levels of ozone. Statistical methods offer an effective approach to understand the problem and eventually improve the ability to predict maximum levels of ozone. In this paper an extreme value model is developed to study data sets that consist of periodically collected maxima of tropospheric ozone concentrations and meteorological variables. The methods are applied to daily tropospheric ozone maxima in Guadalajara City, Mexico, for the period January 1997 to December 2006. The model adjusts the daily rate of change in ozone for concurrent impacts of seasonality and present and past meteorological conditions, which include surface temperature, wind speed, wind direction, relative humidity, and ozone. The results indicate that trend, annual effects, and key meteorological variables along with some interactions explain the variation in daily ozone maxima. Prediction performance assessments yield reasonably good results.

Effects of anthropogenic emissions on tropospheric ozone and its radiative forcing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berntsen, T.; Isaksen, I.S.A.; Fuglestvedt, J.S.; Myhre, G.; Larsen, T. Alsvik; Stordal, F.; Freckleton, R.S.; Shine, K.P.

1997-12-31

As described in this report, changes in tropospheric ozone since pre-industrial times due to changes in emissions have been calculated by the University of Oslo global three-dimensional photochemical model. The radiative forcing caused by the increase in ozone has been calculated by means of two independent radiative transfer models: the University of Reading model (Reading), and the University of Oslo/Norwegian Institute for Air Research model (OsloRad). Significant increases in upper tropospheric ozone concentrations are found at northern mid-latitudes at about 10 km altitude. In the tropical regions the largest increase is found at about 15 km altitude. The increase is found to be caused mainly by enhanced in situ production due to transport of precursors from the boundary layer, with a smaller contribution from increased transport of ozone produced in the boundary layer. The lifetime of ozone in the troposphere decreased by about 35% as a result of enhanced concentrations of HO{sub 2}. The calculated increase in surface ozone in Europe is in good agreement with observations. The calculations of radiative forcing include the effect of clouds and allow for thermal adjustment in the stratosphere. The global and annual averaged radiative forcing at the tropopause from both models are in the lower part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated range. The calculated radiative forcing is similar in magnitude to the negative radiative forcing by sulfate aerosols, but displaced southward in source regions at northern mid-latitudes. The increase in tropospheric ozone is calculated to have cooled the lower stratosphere by up to 0.9 K, with possibly half of this cooling occurring in the past 2 to 3 decades. 76 refs., 16 figs., 9 tabs.

Simplified Modeling of Tropospheric Ozone Formation Considering Alternative Fuels Using

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Leonardo Aragão Ferreira da Silva

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Brazilian cities have been constantly exposed to air quality episodes of high ozone concentrations (O3 . Known for not be emitted directly into the environment, O3 is a result of several chemical reactions of other pollutants emitted to atmosphere. The growth of vehicle fleet and government incentives for using alternative fuels like ethanol and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG are changing the Brazilian Metropolitan Areas in terms of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde emissions, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's present in the atmosphere and known to act on the kinetics of ozone. Driven by high concentrations of tropospheric ozone in urban/industry centers and its implications for environment and population health, the target of this work is understand the kinetics of ozone formation through the creation of a mathematical model in FORTRAN 90, describing a system of coupled ordinary differential equations able to represent a simplified mechanism of photochemical reactions in the Brazilian Metropolitan Area. Evaluating the concentration results of each pollutant were possible to observe the precursor’s influence on tropospheric ozone formation, which seasons were more conducive to this one and which are the influences of weather conditions on formation of photochemical smog.

A new diagnostic for tropospheric ozone production

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Peter M.; Evans, Mathew J.

2017-11-01

Tropospheric ozone is important for the Earth's climate and air quality. It is produced during the oxidation of organics in the presence of nitrogen oxides. Due to the range of organic species emitted and the chain-like nature of their oxidation, this chemistry is complex and understanding the role of different processes (emission, deposition, chemistry) is difficult. We demonstrate a new methodology for diagnosing ozone production based on the processing of bonds contained within emitted molecules, the fate of which is determined by the conservation of spin of the bonding electrons. Using this methodology to diagnose ozone production in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, we demonstrate its advantages over the standard diagnostic. We show that the number of bonds emitted, their chemistry and lifetime, and feedbacks on OH are all important in determining the ozone production within the model and its sensitivity to changes. This insight may allow future model-model comparisons to better identify the root causes of model differences.

A new diagnostic for tropospheric ozone production

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P. M. Edwards

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Tropospheric ozone is important for the Earth's climate and air quality. It is produced during the oxidation of organics in the presence of nitrogen oxides. Due to the range of organic species emitted and the chain-like nature of their oxidation, this chemistry is complex and understanding the role of different processes (emission, deposition, chemistry is difficult. We demonstrate a new methodology for diagnosing ozone production based on the processing of bonds contained within emitted molecules, the fate of which is determined by the conservation of spin of the bonding electrons. Using this methodology to diagnose ozone production in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, we demonstrate its advantages over the standard diagnostic. We show that the number of bonds emitted, their chemistry and lifetime, and feedbacks on OH are all important in determining the ozone production within the model and its sensitivity to changes. This insight may allow future model–model comparisons to better identify the root causes of model differences.

Stratospheric ozone intrusion events and their impacts on tropospheric ozone in the Southern Hemisphere

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J. W. Greenslade

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT provides an important natural source of ozone to the upper troposphere, but the characteristics of STT events in the Southern Hemisphere extratropics and their contribution to the regional tropospheric ozone budget remain poorly constrained. Here, we develop a quantitative method to identify STT events from ozonesonde profiles. Using this method we estimate the seasonality of STT events and quantify the ozone transported across the tropopause over Davis (69° S, 2006–2013, Macquarie Island (54° S, 2004–2013, and Melbourne (38° S, 2004–2013. STT seasonality is determined by two distinct methods: a Fourier bandpass filter of the vertical ozone profile and an analysis of the Brunt–Väisälä frequency. Using a bandpass filter on 7–9 years of ozone profiles from each site provides clear detection of STT events, with maximum occurrences during summer and minimum during winter for all three sites. The majority of tropospheric ozone enhancements owing to STT events occur within 2.5 and 3 km of the tropopause at Davis and Macquarie Island respectively. Events are more spread out at Melbourne, occurring frequently up to 6 km from the tropopause. The mean fraction of total tropospheric ozone attributed to STT during STT events is  ∼ 1. 0–3. 5 % at each site; however, during individual events, over 10 % of tropospheric ozone may be directly transported from the stratosphere. The cause of STTs is determined to be largely due to synoptic low-pressure frontal systems, determined using coincident ERA-Interim reanalysis meteorological data. Ozone enhancements can also be caused by biomass burning plumes transported from Africa and South America, which are apparent during austral winter and spring and are determined using satellite measurements of CO. To provide regional context for the ozonesonde observations, we use the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, which is too coarsely

A Lagrangian analysis of the impact of transport and transformation on the ozone stratification observed in the free troposphere during the ESCOMPTE campaign

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A. Colette

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The ozone variability observed by tropospheric ozone lidars during the ESCOMPTE campaign is analyzed by means of a hybrid-Lagrangian modeling study. Transport processes responsible for the formation of ozone-rich layers are identified using a semi-Lagrangian analysis of mesoscale simulations to identify the planetary boundary layer (PBL footprint in the free troposphere. High ozone concentrations are related to polluted air masses exported from the Iberian PBL. The chemical composition of air masses coming from the PBL and transported in the free troposphere is evaluated using a Lagrangian chemistry model. The initial concentrations are provided by a model of chemistry and transport. Different scenarios are tested for the initial conditions and for the impact of mixing with background air in order to perform a quantitative comparison with the lidar observations. For this meteorological situation, the characteristic mixing time is of the order of 2 to 6 days depending on the initial conditions. Ozone is produced in the free troposphere within most air masses exported from the Iberian PBL at an average rate of 0.2 ppbv h−1, with a maximum ozone production of 0.4 ppbv h−1. Transport processes from the PBL are responsible for an increase of 13.3 ppbv of ozone concentrations in the free troposphere compared to background levels; about 45% of this increase is attributed to in situ production during the transport rather than direct export of ozone.

A Lagrangian analysis of the impact of transport and transformation on the ozone stratification observed in the free troposphere during the ESCOMPTE campaign

Science.gov (United States)

Colette, A.; Ancellet, G.; Menut, L.; Arnold, S. R.

2006-08-01

The ozone variability observed by tropospheric ozone lidars during the ESCOMPTE campaign is analyzed by means of a hybrid-Lagrangian modeling study. Transport processes responsible for the formation of ozone-rich layers are identified using a semi-Lagrangian analysis of mesoscale simulations to identify the planetary boundary layer (PBL) footprint in the free troposphere. High ozone concentrations are related to polluted air masses exported from the Iberian PBL. The chemical composition of air masses coming from the PBL and transported in the free troposphere is evaluated using a Lagrangian chemistry model. The initial concentrations are provided by a model of chemistry and transport. Different scenarios are tested for the initial conditions and for the impact of mixing with background air in order to perform a quantitative comparison with the lidar observations. For this meteorological situation, the characteristic mixing time is of the order of 2 to 6 days depending on the initial conditions. Ozone is produced in the free troposphere within most air masses exported from the Iberian PBL at an average rate of 0.2 ppbv h-1, with a maximum ozone production of 0.4 ppbv h-1. Transport processes from the PBL are responsible for an increase of 13.3 ppbv of ozone concentrations in the free troposphere compared to background levels; about 45% of this increase is attributed to in situ production during the transport rather than direct export of ozone.

Creating a Satellite-Based Record of Tropospheric Ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Oetjen, Hilke; Payne, Vivienne H.; Kulawik, Susan S.; Eldering, Annmarie; Worden, John; Edwards, David P.; Francis, Gene L.; Worden, Helen M.

2013-01-01

The TES retrieval algorithm has been applied to IASI radiances. We compare the retrieved ozone profiles with ozone sonde profiles for mid-latitudes for the year 2008. We find a positive bias in the IASI ozone profiles in the UTLS region of up to 22 %. The spatial coverage of the IASI instrument allows sampling of effectively the same air mass with several IASI scenes simultaneously. Comparisons of the root-mean-square of an ensemble of IASI profiles to theoretical errors indicate that the measurement noise and the interference of temperature and water vapour on the retrieval together mostly explain the empirically derived random errors. The total degrees of freedom for signal of the retrieval for ozone are 3.1 +/- 0.2 and the tropospheric degrees of freedom are 1.0 +/- 0.2 for the described cases. IASI ozone profiles agree within the error bars with coincident ozone profiles derived from a TES stare sequence for the ozone sonde station at Bratt's Lake (50.2 deg N, 104.7 deg W).

Rapid increases in tropospheric ozone production and export from China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verstraeten, W.W.; Neu, J.L.; Williams, J.E.; Bowman, K.W.; Worden, J.R.; Boersma, K.F.

2015-01-01

Rapid population growth and industrialization have driven substantial increases in Asian ozone precursor emissions over the past decade1, with highly uncertain impacts on regional and global tropospheric ozone levels. According to ozonesonde measurements2, 3, tropospheric ozone concentrations at two

Tropospheric Ozone as a Short-lived Chemical Climate Forcer

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Kenneth E.

2012-01-01

Tropospheric ozone is the third most important greenhouse gas according to the most recent IPCC assessment. However, tropospheric ozone is highly variable in both space and time. Ozone that is located in the vicinity of the tropopause has the greatest effect on climate forcing. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are the most important precursors for ozone In most of the troposphere. Therefore, pollution that is lofted upward in thunderstorm updrafts or NOx produced by lightning leads to efficient ozone production in the upper troposphere, where ozone is most important climatically. Global and regional model estimates of the impact of North American pollution and lightning on ozone radiative forcing will be presented. It will be shown that in the Northern Hemisphere summer, the lightning effect on ozone radiative forcing can dominate over that of pollution, and that the radiative forcing signal from North America extends well into Europe and North Africa. An algorithm for predicting lightning flash rates and estimating lightning NOx emissions is being incorporated into the NASA GEOS-5 Chemistry and Climate Model. Changes in flash rates and emissions over an ENSO cycle and in future climates will be assessed, along with the resulting changes in upper tropospheric ozone. Other research on the production of NOx per lightning flash and its distribution in the vertical based on cloud-resolving modeling and satellite observations will be presented. Distributions of NO2 and O3 over the Middle East from the OMI instrument on NASA's Aura satellite will also be shown.

Mid-latitude tropospheric ozone columns from the MOZAIC program: climatology and interannual variability

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R. M. Zbinden

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Several thousands of ozone vertical profiles collected in the course of the MOZAIC programme (Measurements of Ozone, Water Vapour, Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Oxides by In-Service Airbus Aircraft from August 1994 to February 2002 are investigated to bring out climatological and interannual variability aspects. The study is centred on the most frequently visited MOZAIC airports, i.e. Frankfurt (Germany, Paris (France, New York (USA and the cluster of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka (Japan. The analysis focuses on the vertical integration of ozone from the ground to the dynamical tropopause and the vertical integration of stratospheric-origin ozone throughout the troposphere. The characteristics of the MOZAIC profiles: frequency of flights, accuracy, precision, and depth of the troposphere observed, are presented. The climatological analysis shows that the Tropospheric Ozone Column (TOC seasonal cycle ranges from a wintertime minimum at all four stations to a spring-summer maximum in Frankfurt, Paris, and New York. Over Japan, the maximum occurs in spring presumably because of the earlier springtime sun. The incursion of monsoon air masses into the boundary layer and into the mid troposphere then steeply diminishes the summertime value. Boundary layer contributions to the TOC are 10% higher in New York than in Frankfurt and Paris during spring and summer, and are 10% higher in Japan than in New York, Frankfurt and Paris during autumn and early spring. Local and remote anthropogenic emissions, and biomass burning over upstream regions of Asia may be responsible for the larger low- and mid-tropospheric contributions to the tropospheric ozone column over Japan throughout the year except during the summer-monsoon season. A simple Lagrangian analysis has shown that a minimum of 10% of the TOC is of stratospheric-origin throughout the year. Investigation of the short-term trends of the TOC over the period 1995–2001 shows a linear increase 0.7%/year in

Uncertainties in models of tropospheric ozone based on Monte Carlo analysis: Tropospheric ozone burdens, atmospheric lifetimes and surface distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Derwent, Richard G.; Parrish, David D.; Galbally, Ian E.; Stevenson, David S.; Doherty, Ruth M.; Naik, Vaishali; Young, Paul J.

2018-05-01

Recognising that global tropospheric ozone models have many uncertain input parameters, an attempt has been made to employ Monte Carlo sampling to quantify the uncertainties in model output that arise from global tropospheric ozone precursor emissions and from ozone production and destruction in a global Lagrangian chemistry-transport model. Ninety eight quasi-randomly Monte Carlo sampled model runs were completed and the uncertainties were quantified in tropospheric burdens and lifetimes of ozone, carbon monoxide and methane, together with the surface distribution and seasonal cycle in ozone. The results have shown a satisfactory degree of convergence and provide a first estimate of the likely uncertainties in tropospheric ozone model outputs. There are likely to be diminishing returns in carrying out many more Monte Carlo runs in order to refine further these outputs. Uncertainties due to model formulation were separately addressed using the results from 14 Atmospheric Chemistry Coupled Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP) chemistry-climate models. The 95% confidence ranges surrounding the ACCMIP model burdens and lifetimes for ozone, carbon monoxide and methane were somewhat smaller than for the Monte Carlo estimates. This reflected the situation where the ACCMIP models used harmonised emissions data and differed only in their meteorological data and model formulations whereas a conscious effort was made to describe the uncertainties in the ozone precursor emissions and in the kinetic and photochemical data in the Monte Carlo runs. Attention was focussed on the model predictions of the ozone seasonal cycles at three marine boundary layer stations: Mace Head, Ireland, Trinidad Head, California and Cape Grim, Tasmania. Despite comprehensively addressing the uncertainties due to global emissions and ozone sources and sinks, none of the Monte Carlo runs were able to generate seasonal cycles that matched the observations at all three MBL stations. Although

Chemical and climatic drivers of radiative forcing due to changes in stratospheric and tropospheric ozone over the 21st century

Science.gov (United States)

Banerjee, Antara; Maycock, Amanda C.; Pyle, John A.

2018-02-01

The ozone radiative forcings (RFs) resulting from projected changes in climate, ozone-depleting substances (ODSs), non-methane ozone precursor emissions and methane between the years 2000 and 2100 are calculated using simulations from the UM-UKCA chemistry-climate model (UK Met Office's Unified Model containing the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols sub-model). Projected measures to improve air-quality through reductions in non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor emissions present a co-benefit for climate, with a net global mean ozone RF of -0.09 W m-2. This is opposed by a positive ozone RF of 0.05 W m-2 due to future decreases in ODSs, which is driven by an increase in tropospheric ozone through stratosphere-to-troposphere transport of air containing higher ozone amounts. An increase in methane abundance by more than a factor of 2 (as projected by the RCP8.5 scenario) is found to drive an ozone RF of 0.18 W m-2, which would greatly outweigh the climate benefits of non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor reductions. A small fraction (˜ 15 %) of the ozone RF due to the projected increase in methane results from increases in stratospheric ozone. The sign of the ozone RF due to future changes in climate (including the radiative effects of greenhouse gases, sea surface temperatures and sea ice changes) is shown to be dependent on the greenhouse gas emissions pathway, with a positive RF (0.05 W m-2) for RCP4.5 and a negative RF (-0.07 W m-2) for the RCP8.5 scenario. This dependence arises mainly from differences in the contribution to RF from stratospheric ozone changes. Considering the increases in tropopause height under climate change causes only small differences (≤ |0.02| W m-2) for the stratospheric, tropospheric and whole-atmosphere RFs.

Characteristics of tropospheric ozone depletion events in the Arctic spring: analysis of the ARCTAS, ARCPAC, and ARCIONS measurements and satellite BrO observations

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J.-H. Koo

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Arctic ozone depletion events (ODEs are caused by halogen catalyzed ozone loss. In situ chemistry, advection of ozone-poor air mass, and vertical mixing in the lower troposphere are important factors affecting ODEs. To better characterize the ODEs, we analyze the combined set of surface, ozonesonde, and aircraft in situ measurements of ozone and bromine compounds during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS, the Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC, and the Arctic Intensive Ozonesonde Network Study (ARCIONS experiments (April 2008. Tropospheric BrO columns retrieved from satellite measurements and back trajectory calculations are also used to investigate the characteristics of observed ODEs. In situ observations from these field experiments are inadequate to validate tropospheric BrO columns derived from satellite measurements. In view of this difficulty, we construct an ensemble of tropospheric column BrO estimates from two satellite (OMI and GOME-2 measurements and with three independent methods of calculating stratospheric BrO columns. Furthermore, we select analysis methods that do not depend on the absolute magnitude of column BrO, such as time-lagged correlation analysis of ozone and tropospheric column BrO, to understand characteristics of ODEs. Time-lagged correlation analysis between in situ (surface and ozonesonde measurements of ozone and satellite derived tropospheric BrO columns indicates that the ODEs are due to either local halogen-driven ozone loss or short-range (∼1 day transport from nearby regions with ozone depletion. The effect of in situ ozone loss is also evident in the diurnal variation difference between low (10th and 25th percentiles and higher percentiles of surface ozone concentrations at Alert, Canada. Aircraft observations indicate low-ozone air mass transported from adjacent high-BrO regions. Correlation analyses of ozone

Vertical ozone measurements in the troposphere over the Eastern Mediterranean and comparison with Central Europe

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P. D. Kalabokas

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Vertical ozone profiles measured in the period 1996–2002 in the framework of the MOZAIC project (Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus in Service Aircraft for flights connecting Central Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean basin (Heraklion, Rhodes, Antalya were analysed in order to evaluate the high rural ozone levels recorded in the Mediterranean area during summertime. The 77 flights during summer (JJAS showed substantially (10–12 ppb, 20–40% enhanced ozone mixing ratios in the lower troposphere over the Eastern Mediterranean frequently exceeding the 60 ppb, 8-h EU air quality standard, whereas ozone between 700 hPa and 400 hPa was only slightly (3–5 ppb, 5–10% higher than over Central Europe. Analysis of composite weather maps for the high and low ozone cases, as well as back-trajectories and vertical profiles of carbon monoxide, suggest that the main factor leading to high tropospheric ozone values in the area is anticyclonic influence, in combination with a persistent northerly flow in the lower troposphere during summertime over the Aegean. On the other hand the lowest ozone levels are associated with low-pressure systems, especially the extension of the Middle East low over the Eastern Mediterranean area.

Tropospheric ozone trend over Beijing from 2002–2010: ozonesonde measurements and modeling analysis

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Y. Wang

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Using a combination of ozonesonde data and numerical simulations of the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS, the trend of tropospheric ozone (O₃ during 2002–2010 over Beijing was investigated. Tropospheric ozone over Beijing shows a winter minimum and a broad summer maximum with a clear positive trend in the maximum summer ozone concentration over the last decade. The observed significant trend of tropospheric column ozone is mainly caused by photochemical production (3.1% yr⁻¹ for a mean level of 52 DU. This trend is close to the significant trend of partial column ozone in the lower troposphere (0–3 km resulting from the enhanced photochemical production during summer (3.0% yr⁻¹ for a mean level of 23 DU. Analysis of the CLaMS simulation shows that transport rather than chemistry drives most of the seasonality of tropospheric ozone. However, dynamical processes alone cannot explain the trend of tropospheric ozone in the observational data. Clearly enhanced ozone values and a negative vertical ozone gradient in the lower troposphere in the observational data emphasize the importance of photochemistry within the troposphere during spring and summer, and suggest that the photochemistry within the troposphere significantly contributes to the tropospheric ozone trend over Beijing during the last decade.

Tropospheric ozone and biomass burning in intertropical Africa

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cros, B.; Nganga, D.; Delmas, R.A.; Fontan, J.

1991-01-01

To obtain a better understanding of tropospheric ozone's behavior in the equatorial belt of Africa, surface ozone measurements were made in the northern Congo (forest region) and on the other side of the equator in a savanna area. The data show a seasonal cycle with maximum values during the dry season: January and February in the northern tropics and June to October in the southern ones. Satellite data are needed to explain the eventual disappearance or non-appearance of a maximum of total tropospheric ozone during the northern dry season

Derivation of Tropospheric Ozone Climatology and Trends from TOMS Data

Science.gov (United States)

Newchurch, Michael J.; McPeters, Rich; Logan, Jennifer; Kim, Jae-Hwan

2002-01-01

This research addresses the following three objectives: (1) Derive tropospheric ozone columns from the TOMS instruments by computing the difference between total-ozone columns over cloudy areas and over clear areas in the tropics; (2) Compute secular trends in Nimbus-7 derived tropospheric Ozone column amounts and associated potential trends in the decadal-scale tropical cloud climatology; (3) Explain the occurrence of anomalously high ozone retrievals over high ice clouds.

Evaluation of ozone profile and tropospheric ozone retrievals from GEMS and OMI spectra

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J. Bak

2013-02-01

Full Text Available South Korea is planning to launch the GEMS (Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer instrument into the GeoKOMPSAT (Geostationary Korea Multi-Purpose SATellite platform in 2018 to monitor tropospheric air pollutants on an hourly basis over East Asia. GEMS will measure backscattered UV radiances covering the 300–500 nm wavelength range with a spectral resolution of 0.6 nm. The main objective of this study is to evaluate ozone profiles and stratospheric column ozone amounts retrieved from simulated GEMS measurements. Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI Level 1B radiances, which have the spectral range 270–500 nm at spectral resolution of 0.42–0.63 nm, are used to simulate the GEMS radiances. An optimal estimation-based ozone profile algorithm is used to retrieve ozone profiles from simulated GEMS radiances. Firstly, we compare the retrieval characteristics (including averaging kernels, degrees of freedom for signal, and retrieval error derived from the 270–330 nm (OMI and 300–330 nm (GEMS wavelength ranges. This comparison shows that the effect of not using measurements below 300 nm on retrieval characteristics in the troposphere is insignificant. However, the stratospheric ozone information in terms of DFS decreases greatly from OMI to GEMS, by a factor of ∼2. The number of the independent pieces of information available from GEMS measurements is estimated to 3 on average in the stratosphere, with associated retrieval errors of ~1% in stratospheric column ozone. The difference between OMI and GEMS retrieval characteristics is apparent for retrieving ozone layers above ~20 km, with a reduction in the sensitivity and an increase in the retrieval errors for GEMS. We further investigate whether GEMS can resolve the stratospheric ozone variation observed from high vertical resolution Earth Observing System (EOS Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS. The differences in stratospheric ozone profiles between GEMS and MLS are comparable to those

Characteristics of intercontinental transport of tropospheric ozone from Africa to Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Han; Liu, Jane; Yuan, Huiling; Zhuang, Bingliang; Zhu, Ye; Wu, Yue; Yan, Yuhan; Ding, Aijun

2018-03-01

In this study, we characterize the transport of ozone from Africa to Asia through the analysis of the simulations of a global chemical transport model, GEOS-Chem, from 1987 to 2006. The receptor region Asia is defined within 5-60° N and 60-145° E, while the source region Africa is within 35° S-15° N and 20° W-55° E and within 15-35° N and 20° W-30° E. The ozone generated in the African troposphere from both natural and anthropogenic sources is tracked through tagged ozone simulation. Combining this with analysis of trajectory simulations using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model, we find that the upper branch of the Hadley cell connects with the subtropical westerlies in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) to form a primary transport pathway from Africa to Asia in the middle and upper troposphere throughout the year. The Somali jet that runs from eastern Africa near the equator to the Indian subcontinent in the lower troposphere is the second pathway that appears only in NH summer. The influence of African ozone mainly appears over Asia south of 40° N. The influence shows strong seasonality, varying with latitude, longitude, and altitude. In the Asian upper troposphere, imported African ozone is largest from March to May around 30° N (12-16 ppbv) and lowest during July-October around 10° N ( ˜ 2 ppbv). In the Asian middle and lower troposphere, imported African ozone peaks in NH winter between 20 and 25° N. Over 5-40° N, the mean fractional contribution of imported African ozone to the overall ozone concentrations in Asia is largest during NH winter in the middle troposphere ( ˜ 18 %) and lowest in NH summer throughout the tropospheric column ( ˜ 6 %). This seasonality mainly results from the collective effects of the ozone precursor emissions in Africa and meteorology and chemistry in Africa, in Asia and along the transport pathways. The seasonal swing of the Hadley circulation and subtropical westerlies along the

IASI observations of seasonal and day-to-day variations of tropospheric ozone over three highly populated areas of China: Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong

Science.gov (United States)

Dufour, G.; Eremenko, M.; Orphal, J.; Flaud, J.-M.

2010-04-01

IASI observations of tropospheric ozone over the Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong areas during one year (2008) have been analysed, demonstrating the capability of space-borne infrared nadir measurements to probe seasonal and even day-to-day variations of lower tropospheric ozone (0-6 km partial columns) on the regional scale of highly populated areas. The monthly variations of lower tropospheric ozone retrieved from IASI clearly show the influence of the Asian summer monsoon that brings clean air masses from the Pacific during summer. They exhibit indeed a sharp ozone maximum in late spring and early summer (May-June) followed by a summer minimum. The time periods and the intensities of the maxima and of the decreases are latitude-dependent: they are more pronounced in Hong Kong and Shanghai than in Beijing. Moreover, IASI provides the opportunity to follow the spatial variations of ozone over the surroundings of each megacity as well as its daily variability. We show here that the large lower tropospheric ozone amounts (0-6 km partial columns) observed with IASI are mainly downwind the highest populated areas in each region, thus possibly suggesting the anthropogenic origin of the large ozone amounts observed. Finally, an analysis of the mean ozone profiles over each region - for selected days with high ozone events - in association with the analysis of the meteorological situation shows that the high ozone amounts observed during winter are likely related to descents of ozone-rich air from the stratosphere, whereas in spring and summer the tropospheric ozone is likely enhanced by photochemical production in polluted areas and/or in air masses from fire plumes.

Abatement of tropospheric ozone: effects of strategies to improve air quality on public health and other sectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Guest, C S; Morgan, P; Moss, J R; Woodward, A J; McMichael, A J

1996-06-01

The National Health and Medical Research Council's air quality goal for ozone in the troposphere (near the earth's surface) is 0.12 parts per million (ppm), averaged over one hour, similar to the United States standard, but less stringent than the guideline for Europe. We aimed to identify the environmental, economic and social changes that would be associated with changing the goal. Methods included literature review, economic assessments and group interviews. The group to benefit from lower exposures may include outdoor workers, school children and people not in regular day-time work indoors, because ozone is most prevalent during the daylight hours of the warmer months. A lower level could improve the yield of some crops. The causes and effects of tropospheric ozone are not appreciated except among groups with relevant commercial, industrial or scientific experience. However, the consultations identified frustration about the social problems caused by dependence on private motor vehicles. Short-term costs of compliance with a more stringent goal would fall principally on the users of transport. The value of the benefits was enough for many to support making the ozone goal more stringent, but those who required a demonstration of financial benefit (even including savings of health care costs) did not support any change to the goal. Based primarily on averted detriment to health, we recommend the more stringent level of 0.08 ppm (one-hour average) as the goal for the year 2005 in Australia and elsewhere. The addition of a goal with longer averaging time is also proposed.

Impact of climate change on tropospheric ozone and its global budgets

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G. Zeng

2008-01-01

Full Text Available We present the chemistry-climate model UM_CAM in which a relatively detailed tropospheric chemical module has been incorporated into the UK Met Office's Unified Model version 4.5. We obtain good agreements between the modelled ozone/nitrogen species and a range of observations including surface ozone measurements, ozone sonde data, and some aircraft campaigns.

Four 2100 calculations assess model responses to projected changes of anthropogenic emissions (SRES A2, climate change (due to doubling CO₂, and idealised climate change-associated changes in biogenic emissions (i.e. 50% increase of isoprene emission and doubling emissions of soil-NO_x. The global tropospheric ozone burden increases significantly for all the 2100 A2 simulations, with the largest response caused by the increase of anthropogenic emissions. Climate change has diverse impacts on O₃ and its budgets through changes in circulation and meteorological variables. Increased water vapour causes a substantial ozone reduction especially in the tropical lower troposphere (>10 ppbv reduction over the tropical ocean. On the other hand, an enhanced stratosphere-troposphere exchange of ozone, which increases by 80% due to doubling CO₂, contributes to ozone increases in the extratropical free troposphere which subsequently propagate to the surface. Projected higher temperatures favour ozone chemical production and PAN decomposition which lead to high surface ozone levels in certain regions. Enhanced convection transports ozone precursors more rapidly out of the boundary layer resulting in an increase of ozone production in the free troposphere. Lightning-produced NO_x increases by about 22% in the doubled CO₂ climate and contributes to ozone production.

The response to the increase of isoprene emissions shows that the change of ozone is largely determined by background NO_x levels: high

Tropospheric ozone and the environment II. Effects, modeling and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berglund, R.L.

1992-01-01

This was the sixth International Specialty Conference on ozone for the Air ampersand Waste Management Association since 1978 and the first to be held in the Southeast. Of the preceding five conferences, three were held in Houston, one in New England, and one in Los Angeles. The changing location continues to support the understanding that tropospheric ozone is a nationwide problem, requiring understanding and participation by representatives of all regions. Yet, questions such as the following continue to be raised over all aspects of the nation's efforts to control ozone. Are the existing primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone the appropriate targets for the ozone control strategy, or should they be modified to more effectively accommodate new health or ecological effects information, or better fit statistical analyses of ozone modeling data? Are the modeling tools presently available adequate to predict ozone concentrations for future precursor emission trends? What ozones attainment strategy will be the best means of meeting the ozone standard? To best answer these and other questions there needs to be a continued sharing of information among researchers working on these and other questions. While answers to these questions will often be qualitative and location specific, they will help focus future research programs and assist in developing future regulatory strategies

Tropospheric ozone over Equatorial Africa: regional aspects from the MOZAIC data

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B. Sauvage

2005-01-01

Full Text Available We analyze ozone observations recorded over Equatorial Africa between April 1997 and March 2003 by the MOZAIC programme, providing the first ozone climatology deriving from continental in-situ data over this region. Three-dimensional streamlines strongly suggests connections between the characteristics of the ozone monthly mean vertical profiles, the most persistent circulation patterns in the troposphere over Equatorial Africa (on a monthly basis such as the Harmattan, the African Easterly Jet, the Trades and the regions of ozone precursors emissions by biomass burning. During the biomass burning season in each hemisphere, the lower troposphere exhibits layers of enhanced ozone (i.e. 70 ppbv over the coast of Gulf of Guinea in December-February and 85 ppbv over Congo in June-August. The characteristics of the ozone monthly mean vertical profiles are clearly connected to the regional flow regime determined by seasonal dynamic forcing. The mean ozone profile over the coast of Gulf of Guinea in the burning season is characterized by systematically high ozone below 650hPa ; these are due to the transport by the Harmattan and the AEJ of the pollutants originating from upwind fires. The confinement of high ozone to the lower troposphere is due to the high stability of the Harmattan and the blocking Saharan anticyclone which prevents efficient vertical mixing. In contrast, ozone enhancements observed over Central Africa during the local dry season (June-August are not only found in the lower troposphere but throughout the troposphere. Moreover, this study highlights a connection between the regions of the coast of Gulf of Guinea and regions of Congo to the south that appears on a semi annual basis. Vertical profiles in wet-season regions exhibit ozone enhancements in the lower troposphere due to biomass burning products transport from fires situated in the opposite dry-season hemisphere.

Chemical and climatic drivers of radiative forcing due to changes in stratospheric and tropospheric ozone over the 21st century

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A. Banerjee

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The ozone radiative forcings (RFs resulting from projected changes in climate, ozone-depleting substances (ODSs, non-methane ozone precursor emissions and methane between the years 2000 and 2100 are calculated using simulations from the UM-UKCA chemistry–climate model (UK Met Office's Unified Model containing the United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosols sub-model. Projected measures to improve air-quality through reductions in non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor emissions present a co-benefit for climate, with a net global mean ozone RF of −0.09 W m−2. This is opposed by a positive ozone RF of 0.05 W m−2 due to future decreases in ODSs, which is driven by an increase in tropospheric ozone through stratosphere-to-troposphere transport of air containing higher ozone amounts. An increase in methane abundance by more than a factor of 2 (as projected by the RCP8.5 scenario is found to drive an ozone RF of 0.18 W m−2, which would greatly outweigh the climate benefits of non-methane tropospheric ozone precursor reductions. A small fraction (∼ 15 % of the ozone RF due to the projected increase in methane results from increases in stratospheric ozone. The sign of the ozone RF due to future changes in climate (including the radiative effects of greenhouse gases, sea surface temperatures and sea ice changes is shown to be dependent on the greenhouse gas emissions pathway, with a positive RF (0.05 W m−2 for RCP4.5 and a negative RF (−0.07 W m−2 for the RCP8.5 scenario. This dependence arises mainly from differences in the contribution to RF from stratospheric ozone changes. Considering the increases in tropopause height under climate change causes only small differences (≤ |0.02| W m−2 for the stratospheric, tropospheric and whole-atmosphere RFs.

Tropospheric ozone changes, radiative forcing and attribution to emissions in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP

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D. S. Stevenson

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Ozone (O3 from 17 atmospheric chemistry models taking part in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project (ACCMIP has been used to calculate tropospheric ozone radiative forcings (RFs. All models applied a common set of anthropogenic emissions, which are better constrained for the present-day than the past. Future anthropogenic emissions follow the four Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP scenarios, which define a relatively narrow range of possible air pollution emissions. We calculate a value for the pre-industrial (1750 to present-day (2010 tropospheric ozone RF of 410 mW m−2. The model range of pre-industrial to present-day changes in O3 produces a spread (±1 standard deviation in RFs of ±17%. Three different radiation schemes were used – we find differences in RFs between schemes (for the same ozone fields of ±10%. Applying two different tropopause definitions gives differences in RFs of ±3%. Given additional (unquantified uncertainties associated with emissions, climate-chemistry interactions and land-use change, we estimate an overall uncertainty of ±30% for the tropospheric ozone RF. Experiments carried out by a subset of six models attribute tropospheric ozone RF to increased emissions of methane (44±12%, nitrogen oxides (31 ± 9%, carbon monoxide (15 ± 3% and non-methane volatile organic compounds (9 ± 2%; earlier studies attributed more of the tropospheric ozone RF to methane and less to nitrogen oxides. Normalising RFs to changes in tropospheric column ozone, we find a global mean normalised RF of 42 mW m−2 DU−1, a value similar to previous work. Using normalised RFs and future tropospheric column ozone projections we calculate future tropospheric ozone RFs (mW m−2; relative to 1750 for the four future scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 of 350, 420, 370 and 460 (in 2030, and 200, 300, 280 and 600 (in 2100. Models show some coherent responses of ozone to climate change

Drivers of the tropospheric ozone budget throughout the 21st century under the medium-high climate scenario RCP 6.0

Science.gov (United States)

Revell, L. E.; Tummon, F.; Stenke, A.; Sukhodolov, T.; Coulon, A.; Rozanov, E.; Garny, H.; Grewe, V.; Peter, T.

2015-05-01

Because tropospheric ozone is both a greenhouse gas and harmful air pollutant, it is important to understand how anthropogenic activities may influence its abundance and distribution through the 21st century. Here, we present model simulations performed with the chemistry-climate model SOCOL, in which spatially disaggregated chemistry and transport tracers have been implemented in order to better understand the distribution and projected changes in tropospheric ozone. We examine the influences of ozone precursor emissions (nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs)), climate change (including methane effects) and stratospheric ozone recovery on the tropospheric ozone budget, in a simulation following the climate scenario Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 6.0 (a medium-high, and reasonably realistic climate scenario). Changes in ozone precursor emissions have the largest effect, leading to a global-mean increase in tropospheric ozone which maximizes in the early 21st century at 23% compared to 1960. The increase is most pronounced at northern midlatitudes, due to regional emission patterns: between 1990 and 2060, northern midlatitude tropospheric ozone remains at constantly large abundances: 31% larger than in 1960. Over this 70-year period, attempts to reduce emissions in Europe and North America do not have an effect on zonally averaged northern midlatitude ozone because of increasing emissions from Asia, together with the long lifetime of ozone in the troposphere. A simulation with fixed anthropogenic ozone precursor emissions of NOx, CO and non-methane VOCs at 1960 conditions shows a 6% increase in global-mean tropospheric ozone by the end of the 21st century, with an 11 % increase at northern midlatitudes. This increase maximizes in the 2080s and is mostly caused by methane, which maximizes in the 2080s following RCP 6.0, and plays an important role in controlling ozone directly, and indirectly through its

Stratospheric impact on tropospheric ozone variability and trends: 1990–2009

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P. G. Hess

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The influence of stratospheric ozone on the interannual variability and trends in tropospheric ozone is evaluated between 30 and 90° N from 1990–2009 using ozone measurements and a global chemical transport model, the Community Atmospheric Model with chemistry (CAM-chem. Long-term measurements from ozonesondes, at 150 and 500 hPa, and the Measurements of OZone and water vapour by in-service Airbus aircraft programme (MOZAIC, at 500 hPa, are analyzed over Japan, Canada, the Eastern US and Northern and Central Europe. The measurements generally emphasize northern latitudes, although the simulation suggests that measurements over the Canadian, Northern and Central European regions are representative of the large-scale interannual ozone variability from 30 to 90° N at 500 hPa. CAM-chem is run with input meteorology from the National Center for Environmental Prediction; a tagging methodology is used to identify the stratospheric contribution to tropospheric ozone concentrations. A variant of the synthetic ozone tracer (synoz is used to represent stratospheric ozone. Both the model and measurements indicate that on large spatial scales stratospheric interannual ozone variability drives significant tropospheric variability at 500 hPa and the surface. In particular, the simulation and the measurements suggest large stratospheric influence at the surface sites of Mace Head (Ireland and Jungfraujoch (Switzerland as well as many 500 hPa measurement locations. Both the measurements and simulation suggest the stratosphere has contributed to tropospheric ozone trends. In many locations between 30–90° N 500 hPa ozone significantly increased from 1990–2000, but has leveled off since (from 2000–2009. The simulated global ozone budget suggests global stratosphere-troposphere exchange increased in 1998–1999 in association with a global ozone anomaly. Discrepancies between the simulated and measured ozone budget include a large underestimation of

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Assessment of global-scale model performance for global and regional ozone distributions, variability, and trends

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P. J. Young

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The goal of the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR is to provide the research community with an up-to-date scientific assessment of tropospheric ozone, from the surface to the tropopause. While a suite of observations provides significant information on the spatial and temporal distribution of tropospheric ozone, observational gaps make it necessary to use global atmospheric chemistry models to synthesize our understanding of the processes and variables that control tropospheric ozone abundance and its variability. Models facilitate the interpretation of the observations and allow us to make projections of future tropospheric ozone and trace gas distributions for different anthropogenic or natural perturbations. This paper assesses the skill of current-generation global atmospheric chemistry models in simulating the observed present-day tropospheric ozone distribution, variability, and trends. Drawing upon the results of recent international multi-model intercomparisons and using a range of model evaluation techniques, we demonstrate that global chemistry models are broadly skillful in capturing the spatio-temporal variations of tropospheric ozone over the seasonal cycle, for extreme pollution episodes, and changes over interannual to decadal periods. However, models are consistently biased high in the northern hemisphere and biased low in the southern hemisphere, throughout the depth of the troposphere, and are unable to replicate particular metrics that define the longer term trends in tropospheric ozone as derived from some background sites. When the models compare unfavorably against observations, we discuss the potential causes of model biases and propose directions for future developments, including improved evaluations that may be able to better diagnose the root cause of the model-observation disparity. Overall, model results should be approached critically, including determining whether the model performance is acceptable for

Tropospheric ozone. Formation, properties, effects. Expert opinion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elstner, E.F.

1996-01-01

The formation and dispersion of tropospheric ozone are discussed only marginally in this expert opinion; the key interest is in the effects of ground level ozone on plants, animals, and humans. The expert opinion is based on an analysis of the available scientific publications. (orig./MG) [de

Transportable lidar for the measurement of ozone concentration and flux profiles in the lower troposphere

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Yanzeng; Howell, J.N.; Hardesty, R.M.

1992-01-01

In many areas of the United States, as well as in other industrial areas (such as Europe), elevated and potentially harmful levels of ozone are being measured during summer. Most of this ozone is photochemically produced. The relatively long lifetime of ozone allows industrially produced ozone to be transported on a hemispheric scale. Since the trends of tropospheric ozone are very likely dependent on the source strengths and distributions of the pollutants and the chemical/ transport process involved, a predictive understanding of tropospheric ozone climatology requires a focus on the chemical and transport processes that link regional emissions to hemispheric ozone trends and distributions. Of critical importance to these studies is a satisfactory data base of tropospheric ozone distribution from which global and regional tropospheric ozone climatology can be derived, and the processes controlling tropospheric ozone can be better understood. A transportable lidar for measuring ozone concentration and flux profiles in the lower troposphere is needed. One such system is being developed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Earth Resources Laboratory (NOAA/ERL) Wave Propagation Laboratory (WPL)

Improvement of OMI Ozone Profile Retrievals in the Troposphere and Lower Troposphere by the Use of the Tropopause-Based Ozone Profile Climatology

Science.gov (United States)

Bak, Juseon; Liu, X.; Wei, J.; Kim, J. H.; Chance, K.; Barnet, C.

2011-01-01

An advance algorithm based on the optimal estimation technique has beeen developed to derive ozone profile from GOME UV radiances and have adapted it to OMI UV radiances. OMI vertical resolution : 7-11 km in the troposphere and 10-14 km in the stratosphere. Satellite ultraviolet measurements (GOME, OMI) contain little vertical information for the small scale of ozone, especially in the upper troposphere (UT) and lower stratosphere (LS) where the sharp O3 gradient across the tropopause and large ozone variability are observed. Therefore, retrievals depend greatly on the a-priori knowledge in the UTLS

Future local and remote influences on Mediterranean ozone air quality and climate forcing

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Steve; Martin, Maria Val; Emmons, Louisa; Rap, Alex; Heald, Colette; Lamarque, Jean-Francois; Tilmes, Simone

2013-04-01

The Mediterranean region is expected to display large increases in population over the coming decades, and to exhibit strong sensitivity to projected climate change, with increasing frequency of extreme summer temperatures and decreases in precipitation. Understanding of how these changes will affect atmospheric composition in the region is limited. The eastern Mediterranean basin has been shown to exhibit a pronounced summertime local maximum in tropospheric ozone, which impacts both local air quality and the atmospheric radiation balance. In summer, the region is subject to import of pollution from Northern Europe in the boundary layer and lower troposphere, from North American sources in the large-scale westerly flow of the free mid and upper-troposphere, as well as import of pollution lofted in the Asian monsoon and carried west to the eastern Mediterranean in anticyclonic flow in the upper troposphere over north Africa. In addition, interactions with the land-surface through biogenic emission sources and dry deposition play important roles in the Mediterranean ozone budget. Here we use the NCAR Community Earth System Model (CESM) to investigate how tropospheric ozone in the Mediterranean region responds to climate, land surface and global emissions changes between present day and 2050. We simulate climate and atmospheric composition for the year 2050, based on greenhouse gas abundances, trace gas and aerosol emissions and land cover and use from two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP4.5 & RCP8.5), designed for use by the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5(CMIP5) experiments in support of the IPCC. By comparing these simulations with a present-day scenario, we investigate the effects of predicted changes in climate and emissions on air quality and climate forcing over the Mediterranean region. The simulations suggest decreases in boundary layer ozone and sulfate aerosol throughout the tropospheric column over the Mediterranean

Seasonal Changes in Tropospheric Ozone Concentrations over South Korea and Its Link to Ozone Precursors

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, H. C.; Moon, B. K.; Wie, J.

2017-12-01

Concentration of tropospheric ozone over South Korea has steadily been on the rise in the last decades, mainly due to rapid industrializing and urbanizing in the Eastern Asia. To identify the characteristics of tropospheric ozone in South Korea, we fitted a sine function to the surface ozone concentration data from 2005 to 2014. Based on fitted sine curves, we analyzed the shifts in the dates on which ozone concentration reached its peak in the calendar year. Ozone monitoring sites can be classified into type types: where the highest annual ozone concentration kept occurring sooner (Esites) and those that kept occurring later (Lsites). The seasonal analysis shows that the surface ozone had increased more rapidly in Esites than in Lsites in the past decade during springtime and vice-versa during summertime. We tried to find the reason for the different seasonal trends with the relationship between ozone and ozone precursors. As a result, it was found that the changes in the ground-level ozone concentration in the spring and summer times are considerably influenced by changes in nitrogen dioxide concentration, and this is closely linked to the destruction (production) process of ozone by nitrogen dioxide in spring (summer). The link between tropospheric ozone and nitrogen dioxide discussed in this study will have to be thoroughly examined through climate-chemistry modeling in the future. Acknowledgements This research was supported by the Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) as "Climate Change Correspondence Program."

Vertical distribution and sources of tropospheric ozone over South China in spring 2004: Ozonesonde measurements and modeling analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y.; Liu, H.; Crawford, J. H.; Considine, D. B.; Chan, C.; Scientific Team Of Tapto

2010-12-01

The Transport of Air Pollutant and Tropospheric Ozone over China (TAPTO-China) science initiative is a two-year (TAPTO 2004 and 2005) field measurement campaign to help improve our understanding of the physical and chemical processes that control the tropospheric ozone budget over the Chinese subcontinent (including the Asian Pacific rim) and its surrounding SE Asia. In this paper, we use two state-of-the-art 3-D global chemical transport models (GEOS-Chem and Global Modeling Initiative or GMI) to examine the characteristics of vertical distribution and quantify the sources of tropospheric ozone by analysis of TAPTO in-situ ozonesonde data obtained at five stations in South China during spring (April and May) 2004: Lin’an (30.30N, 119.75E), Tengchong (25.01N, 98.30E), Taipei (25.0N, 121.3E), Hong Kong (22.21N, 114.30E) and Sanya (18.21N, 110.31E). The observed tropospheric ozone concentrations show strong spatial and temporal variability, which is largely captured by the models. The models simulate well the observed vertical gradients of tropospheric ozone at higher latitudes but are too low at lower latitudes. Model tagged ozone simulations suggest that stratosphere has a large impact on the upper and middle troposphere (UT/MT) at Lin’an and Tengchong. Continental SE Asian biomass burning emissions are maximum in March but still contribute significantly to the photochemical production of tropopheric ozone in South China in early April. Asian anthropogenic emissions are the major contribution to lower tropospheric ozone at all stations. On the other hand, there are episodes of influence from European/North American anthropogenic emissions. For example, model tagged ozone simulations show that over Lin’an in April 2004, stratosphere contributes 20% (13 ppbv) at 5 km, Asian boundary layer contributes 70% (46 ppbv) to ozone in the boundary layer, European boundary layer contributes 5% (3-4 ppbv) at 1.2 km, and North American boundary layer contributes 4.5% (3

Tropospheric and total ozone columns over Paris (France measured using medium-resolution ground-based solar-absorption Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

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C. Viatte

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Ground-based Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR solar absorption spectroscopy is a powerful remote sensing technique providing information on the vertical distribution of various atmospheric constituents. This work presents the first evaluation of a mid-resolution ground-based FTIR to measure tropospheric ozone, independently of stratospheric ozone. This is demonstrated using a new atmospheric observatory (named OASIS for "Observations of the Atmosphere by Solar absorption Infrared Spectroscopy", installed in Créteil (France. The capacity of the technique to separate stratospheric and tropospheric ozone is demonstrated. Daily mean tropospheric ozone columns derived from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI and from OASIS measurements are compared for summer 2009 and a good agreement of −5.6 (±16.1 % is observed. Also, a qualitative comparison between in-situ surface ozone measurements and OASIS data reveals OASIS's capacity to monitor seasonal tropospheric ozone variations, as well as ozone pollution episodes in summer 2009 around Paris. Two extreme pollution events are identified (on the 1 July and 6 August 2009 for which ozone partial columns from OASIS and predictions from a regional air-quality model (CHIMERE are compared following strict criteria of temporal and spatial coincidence. An average bias of 0.2%, a mean square error deviation of 7.6%, and a correlation coefficient of 0.91 is found between CHIMERE and OASIS, demonstrating the potential of a mid-resolution FTIR instrument in ground-based solar absorption geometry for tropospheric ozone monitoring.

Impact of sampling frequency in the analysis of tropospheric ozone observations

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M. Saunois

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Measurements of ozone vertical profiles are valuable for the evaluation of atmospheric chemistry models and contribute to the understanding of the processes controlling the distribution of tropospheric ozone. The longest record of ozone vertical profiles is provided by ozone sondes, which have a typical frequency of 4 to 12 profiles a month. Here we quantify the uncertainty introduced by low frequency sampling in the determination of means and trends. To do this, the high frequency MOZAIC (Measurements of OZone, water vapor, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides by in-service AIrbus airCraft profiles over airports, such as Frankfurt, have been subsampled at two typical ozone sonde frequencies of 4 and 12 profiles per month. We found the lowest sampling uncertainty on seasonal means at 700 hPa over Frankfurt, with around 5% for a frequency of 12 profiles per month and 10% for a 4 profile-a-month frequency. However the uncertainty can reach up to 15 and 29% at the lowest altitude levels. As a consequence, the sampling uncertainty at the lowest frequency could be higher than the typical 10% accuracy of the ozone sondes and should be carefully considered for observation comparison and model evaluation. We found that the 95% confidence limit on the seasonal mean derived from the subsample created is similar to the sampling uncertainty and suggest to use it as an estimate of the sampling uncertainty. Similar results are found at six other Northern Hemisphere sites. We show that the sampling substantially impacts on the inter-annual variability and the trend derived over the period 1998–2008 both in magnitude and in sign throughout the troposphere. Also, a tropical case is discussed using the MOZAIC profiles taken over Windhoek, Namibia between 2005 and 2008. For this site, we found that the sampling uncertainty in the free troposphere is around 8 and 12% at 12 and 4 profiles a month respectively.

Origins of Tropospheric Ozone Interannual Variation (IAV) over Reunion: A Model Investigation

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Junhua; Rodriguez, Jose M.; Thompson, Anne M.; Logan, Jennifer A.; Douglass, Anne R.; Olsen, Mark A.; Steenrod, Stephen D.; Posny, Francoise

2016-01-01

Observations from long-term ozonesonde measurements show robust variations and trends in the evolution of ozone in the middle and upper troposphere over Reunion Island (21.1 degrees South Latitude, 55.5 degrees East Longitude) in June-August. Here we examine possible causes of the observed ozone variation at Reunion Island using hindcast simulations by the stratosphere-troposphere Global Modeling Initiative chemical transport model for 1992-2014, driven by assimilated Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) meteorological fields. Reunion Island is at the edge of the subtropical jet, a region of strong stratospheric-tropospheric exchange. Our analysis implies that the large interannual variation (IAV) of upper tropospheric ozone over Reunion is driven by the large IAV of the stratospheric influence. The IAV of the large-scale, quasi-horizontal wind patterns also contributes to the IAV of ozone in the upper troposphere. Comparison to a simulation with constant emissions indicates that increasing emissions do not lead to the maximum trend in the middle and upper troposphere over Reunion during austral winter implied by the sonde data. The effects of increasing emission over southern Africa are limited tothe lower troposphere near the surface in August-September.

Hydrological controls on the tropospheric ozone greenhouse gas effect

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Le Kuai

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The influence of the hydrological cycle in the greenhouse gas (GHG effect of tropospheric ozone (O3 is quantified in terms of the O3longwave radiative effect (LWRE, which is defined as the net reduction of top-of-atmosphere flux due to total tropospheric O3absorption. The O3LWRE derived from the infrared spectral measurements by Aura’s Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES show that the spatiotemporal variation of LWRE is relevant to relative humidity, surface temperature, and tropospheric O3column. The zonally averaged subtropical LWRE is ~0.2 W m-2higher than the zonally averaged tropical LWRE, generally due to lower water vapor concentrations and less cloud coverage at the downward branch of the Hadley cell in the subtropics. The largest values of O3LWRE over the Middle East (>1 W/m2 are further due to large thermal contrasts and tropospheric ozone enhancements from atmospheric circulation and pollution. Conversely, the low O3LWRE over the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (on average 0.4 W m-2 is due to strong water vapor absorption and cloudiness, both of which reduce the tropospheric O3absorption in the longwave radiation. These results show that changes in the hydrological cycle due to climate change could affect the magnitude and distribution of ozone radiative forcing.

Impact of uncertainties in inorganic chemical rate constants on tropospheric composition and ozone radiative forcing

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B. Newsome

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Chemical rate constants determine the composition of the atmosphere and how this composition has changed over time. They are central to our understanding of climate change and air quality degradation. Atmospheric chemistry models, whether online or offline, box, regional or global, use these rate constants. Expert panels evaluate laboratory measurements, making recommendations for the rate constants that should be used. This results in very similar or identical rate constants being used by all models. The inherent uncertainties in these recommendations are, in general, therefore ignored. We explore the impact of these uncertainties on the composition of the troposphere using the GEOS-Chem chemistry transport model. Based on the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC evaluations we assess the influence of 50 mainly inorganic rate constants and 10 photolysis rates on tropospheric composition through the use of the GEOS-Chem chemistry transport model. We assess the impact on four standard metrics: annual mean tropospheric ozone burden, surface ozone and tropospheric OH concentrations, and tropospheric methane lifetime. Uncertainty in the rate constants for NO2 + OH →M  HNO3 and O3 + NO  →  NO2 + O2 are the two largest sources of uncertainty in these metrics. The absolute magnitude of the change in the metrics is similar if rate constants are increased or decreased by their σ values. We investigate two methods of assessing these uncertainties, addition in quadrature and a Monte Carlo approach, and conclude they give similar outcomes. Combining the uncertainties across the 60 reactions gives overall uncertainties on the annual mean tropospheric ozone burden, surface ozone and tropospheric OH concentrations, and tropospheric methane lifetime of 10, 11, 16 and 16 %, respectively. These are larger than the spread between models in recent model intercomparisons. Remote

A tropospheric ozone maximum over the equatorial Southern Indian Ocean

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L. Zhang

2012-05-01

Full Text Available We examine the distribution of tropical tropospheric ozone (O₃ from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS and the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES by using a global three-dimensional model of tropospheric chemistry (GEOS-Chem. MLS and TES observations of tropospheric O₃ during 2005 to 2009 reveal a distinct, persistent O₃ maximum, both in mixing ratio and tropospheric column, in May over the Equatorial Southern Indian Ocean (ESIO. The maximum is most pronounced in 2006 and 2008 and less evident in the other three years. This feature is also consistent with the total column O₃ observations from the Ozone Mapping Instrument (OMI and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS. Model results reproduce the observed May O₃ maximum and the associated interannual variability. The origin of the maximum reflects a complex interplay of chemical and dynamic factors. The O₃ maximum is dominated by the O₃ production driven by lightning nitrogen oxides (NO_x emissions, which accounts for 62% of the tropospheric column O₃ in May 2006. We find the contribution from biomass burning, soil, anthropogenic and biogenic sources to the O₃ maximum are rather small. The O₃ productions in the lightning outflow from Central Africa and South America both peak in May and are directly responsible for the O₃ maximum over the western ESIO. The lightning outflow from Equatorial Asia dominates over the eastern ESIO. The interannual variability of the O₃ maximum is driven largely by the anomalous anti-cyclones over the southern Indian Ocean in May 2006 and 2008. The lightning outflow from Central Africa and South America is effectively entrained by the anti-cyclones followed by northward transport to the ESIO.

Aerosol indirect effect on tropospheric ozone via lightning

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, T.; Remer, L. A.; Bian, H.; Ziemke, J. R.; Albrecht, R. I.; Pickering, K. E.; Oreopoulos, L.; Goodman, S. J.; Yu, H.; Allen, D. J.

2012-12-01

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a pollutant and major greenhouse gas and its radiative forcing is still uncertain. The unresolved difference between modeled and observed natural background O3 concentrations is a key source of the uncertainty. Here we demonstrate remarkable sensitivity of lightning activity to aerosol loading with lightning activity increasing more than 30 times per unit of aerosol optical depth over our study area. We provide observational evidence that indicates the observed increase in lightning activity is caused by the influx of aerosols from a volcano. Satellite data analyses suggest O3 is increased as a result of aerosol-induced increase in lightning and lightning produced NOx. Model simulations with prescribed lightning change corroborate the satellite data analysis. This aerosol-O3 connection is achieved via aerosol increasing lightning and thus lightning produced nitrogen oxides. This aerosol-lightning-ozone link provides a potential physical mechanism that may account for a part of the model-observation difference in background O3 concentration. More importantly, O3 production increase from this link is concentrated in the upper troposphere, where O3 is most efficient as a greenhouse gas. Both of these implications suggest a stronger O3 historical radiative forcing. This introduces a new pathway, through which increasing in aerosols from pre-industrial time to present day enhances tropospheric O3 production. Aerosol forcing thus has a warming component via its effect on O3 production. Sensitivity simulations suggest that 4-8% increase of tropospheric ozone, mainly in the tropics, is expected if aerosol-lighting-ozone link is parameterized, depending on the background emission scenario. We note, however, substantial uncertainties remain on the exact magnitude of aerosol effect on tropospheric O3 via lightning. The challenges for obtaining a quantitative global estimate of this effect are also discussed. Our results have significant implications

Lower tropospheric ozone over India and its linkage to the South Asian monsoon

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xiao; Zhang, Lin; Liu, Xiong; Gao, Meng; Zhao, Yuanhong; Shao, Jingyuan

2018-03-01

Lower tropospheric (surface to 600 hPa) ozone over India poses serious risks to both human health and crops, and potentially affects global ozone distribution through frequent deep convection in tropical regions. Our current understanding of the processes controlling seasonal and long-term variations in lower tropospheric ozone over this region is rather limited due to spatially and temporally sparse observations. Here we present an integrated process analysis of the seasonal cycle, interannual variability, and long-term trends of lower tropospheric ozone over India and its linkage to the South Asian monsoon using the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite observations for years 2006-2014 interpreted with a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) simulation for 1990-2010. OMI observed lower tropospheric ozone over India averaged for 2006-2010, showing the highest concentrations (54.1 ppbv) in the pre-summer monsoon season (May) and the lowest concentrations (40.5 ppbv) in the summer monsoon season (August). Process analyses in GEOS-Chem show that hot and dry meteorological conditions and active biomass burning together contribute to 5.8 Tg more ozone being produced in the lower troposphere in India in May than January. The onset of the summer monsoon brings ozone-unfavorable meteorological conditions and strong upward transport, which all lead to large decreases in the lower tropospheric ozone burden. Interannually, we find that both OMI and GEOS-Chem indicate strong positive correlations (r = 0.55-0.58) between ozone and surface temperature in pre-summer monsoon seasons, with larger correlations found in high NOx emission regions reflecting NOx-limited production conditions. Summer monsoon seasonal mean ozone levels are strongly controlled by monsoon strengths. Lower ozone concentrations are found in stronger monsoon seasons mainly due to less ozone net chemical production. Furthermore, model simulations over 1990-2010 estimate a mean annual trend of 0

Tropospheric ozone trend over Beijing from 2002–2010: ozonesonde measurements and modeling analysis

OpenAIRE

Y. Wang; P. Konopka; Y. Liu; H. Chen; R. Müller; F. Plöger; M. Riese; Z. Cai; D. Lü

2012-01-01

Using a combination of ozonesonde data and numerical simulations of the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS), the trend of tropospheric ozone (O₃) during 2002–2010 over Beijing was investigated. Tropospheric ozone over Beijing shows a winter minimum and a broad summer maximum with a clear positive trend in the maximum summer ozone concentration over the last decade. The observed significant trend of tropospheric column ozone is mainly caused by photoche...

Observing lowermost tropospheric ozone pollution with a new multispectral synergic approach of IASI infrared and GOME-2 ultraviolet satellite measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Cuesta, Juan; Foret, Gilles; Dufour, Gaëlle; Eremenko, Maxim; Coman, Adriana; Gaubert, Benjamin; Beekmann, Matthias; Liu, Xiong; Cai, Zhaonan; Von Clarmann, Thomas; Spurr, Robert; Flaud, Jean-Marie

2014-05-01

Tropospheric ozone is currently one of the air pollutants posing greatest threats to human health and ecosystems. Monitoring ozone pollution at the regional, continental and global scale is a crucial societal issue. Only spaceborne remote sensing is capable of observing tropospheric ozone at such scales. The spatio-temporal coverage of new satellite-based instruments, such as IASI or GOME-2, offer a great potential for monitoring air quality by synergism with regional chemistry-transport models, for both inter-validation and full data assimilation. However, current spaceborne observations using single-band either UV or IR measurements show limited sensitivity to ozone in the atmospheric boundary layer, which is the major concern for air quality. Very recently, we have developed an innovative multispectral approach, so-called IASI+GOME-2, which combines IASI and GOME-2 observations, respectively in the IR and UV. This unique multispectral approach has allowed the observation of ozone plumes in the lowermost troposphere (LMT, below 3 km of altitude) over Europe, for the first time from space. Our first analyses are focused on typical ozone pollution events during the summer of 2009 over Europe. During these events, LMT ozone plumes at different regions are produced photo-chemically in the boundary layer, transported upwards to the free troposphere and also downwards from the stratosphere. We have analysed them using IASI+GOME-2 observations, in comparison with single-band methods (IASI, GOME-2 and OMI). Only IASI+GOME-2 depicts ozone plumes located below 3 km of altitude (both over land and ocean). Indeed, the multispectral sensitivity in the LMT is greater by 40% and it peaks at 2 to 2.5 km of altitude over land, thus at least 0.8 to 1 km below that for all single-band methods. Over Europe during the summer of 2009, IASI+GOME-2 shows 1% mean bias and 21% precision for direct comparisons with ozonesondes and also good agreement with CHIMERE model simulations

A joint data record of tropospheric ozone from Aura-TES and MetOp-IASI

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H. Oetjen

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES on Aura and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI on MetOp-A together provide a time series of 10 years of free-tropospheric ozone with an overlap of 3 years. We characterise the differences between TES and IASI ozone measurements and find that IASI's coarser vertical sensitivity leads to a small (< 5 ppb low bias relative to TES for the free troposphere. The TES-IASI differences are not dependent on season or any other factor and hence the measurements from the two instruments can be merged, after correcting for the offset, in order to study decadal-scale changes in tropospheric ozone. We calculate time series of regional monthly mean ozone in the free troposphere over eastern Asia, the western United States (US, and Europe, carefully accounting for differences in spatial sampling between the instruments. We show that free-tropospheric ozone over Europe and the western US has remained relatively constant over the past decade but that, contrary to expectations, ozone over Asia in recent years does not continue the rapid rate of increase observed from 2004 to 2010.

Chemical processes related to net ozone tendencies in the free troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Bozem, Heiko; Butler, Tim M.; Lawrence, Mark G.; Harder, Hartwig; Martinez, Monica; Kubistin, Dagmar; Lelieveld, Jos; Fischer, Horst

2017-09-01

Ozone (O3) is an important atmospheric oxidant, a greenhouse gas, and a hazard to human health and agriculture. Here we describe airborne in situ measurements and model simulations of O3 and its precursors during tropical and extratropical field campaigns over South America and Europe, respectively. Using the measurements, net ozone formation/destruction tendencies are calculated and compared to 3-D chemistry-transport model simulations. In general, observation-based net ozone tendencies are positive in the continental boundary layer and the upper troposphere at altitudes above ˜ 6 km in both environments. On the other hand, in the marine boundary layer and the middle troposphere, from the top of the boundary layer to about 6-8 km altitude, net O3 destruction prevails. The ozone tendencies are controlled by ambient concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In regions with net ozone destruction the available NOx is below the threshold value at which production and destruction of O3 balance. While threshold NO values increase with altitude, in the upper troposphere NOx concentrations are generally higher due to the integral effect of convective precursor transport from the boundary layer, downward transport from the stratosphere and NOx produced by lightning. Two case studies indicate that in fresh convective outflow of electrified thunderstorms net ozone production is enhanced by a factor 5-6 compared to the undisturbed upper tropospheric background. The chemistry-transport model MATCH-MPIC generally reproduces the pattern of observation-based net ozone tendencies but mostly underestimates the magnitude of the net tendency (for both net ozone production and destruction).

Tropospheric ozone seasonal and long-term variability as seen by lidar and surface measurements at the JPL-Table Mountain Facility, California

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M. J. Granados-Muñoz

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A combined surface and tropospheric ozone climatology and interannual variability study was performed for the first time using co-located ozone photometer measurements (2013–2015 and tropospheric ozone differential absorption lidar measurements (2000–2015 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Table Mountain Facility (TMF; elev. 2285 m, in California. The surface time series were investigated both in terms of seasonal and diurnal variability. The observed surface ozone is typical of high-elevation remote sites, with small amplitude of the seasonal and diurnal cycles, and high ozone values, compared to neighboring lower altitude stations representative of urban boundary layer conditions. The ozone mixing ratio ranges from 45 ppbv in the winter morning hours to 65 ppbv in the spring and summer afternoon hours. At the time of the lidar measurements (early night, the seasonal cycle observed at the surface is similar to that observed by lidar between 3.5 and 9 km. Above 9 km, the local tropopause height variation with time and season impacts significantly the ozone lidar observations. The frequent tropopause folds found in the vicinity of TMF (27 % of the time, mostly in winter and spring produce a dual-peak vertical structure in ozone within the fold layer, characterized by higher-than-average values in the bottom half of the fold (12–14 km, and lower-than-averaged values in the top half of the fold (14–18 km. This structure is consistent with the expected origin of the air parcels within the fold, i.e., mid-latitude stratospheric air folding down below the upper tropospheric sub-tropical air. The influence of the tropopause folds extends down to 5 km, increasing the ozone content in the troposphere. No significant signature of interannual variability could be observed on the 2000–2015 de-seasonalized lidar time series, with only a statistically non-significant positive anomaly during the years 2003–2007. Our trend analysis

Growth of soybean at future tropospheric ozone concentrations decreases canopy evapotranspiration and soil water depletion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernacchi, Carl J., E-mail: bernacch@illinois.edu [Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Institute for Genomic Biology and Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Leakey, Andrew D.B. [Institute for Genomic Biology and Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Kimball, Bruce A. [USDA-ARS US Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, 21881 N. Cardon Lane, Maricopa, AZ 85238 (United States); Ort, Donald R. [Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States); Institute for Genomic Biology and Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801 (United States)

2011-06-15

Tropospheric ozone is increasing in many agricultural regions resulting in decreased stomatal conductance and overall biomass of sensitive crop species. These physiological effects of ozone forecast changes in evapotranspiration and thus in the terrestrial hydrological cycle, particularly in intercontinental interiors. Soybean plots were fumigated with ozone to achieve concentrations above ambient levels over five growing seasons in open-air field conditions. Mean season increases in ozone concentrations ([O{sub 3}]) varied between growing seasons from 22 to 37% above background concentrations. The objective of this experiment was to examine the effects of future [O{sub 3}] on crop ecosystem energy fluxes and water use. Elevated [O{sub 3}] caused decreases in canopy evapotranspiration resulting in decreased water use by as much as 15% in high ozone years and decreased soil water removal. In addition, ozone treatment resulted in increased sensible heat flux in all years indicative of day-time increase in canopy temperature of up to 0.7 deg. C. - Highlights: > Globally, tropospheric ozone is currently and will likely continue to increase into the future. > We examine the impact of elevated ozone on water use by soybean at the SoyFACE research facility. > High ozone grown soybean had reduced rates of evapotranspiration and higher soil moisture. > Increases in ozone have the potential to impact the hydrologic cycle where these crops are grown. - Soybean grown in elevated concentrations of ozone is shown to evapotranspire less water compared with soybean canopies grown under current atmospheric conditions.

Growth of soybean at future tropospheric ozone concentrations decreases canopy evapotranspiration and soil water depletion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernacchi, Carl J.; Leakey, Andrew D.B.; Kimball, Bruce A.; Ort, Donald R.

2011-01-01

Tropospheric ozone is increasing in many agricultural regions resulting in decreased stomatal conductance and overall biomass of sensitive crop species. These physiological effects of ozone forecast changes in evapotranspiration and thus in the terrestrial hydrological cycle, particularly in intercontinental interiors. Soybean plots were fumigated with ozone to achieve concentrations above ambient levels over five growing seasons in open-air field conditions. Mean season increases in ozone concentrations ([O 3 ]) varied between growing seasons from 22 to 37% above background concentrations. The objective of this experiment was to examine the effects of future [O 3 ] on crop ecosystem energy fluxes and water use. Elevated [O 3 ] caused decreases in canopy evapotranspiration resulting in decreased water use by as much as 15% in high ozone years and decreased soil water removal. In addition, ozone treatment resulted in increased sensible heat flux in all years indicative of day-time increase in canopy temperature of up to 0.7 deg. C. - Highlights: → Globally, tropospheric ozone is currently and will likely continue to increase into the future. → We examine the impact of elevated ozone on water use by soybean at the SoyFACE research facility. → High ozone grown soybean had reduced rates of evapotranspiration and higher soil moisture. → Increases in ozone have the potential to impact the hydrologic cycle where these crops are grown. - Soybean grown in elevated concentrations of ozone is shown to evapotranspire less water compared with soybean canopies grown under current atmospheric conditions.

Effects of the 2004 El Nino on tropospheric ozone and water vapor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chandra, S.; Ziemke, J.R.; Schoeberl, M.R.; Froidevaux, L.; Read, W.G.; Levelt, P.F.; Bhartia, P.K.

2007-01-01

The global effects of the 2004 El Nino on tropospheric ozone and H/sub 2/O based on Aura OMI and MLS measurements are analyzed. Although it was a weak El Nino from a historical perspective, it produced significant changes in these parameters in tropical latitudes. Tropospheric ozone increased by

Multi-year assimilation of IASI and MLS ozone retrievals: variability of tropospheric ozone over the tropics in response to ENSO

Science.gov (United States)

Peiro, Hélène; Emili, Emanuele; Cariolle, Daniel; Barret, Brice; Le Flochmoën, Eric

2018-05-01

The Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Instrument (IASI) allows global coverage with very high spatial resolution and its measurements are promising for long-term ozone monitoring. In this study, Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) O3 profiles and IASI O3 partial columns (1013.25-345 hPa) are assimilated in a chemistry transport model to produce 6-hourly analyses of tropospheric ozone for 6 years (2008-2013). We have compared and evaluated the IASI-MLS analysis and the MLS analysis to assess the added value of IASI measurements. The global chemical transport model MOCAGE (MOdèle de Chimie Atmosphérique à Grande Echelle) has been used with a linear ozone chemistry scheme and meteorological forcing fields from ERA-Interim (ECMWF global reanalysis) with a horizontal resolution of 2° × 2° and 60 vertical levels. The MLS and IASI O3 retrievals have been assimilated with a 4-D variational algorithm to constrain stratospheric and tropospheric ozone respectively. The ozone analyses are validated against ozone soundings and tropospheric column ozone (TCO) from the OMI-MLS residual method. In addition, an Ozone ENSO Index (OEI) is computed from the analysis to validate the TCO variability during the ENSO events. We show that the assimilation of IASI reproduces the variability of tropospheric ozone well during the period under study. The variability deduced from the IASI-MLS analysis and the OMI-MLS measurements are similar for the period of study. The IASI-MLS analysis can reproduce the extreme oscillation of tropospheric ozone caused by ENSO events over the tropical Pacific Ocean, although a correction is required to reduce a constant bias present in the IASI-MLS analysis.

Stratospheric ozone transboundary transport to upper troposphere North Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ture, K

2011-09-01

Full Text Available will identify the causes and sources of MOZAIC ozone enhancements at upper tropospheric North Africa (20-350 N). In addition the paper will address the modes of transport of ozone rich airmass sampled by MOZAIC at mid latitude and North Africa....

The impact of large scale biomass production on ozone air pollution in Europe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beltman, J.B.; Hendriks, C.; Tum, M.; Schaap, M.

2013-01-01

Tropospheric ozone contributes to the removal of air pollutants from the atmosphere but is itself a pollutant that is harmful to human health and vegetation. Biogenic isoprene emissions are important ozone precursors, and therefore future changes in land use that change isoprene emissions are likely

Multiannual tropical tropospheric ozone columns and the case of the 2015 el Niño event

Science.gov (United States)

Leventidou, Elpida; Eichmann, Kai-Uwe; Weber, Mark; Burrows, John P.

2016-04-01

Stratospheric ozone is well known for protecting the surface from harmful ultraviolet solar radiation whereas ozone in the troposphere plays a more complex role. In the lower troposphere ozone can be extremely harmful for human health as it can oxidize biological tissues and causes respiratory problems. Several studies have shown that the tropospheric ozone burden (300±30Tg (IPCC, 2007)) increases by 1-7% per decade in the tropics (Beig and Singh, 2007; Cooper et al., 2014) which makes the need to monitor it on a global scale crucial. Remote sensing from satellites has been proven to be very useful in providing consistent information of tropospheric ozone concentrations over large areas. Tropical tropospheric ozone columns can be retrieved with the Convective Cloud Differential (CCD) technique (Ziemke et al. 1998) using retrieved total ozone columns and cloud parameters from space-borne observations. We have developed a CCD-IUP algorithm which was applied to GOME/ ERS-2 (1995-2003), SCIAMACHY/ Envisat (2002-2012), and GOME-2/ MetOpA (2007-2012) weighting function DOAS (Coldewey-Egbers et al., 2005, Weber et al., 2005) total ozone data. A unique long-term record of monthly averaged tropical tropospheric ozone columns (20°S - 20°N) was created starting in 1996. This dataset has been extensively validated by comparisons with SHADOZ (Thompson et al., 2003) ozonesonde data and limb-nadir Matching (Ebojie et al. 2014) tropospheric ozone data. The comparison shows good agreement with respect to range, inter-annual variation, and variance. Biases where found to be within 5DU and the RMS errors less than 10 DU. This 17-years dataset has been harmonized into one consistent time series, taking into account the three instruments' difference in ground pixel size. The harmonised dataset is used to determine tropical tropospheric ozone trends and climatological values. The 2015 el Niño event has been characterised as one of the top three strongest el Niños since 1950. El Ni

Reactive Nitrogen, Ozone and Ozone Production in the Arctic Troposphere and the Impact of Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Q.; Rodriquez, J. M.; Douglass, A. R.; Crawford, J. H.; Apel, E.; Bian, H.; Blake, D. R.; Brune, W.; Chin, M.; Colarco, P. R.;

Remote sensed and in situ constraints on processes affecting tropical tropospheric ozone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Sauvage

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We use a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem to evaluate the consistency of satellite measurements of lightning flashes and ozone precursors with in situ measurements of tropical tropospheric ozone. The measurements are tropospheric O3, NO2, and HCHO columns from the GOME satellite instrument, lightning flashes from the OTD and LIS satellite instruments, profiles of O3, CO, and relative humidity from the MOZAIC aircraft program, and profiles of O3 from the SHADOZ ozonesonde network. We interpret these multiple data sources with our model to better understand what controls tropical tropospheric ozone. Tropical tropospheric ozone is mainly affected by lightning NOx and convection in the upper troposphere and by surface emissions in the lower troposphere. Scaling the spatial distribution of lightning in the model to the observed flashes improves the simulation of O3 in the upper troposphere by 5–20 ppbv versus in situ observations and by 1–4 Dobson Units versus GOME retrievals of tropospheric O3 columns. A lightning source strength of 6±2 Tg N/yr best represents in situ observations from aircraft and ozonesonde. Tropospheric NO2 and HCHO columns from GOME are applied to provide top-down constraints on emission inventories of NOx (biomass burning and soils and VOCs (biomass burning. The top-down biomass burning inventory is larger than the bottom-up inventory by a factor of 2 for HCHO and alkenes, and by a factor of 2.6 for NOx over northern equatorial Africa. These emissions increase lower tropospheric O3 by 5–20 ppbv, improving the simulation versus aircraft observations, and by 4 Dobson Units versus GOME observations of tropospheric O3 columns. Emission factors in the a posteriori inventory are more consistent with a recent compilation from in situ measurements. The ozone simulation using two different dynamical schemes (GEOS-3 and GEOS-4 is evaluated versus observations; GEOS-4 better represents O3 observations by 5–15 ppbv

First Directly Retrieved Global Distribution of Tropospheric Column Ozone from GOME: Comparison with the GEOS-CHEM Model

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiong; Chance, Kelly; Sioris, Christopher E.; Kurosu, Thomas P.; Spurr, Robert J. D.; Martin, Randall V.; Fu, Tzung-May; Logan, Jennifer A.; Jacob, Daniel J.; Palmer, Paul I.;

Spatial and temporal variability of tropospheric ozone over Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scheel, H.E.; Sladkovic, R. [Fraunhofer Inst. (IFU), Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany); Ancellet, G. [Universite Paris 6 (France). Service d`Aeronomie du CNRS; Areskoug, H. [Air Pollution Lab., Inst. of Applied Environmental Research, Stockholm Univ. (Sweden); Beck, J.; Waal, L. de [RIVM-LLO, Bilthoven (Netherlands); Boesenberg, J.; Grabbe, G. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Muer, D. de [Meteorological Inst. of Belgium (KMI), Brussels (Belgium); Dutot, A.L.; Etienne, A.; Perros, P.; Toupance, G. [Universite Paris XII-Creteil (France). Lab. de Physico-Chimie de l`Environment; Egelov, A.H.; Granby, K. [National Environmental Research Inst., Roskilde (Denmark); Esser, P.; Roemer, M. [IMW-TNO, Delft (Netherlands); Ferenczi, Z.; Haszpra, L. [Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Budapest (Hungary); Geiss, H.; Smit, H. [Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). Inst. fuer Chemie und Dynamik der Geosphaere (ICG-2); Gomiscek, B. [Ljubljana Univ. (Slovenia). Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology; Kezele, N.; Klasinc, L. [Institut Rudjer Boskovic, Zagreb (Croatia); Laurila, T. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Dept. of Air Quality; Lindskog, A.; Mowrer, J. [Swedish Environmental Research Inst. (IVL), Goeteborg (Sweden); Nielsen, T. [Risoe National Laboratory, Roskilde (Denmark); Schmitt, R. [Meteorologie Consult GmbH, Glashuetten (Germany); Simmonds, P. [International Science Consultants, Ringwood (United Kingdom); Solberg, S. [NILU, Kjeller (Norway); Varotsos, C. [Athens Univ. (Greece); TOR Task Group 1

1997-12-31

The first section is concerned with the characteristics of the TOR-measurement sites and the data used. It describes the methodologies employed for the selection of data in order to obtain representative ozone concentrations with minimum bias caused by the individual location. The question of representativeness of the O{sub 3} concentrations at the TOR sites was given special attention, since it is a crucial point for all conclusions drawn from the observations. Therefore several studies were focused on this issue. The further sections of the report deal with results on the spatial and seasonal variations of ozone concentrations over Europe. Results obtained from in-situ measurements in the boundary layer/lower free troposphere and from vertical soundings in the free troposphere are regarded separately. Finally, trend estimates are presented for ozone as well as for some of its precursors. (orig./KW)

Spatial and temporal variability of tropospheric ozone over Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scheel, H E; Sladkovic, R [Fraunhofer Inst. (IFU), Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany); Ancellet, G [Universite Paris 6 (France). Service d` Aeronomie du CNRS; Areskoug, H [Air Pollution Lab., Inst. of Applied Environmental Research, Stockholm Univ. (Sweden); Beck, J; Waal, L de [RIVM-LLO, Bilthoven (Netherlands); Boesenberg, J; Grabbe, G [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Meteorologie, Hamburg (Germany); Muer, D de [Meteorological Inst. of Belgium (KMI), Brussels (Belgium); Dutot, A L; Etienne, A; Perros, P; Toupance, G [Universite Paris XII-Creteil (France). Lab. de Physico-Chimie de l` Environment; Egelov, A H; Granby, K [National Environmental Research Inst., Roskilde (Denmark); Esser, P; Roemer, M [IMW-TNO, Delft (Netherlands); Ferenczi, Z; Haszpra, L [Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Budapest (Hungary); Geiss, H; Smit, H [Forschungszentrum Juelich (Germany). Inst. fuer Chemie und Dynamik der Geosphaere (ICG-2); Gomiscek, B [Ljubljana Univ. (Slovenia). Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology; Kezele, N; Klasinc, L [Institut Rudjer Boskovic, Zagreb (Croatia); Laurila, T [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Dept. of Air Quality; Lindskog, A; Mowrer, J [Swedish Environmental Research Inst. (IVL), Goeteborg (Sweden); Nielsen, T [Risoe National Laboratory, Roskilde (Denmark); Schmitt, R [Meteorologie Consult GmbH, Glashuetten (Germany); Simmonds, P [International Science Consultants, Ringwood (United Kingdom); Solberg, S [NILU, Kjeller (Norway); Varotsos, C [Athens Univ. (Greece); TOR Task Group 1

1998-12-31

The first section is concerned with the characteristics of the TOR-measurement sites and the data used. It describes the methodologies employed for the selection of data in order to obtain representative ozone concentrations with minimum bias caused by the individual location. The question of representativeness of the O{sub 3} concentrations at the TOR sites was given special attention, since it is a crucial point for all conclusions drawn from the observations. Therefore several studies were focused on this issue. The further sections of the report deal with results on the spatial and seasonal variations of ozone concentrations over Europe. Results obtained from in-situ measurements in the boundary layer/lower free troposphere and from vertical soundings in the free troposphere are regarded separately. Finally, trend estimates are presented for ozone as well as for some of its precursors. (orig./KW)

Ozone sonde cell current measurements and implications for observations of near-zero ozone concentrations in the tropical upper troposphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Vömel

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Laboratory measurements of the Electrochemical Concentration Cell (ECC ozone sonde cell current using ozone free air as well as defined amounts of ozone reveal that background current measurements during sonde preparation are neither constant as a function of time, nor constant as a function of ozone concentration. Using a background current, measured at a defined timed after exposure to high ozone may often overestimate the real background, leading to artificially low ozone concentrations in the upper tropical troposphere, and may frequently lead to operator dependent uncertainties. Based on these laboratory measurements an improved cell current to partial pressure conversion is proposed, which removes operator dependent variability in the background reading and possible artifacts in this measurement. Data from the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment (CEPEX have been reprocessed using the improved background treatment based on these laboratory measurements. In the reprocessed data set near-zero ozone events no longer occur. At Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, and San Cristóbal, nearly all near-zero ozone concentrations occur in soundings with larger background currents. To a large extent, these events are no longer observed in the reprocessed data set using the improved background treatment.

How Can TOLNet Help to Better Understand Tropospheric Ozone? A Satellite Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Matthew S.

2018-01-01

Potential sources of a priori ozone (O3) profiles for use in Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite tropospheric O3 retrievals are evaluated with observations from multiple Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) systems in North America. An O3 profile climatology (tropopause-based O3 climatology (TB-Clim), currently proposed for use in the TEMPO O3 retrieval algorithm) derived from ozonesonde observations and O3 profiles from three separate models (operational Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-5) Forward Processing (FP) product, reanalysis product from Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications version 2 (MERRA2), and the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM)) were: 1) evaluated with TOLNet measurements on various temporal scales (seasonally, daily, hourly) and 2) implemented as a priori information in theoretical TEMPO tropospheric O3 retrievals in order to determine how each a priori impacts the accuracy of retrieved tropospheric (0-10 km) and lowermost tropospheric (LMT, 0-2 km) O3 columns. We found that all sources of a priori O3 profiles evaluated in this study generally reproduced the vertical structure of summer-averaged observations. However, larger differences between the a priori profiles and lidar observations were observed when evaluating inter-daily and diurnal variability of tropospheric O3. The TB-Clim O3 profile climatology was unable to replicate observed inter-daily and diurnal variability of O3 while model products, in particular GEOS-Chem simulations, displayed more skill in reproducing these features. Due to the ability of models, primarily the CTM used in this study, on average to capture the inter-daily and diurnal variability of tropospheric and LMT O3 columns, using a priori profiles from CTM simulations resulted in TEMPO retrievals with the best statistical comparison with lidar observations. Furthermore, important from an air quality perspective, when high LMT O3 values were

Tropospheric ozone observations - How well can we assess tropospheric ozone changes?

Science.gov (United States)

Tarasick, D. W.; Galbally, I. E.; Ancellet, G.; Leblanc, T.; Wallington, T. J.; Ziemke, J. R.; Steinbacher, M.; Stähelin, J.; Vigouroux, C.; Hannigan, J. W.; García, O. E.; Foret, G.; Zanis, P.; Liu, X.; Weatherhead, E. C.; Petropavlovskikh, I. V.; Worden, H. M.; Osman, M.; Liu, J.; Lin, M.; Cooper, O. R.; Schultz, M. G.; Granados-Muñoz, M. J.; Thompson, A. M.; Cuesta, J.; Dufour, G.; Thouret, V.; Hassler, B.; Trickl, T.

2017-12-01

Since the early 20th century, measurements of ozone in the free troposphere have evolved and changed. Data records have different uncertainties and biases, and differ with respect to coverage, information content, and representativeness. Almost all validation studies employ ECC ozonesondes. These have been compared to UV-absorption measurements in a number of intercomparison studies, and show a modest ( 1-5%) high bias in the troposphere, with an uncertainty of 5%, but no evidence of a change over time. Umkehr, lidar, FTIR, and commercial aircraft all show modest low biases relative to the ECCs, and so -- if the ECC biases are transferable -- all agree within 1σ with the modern UV standard. Relative to the UV standard, Brewer-Mast sondes show a 20% increase in sensitivity from 1970-1995, while Japanese KC sondes show an increase of 5-10%. Combined with the shift of the global ozonesonde network to ECCs, this can induce a false positive trend, in analyses based on sonde data. Passive sounding methods -- Umkehr, FTIR and satellites -- have much lower vertical resolution than active methods, and this can limit the attribution of trends. Satellite biases are larger than those of other measurement systems, ranging between -10% and +20%, and standard deviations are large: about 10-30%, versus 5-10% for sondes, aircraft, lidar and ground-based FTIR. There is currently little information on measurement drift for satellite measurements of tropospheric ozone. This is an evident area of concern if satellite retrievals are used for trend studies. The importance of ECC sondes as a transfer standard for satellite validation means that efforts to homogenize existing records, by correcting for known changes and by adopting strict standard operating procedures, should continue, and additional research effort should be put into understanding and reducing sonde uncertainties. Representativeness is also a potential source of large errors, which are difficult to quantify. The global

Impact of climate and land cover changes on tropospheric ozone air quality and public health in East Asia between 1980 and 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Y.; Tai, A. P. K.

2015-09-01

Understanding how historical climate and land cover changes have affected tropospheric ozone in East Asia would help constrain the large uncertainties associated with future East Asian air quality projections. We perform a series of simulations using a global chemical transport model driven by assimilated meteorological data and a suite of land cover and land use data to examine the public health effects associated with changes in climate, land cover, land use, and anthropogenic emissions between the 5-year periods 1981-1985 and 2007-2011 in East Asia. We find that between these two periods land cover change alone could lead to a decrease in summertime surface ozone by up to 4 ppbv in East Asia and ~ 2000 fewer ozone-related premature deaths per year, driven mostly by enhanced dry deposition resulting from climate- and CO2-induced increase in vegetation density, which more than offsets the effect of reduced isoprene emission arising from cropland expansion. Climate change alone could lead to an increase in summertime ozone by 2-10 ppbv in most regions of East Asia and ~ 6000 more premature deaths annually, mostly attributable to warming. The combined impacts (-2 to +12 ppbv) show that while the effect of climate change is more pronounced, land cover change could offset part of the climate effect and lead to a previously unknown public health benefit. While the changes in anthropogenic emissions remain the largest contributor to deteriorating ozone air quality in East Asia over the past 30 years, we show that climate change and land cover changes could lead to a substantial modification of ozone levels, and thus should come into consideration when formulating future air quality management strategies. We also show that the sensitivity of surface ozone to land cover change is more dependent on dry deposition than on isoprene emission in most of East Asia, leading to ozone responses that are quite distinct from that in North America, where most ozone

Tropical Tropospheric Ozone from SHADOZ (Southern Hemisphere ADditional Ozonesondes) Network: A Project for Satellite Research, Process Studies, Education

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Anne M.; Witte, Jacquelyn C.; Oltmans, Samuel J.; Schmidlin, Francis J.; Coetzee, G. J. R.; Hoegger, Bruno; Kirchhoff, V. W. J. H.; Ogawa, Toshihiro; Kawakami, Shuji; Posny, Francoise

2002-01-01

The first climatological overview of total, stratospheric and tropospheric ozone in the southern hemisphere tropical and subtropics is based on ozone sounding data from 10 sites comprising the Southern Hemisphere Additional OZonesondes (SHADOZ) network. The period covered is 1998-2000. Observations were made over: Ascension Island; Nairobi, Kenya; Irene, South Africa; Reunion Island; Watukosek, Java; Fiji; Tahiti; American Samoa; San Cristobal, Galapagos; Natal, Brazil. Campaign data were collected on a trans-Atlantic oceanographic cruise and during SAFARI-2000 in Zambia. The ozone data, with simultaneous temperature profiles to approx. 7 hPa and relative humidity to approx. 200 hPa, reside at: . SHADOZ ozone time-series and profiles give a perspective on tropical total, stratospheric and tropospheric ozone. Prominent features are highly variable tropospheric ozone and a zonal wave-one pattern in total (and tropospheric) column ozone. Total, stratospheric and tropospheric column ozone amounts peak between August and November and are lowest between March and May. Tropospheric ozone variability over the Indian and Pacific Ocean displays influences of the Indian Ocean Dipole and convective mixing. Pollution transport from Africa and South America is a seasonal feature. Tropospheric ozone seasonality over the Atlantic Basin shows effects of regional subsidence and recirculation as well as biomass burning. Dynamical and chemical influences appear to be of comparable magnitude though model studies are needed to quantify this.

The use of satellite data to determine the distribution of ozone in the troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Fishman, Jack; Watson, Catherine E.; Brackett, Vincent G.; Fakhruzzaman, Khan; Veiga, Robert E.

1991-01-01

Measurements from two independent satellite data sets have been used to derive the climatology of the integrated amount of ozone in the troposphere. These data have led to the finding that large amounts of ozone pollution are generated by anthropogenic activity originating from both the industrialized regions of the Northern Hemisphere and from the southern tropical regions of Africa. To verify the existence of this ozone anomaly at low latitudes, an ozonesonde capability has been established at Ascension Island (8 deg S, 15 deg W) since July 1990. According to the satellite analyses, Ascension Island is located downwind of the primary source region of this ozone pollution, which likely results from the photochemical oxidation of emissions emanating from the widespread burning of savannas and other biomass. These in situ measurements confirm the existence of large amounts of ozone in the lower atmosphere. A summary of these ozonesonde data to date will be presented. In addition, we will present some ozone profile measurements from SAGE II which can be used to provide upper tropospheric ozone measurements directly in the tropical troposphere. A preliminary comparison between the satellite observations and the ozonesonde profiles in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere will also be presented.

Tropospheric Ozone Source Attribution in Southern California during Summer 2014 Based on Lidar Measurements and Model Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Granados Munoz, Maria Jose; Johnson, Matthew S.; Leblanc, Thierry

2016-01-01

In the past decades, significant efforts have been made to increase tropospheric ozone long-term monitoring. A large number of ground-based, airborne and space-borne instruments are currently providing valuable data to contribute to better understand tropospheric ozone budget and variability. Nonetheless, most of these instruments provide in-situ surface and column-integrated data, whereas vertically resolved measurements are still scarce. Besides ozonesondes and aircraft, lidar measurements have proven to be valuable tropospheric ozone profilers. Using the measurements from the tropospheric ozone differential absorption lidar (DIAL) located at the JPL Table Mountain Facility, California, and the GEOS-Chem and GEOS-5 model outputs, the impact of the North American monsoon on tropospheric ozone during summer 2014 is investigated. The influence of the Monsoon lightning-induced NOx will be evaluated against other sources (e.g. local anthropogenic emissions and the stratosphere) using also complementary data such as backward-trajectories analysis, coincident water vapor lidar measurements, and surface ozone in-situ measurements.

A Global Climatology of Tropospheric and Stratospheric Ozone Derived from Aura OMI and MLS Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Ziemke, J.R.; Chandra, S.; Labow, G.; Bhartia, P. K.; Froidevaux, L.; Witte, J. C.

2011-01-01

A global climatology of tropospheric and stratospheric column ozone is derived by combining six years of Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) ozone measurements for the period October 2004 through December 2010. The OMI/MLS tropospheric ozone climatology exhibits large temporal and spatial variability which includes ozone accumulation zones in the tropical south Atlantic year-round and in the subtropical Mediterranean! Asia region in summer months. High levels of tropospheric ozone in the northern hemisphere also persist in mid-latitudes over the eastern North American and Asian continents extending eastward over the Pacific Ocean. For stratospheric ozone climatology from MLS, largest ozone abundance lies in the northern hemisphere in the latitude range 70degN-80degN in February-April and in the southern hemisphere around 40degS-50degS during months August-October. The largest stratospheric ozone abundances in the northern hemisphere lie over North America and eastern Asia extending eastward across the Pacific Ocean and in the southern hemisphere south of Australia extending eastward across the dateline. With the advent of many newly developing 3D chemistry and transport models it is advantageous to have such a dataset for evaluating the performance of the models in relation to dynamical and photochemical processes controlling the ozone distributions in the troposphere and stratosphere.

The Governing Processes and Timescales of Stratosphere-to-Troposphere Transport and its Contribution to Ozone in the Arctic Troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Q.; Douglass, A. R.; Duncan, B. N.; Stolarski, R. S.; Witte, J. C.

2009-01-01

We used the seasonality of a combination of atmospheric trace gases and idealized tracers to examine stratosphere-to-troposphere transport and its influence on tropospheric composition in the Arctic. Maximum stratosphere-to-troposphere transport of CFCs and O3 occurs in April as driven by the Brewer-Dobson circulation. Stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) occurs predominantly between 40 deg N to 80 deg N with stratospheric influx in the mid-latitudes (30-70 deg N) accounting for 67.81 percent of the air of stratospheric origin in the Northern Hemisphere extratropical troposphere. Transport from the lower stratosphere to the lower troposphere (LT) takes three months on average, one month to cross the tropopause, the second month to travel from the upper troposphere (UT) to the middle troposphere (MT), and the third month to reach the LT. During downward transport, the seasonality of a trace gas can be greatly impacted by wet removal and chemistry. A comparison of idealized tracers with varying lifetimes suggests that when initialized with the same concentrations and seasonal cycles at the tropopause, trace gases that have shorter lifetimes display lower concentrations, smaller amplitudes, and earlier seasonal maxima during transport to the LT. STE contributes to O3 in the Arctic troposphere directly from the transport of O3 and indirectly from the transport of NOy . Direct transport of O3 from the stratosphere accounts for 78 percent of O3 in the Arctic UT with maximum contributions occurring from March to May. The stratospheric contribution decreases significantly in the MT/LT (20.25 percent of total O3) and shows a very weak March.April maximum. Our NOx budget analysis in the Arctic UT shows that during spring and summer, the stratospheric injection of NO y-rich air increases NOx concentrations above the 20 pptv threshold level, thereby shifting the Arctic UT from a regime of net photochemical ozone loss to one of net production with rates as high as +16 ppbv/month.

The governing processes and timescales of stratosphere-to-troposphere transport and its contribution to ozone in the Arctic troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Q.; Douglass, A. R.; Duncan, B. N.; Stolarski, R. S.; Witte, J. C.

2009-05-01

We used the seasonality of a combination of atmospheric trace gases and idealized tracers to examine stratosphere-to-troposphere transport and its influence on tropospheric composition in the Arctic. Maximum stratosphere-to-troposphere transport of CFCs and O3 occurs in April as driven by the Brewer-Dobson circulation. Stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) occurs predominantly between 40° N to 80° N with stratospheric influx in the mid-latitudes (30-70° N) accounting for 67-81% of the air of stratospheric origin in the Northern Hemisphere extratropical troposphere. Transport from the lower stratosphere to the lower troposphere (LT) takes three months on average, one month to cross the tropopause, the second month to travel from the upper troposphere (UT) to the middle troposphere (MT), and the third month to reach the LT. During downward transport, the seasonality of a trace gas can be greatly impacted by wet removal and chemistry. A comparison of idealized tracers with varying lifetimes suggests that when initialized with the same concentrations and seasonal cycles at the tropopause, trace gases that have shorter lifetimes display lower concentrations, smaller amplitudes, and earlier seasonal maxima during transport to the LT. STE contributes to O3 in the Arctic troposphere directly from the transport of O3 and indirectly from the transport of NOy. Direct transport of O3 from the stratosphere accounts for 78% of O3 in the Arctic UT with maximum contributions occurring from March to May. The stratospheric contribution decreases significantly in the MT/LT (20-25% of total O3) and shows a very weak March-April maximum. Our NOx budget analysis in the Arctic UT shows that during spring and summer, the stratospheric injection of NOy-rich air increases NOx concentrations above the 20 pptv threshold level, thereby shifting the Arctic UT from a regime of net photochemical ozone loss to one of net production with rates as high as +16 ppbv/month.

The meteorological environment of the tropospheric ozone maximum over the tropical South Atlantic

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krishnamurti, T N; Fuelberg, H E; Bensman, E L; Sinha, M C; Oosterhof, D; Kumar, V B [Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL (United States). Department of Meteorology

1993-01-01

This paper examines atmospheric flow patterns over the Southern Atlantic Ocean, where a maximum of tropospheric ozone is observed just west of Southern Africa. The climatology of the South Atlantic basin is shown to favour flow off from South America and Africa converging into the area of high tropospheric ozone. This ozone is initially attributable to byproducts of biomass burning over both these continents. A case study, carried out over 6 days during October 1989, was used to determine the effect of a purely advective scheme (no photochemistry) on the distribution of ozone over the basin. The results showed a pattern in which ozone accumulated off the west coast of South Africa within 72 hours after beginning with an homogenous, zonally-symmetric distribution of ozone. 11 refs.

Quantifying the Impact of Tropospheric Ozone on Crops Productivity at regional scale using JULES-crop

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, F.

2016-12-01

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is the third most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. It is causing significant crop production losses. Currently, O3 concentrations are projected to increase globally, which could have a significant impact on food security. The Joint UK Land Environment Simulator modified to include crops (JULES-crop) is used here to quantify the impacts of tropospheric O3 on crop production at the regional scale until 2100. We evaluate JULES-crop against the Soybean Free-Air-Concentration-Enrichment (SoyFACE) experiment in Illinois, USA. Experimental data from SoyFACE and various literature sources is used to calibrate the parameters for soybean and ozone damage parameters in soybean in JULES-crop. The calibrated model is then applied for a transient factorial set of JULES-crop simulations over 1960-2005. Simulated yield changes are attributed to individual environmental drivers, CO2, O3 and climate change, across regions and for different crops. A mixed scenario of RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5 climatology and ozone are simulated to explore the implication of policy. The overall findings are that regions with high ozone concentration such as China and India suffer the most from ozone damage, soybean is more sensitive to O3 than other crops. JULES-crop predicts CO2 fertilisation would increase the productivity of vegetation. This effect, however, is masked by the negative impacts of tropospheric O3. Using data from FAO and JULES-crop estimated that ozone damage cost around 55.4 Billion USD per year on soybean. Irrigation improves the simulation of rice only, and it increases the relative ozone damage because drought can reduce the ozone from entering the plant stomata. RCP 8.5 scenario results in a high yield for all crops mainly due to the CO2 fertilisation effect. Mixed climate scenarios simulations suggest that RCP 8.5 CO2 concentration and RCP 2.6 O3 concentration result in the highest yield. Further works such as more crop FACE-O3 experiments and more Crop

A model study of ozone in the eastern Mediterranean free troposphere during MINOS (August 2001)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roelofs, GJ; Scheeren, HA; Heland, J; Ziereis, H; Lelieveld, J

2003-01-01

A coupled tropospheric chemistry-climate model is used to analyze tropospheric ozone distributions observed during the MINOS campaign in the eastern Mediterranean region ( August, 2001). Modeled ozone profiles are generally in good agreement with the observations. Our analysis shows that the

Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes (SHADOZ) Ozone Climatology (2005-2009): Tropospheric and Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL) Profiles with Comparisons to Omi-based Ozone Products

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Anne M.; Miller, Sonya K.; Tilmes, Simone; Kollonige, Debra W.; Witte, Jacquelyn C.; Oltmans, Samuel J.; Johnson, Brian J.; Fujiwara, Masatomo; Schmidlin, F. J.; Coetzee, G. J. R.;

Effects of ozone-vegetation coupling on surface ozone air quality via biogeochemical and meteorological feedbacks

Science.gov (United States)

Sadiq, Mehliyar; Tai, Amos P. K.; Lombardozzi, Danica; Martin, Maria Val

2017-02-01

Tropospheric ozone is one of the most hazardous air pollutants as it harms both human health and plant productivity. Foliage uptake of ozone via dry deposition damages photosynthesis and causes stomatal closure. These foliage changes could lead to a cascade of biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects that not only modulate the carbon cycle, regional hydrometeorology and climate, but also cause feedbacks onto surface ozone concentration itself. In this study, we implement a semi-empirical parameterization of ozone damage on vegetation in the Community Earth System Model to enable online ozone-vegetation coupling, so that for the first time ecosystem structure and ozone concentration can coevolve in fully coupled land-atmosphere simulations. With ozone-vegetation coupling, present-day surface ozone is simulated to be higher by up to 4-6 ppbv over Europe, North America and China. Reduced dry deposition velocity following ozone damage contributes to ˜ 40-100 % of those increases, constituting a significant positive biogeochemical feedback on ozone air quality. Enhanced biogenic isoprene emission is found to contribute to most of the remaining increases, and is driven mainly by higher vegetation temperature that results from lower transpiration rate. This isoprene-driven pathway represents an indirect, positive meteorological feedback. The reduction in both dry deposition and transpiration is mostly associated with reduced stomatal conductance following ozone damage, whereas the modification of photosynthesis and further changes in ecosystem productivity are found to play a smaller role in contributing to the ozone-vegetation feedbacks. Our results highlight the need to consider two-way ozone-vegetation coupling in Earth system models to derive a more complete understanding and yield more reliable future predictions of ozone air quality.

Tropospheric ozone. Formation, properties, effects. Expert opinion; Ozon in der Troposphaere. Bildung, Eigenschaften, Wirkungen. Gutachten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elstner, E.F. [Technische Univ. Muenchen (Germany). Lehrstuhl fuer Phytopathologie

1996-06-01

The formation and dispersion of tropospheric ozone are discussed only marginally in this expert opinion; the key interest is in the effects of ground level ozone on plants, animals, and humans. The expert opinion is based on an analysis of the available scientific publications. (orig./MG) [Deutsch] Das Gutachten nimmt nur am Rande die Problematik der Bildung und Ausbreitung von troposphaerischen Ozon auf; Im Mittelpunkt steht die Auseinandersetzung mit den Wirkungen des bodennahen Ozons auf Pflanze, Tier und Mensch. Das Gutachten basiert auf einer Analyse der zugaenglichen wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten. (orig./MG)

SAFARI 2000 TOMS Tropospheric Ozone Data, Southern Africa Subset, Dry Season 2000

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Tropical Tropospheric Ozone (TTO) data from Earth Probe (EP) Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) for the period of August 8-September 29, 2000 were processed and...

Establishing the common patterns of future tropospheric ozone under diverse climate change scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Jimenez-Guerrero, Pedro; Gómez-Navarro, Juan J.; Jerez, Sonia; Lorente-Plazas, Raquel; Baro, Rocio; Montávez, Juan P.

2013-04-01

The impacts of climate change on air quality may affect long-term air quality planning. However, the policies aimed at improving air quality in the EU directives have not accounted for the variations in the climate. Climate change alone influences future air quality through modifications of gas-phase chemistry, transport, removal, and natural emissions. As such, the aim of this work is to check whether the projected changes in gas-phase air pollution over Europe depends on the scenario driving the regional simulation. For this purpose, two full-transient regional climate change-air quality projections for the first half of the XXI century (1991-2050) have been carried out with MM5+CHIMERE system, including A2 and B2 SRES scenarios. Experiments span the periods 1971-2000, as a reference, and 2071-2100, as future enhanced greenhouse gas and aerosol scenarios (SRES A2 and B2). The atmospheric simulations have a horizontal resolution of 25 km and 23 vertical layers up to 100 mb, and were driven by ECHO-G global climate model outputs. The analysis focuses on the connection between meteorological and air quality variables. Our simulations suggest that the modes of variability for tropospheric ozone and their main precursors hardly change under different SRES scenarios. The effect of changing scenarios has to be sought in the intensity of the changing signal, rather than in the spatial structure of the variation patterns, since the correlation between the spatial patterns of variability in A2 and B2 simulation is r > 0.75 for all gas-phase pollutants included in this study. In both cases, full-transient simulations indicate an enhanced enhanced chemical activity under future scenarios. The causes for tropospheric ozone variations have to be sought in a multiplicity of climate factors, such as increased temperature, different distribution of precipitation patterns across Europe, increased photolysis of primary and secondary pollutants due to lower cloudiness, etc

Recent Biomass Burning in the Tropics and Related Changes in Tropospheric Ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Ziemke; Chandra, J. R. S.; Duncan, B. N.; Schoeberl, M. R.; Torres, O.; Damon, M. R.; Bhartia, P. K.

2009-01-01

Biomass burning is an important source of chemical precursors of tropospheric ozone. In the tropics, biomass burning produces ozone enhancements over broad regions of Indonesia, Africa, and South America including Brazil. Fires are intentionally set in these regions during the dry season each year to clear cropland and to clear land for human/industrial expansion. In Indonesia enhanced burning occurs during dry El Nino conditions such as in 1997 and 2006. These burning activities cause enhancement in atmospheric particulates and trace gases which are harmful to human health. Measurements from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) from October 2004-November 2008 are used to evaluate the effects of biomass burning on tropical tropospheric ozone. These measurements show sizeable decreases approx.15-20% in ozone in Brazil during 2008 compared to 2007 which we attribute to the reduction in biomass burning. Three broad biomass burning regions in the tropics (South America including Brazil, western Africa, and Indonesia) were analyzed in the context of OMI/MLS measurements and the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) chemical transport model developed at Goddard Space Flight Center. The results indicate that the impact of biomass burning on ozone is significant within and near the burning regions with increases of approx.10-25% in tropospheric column ozone relative to average background concentrations. The model suggests that about half of the increases in ozone from these burning events come from altitudes below 3 km. Globally the model indicates increases of approx.4-5% in ozone, approx.7-9% in NO, (NO+NO2), and approx.30-40% in CO.

The Ozone Budget in the Upper Troposphere from Global Modeling Initiative (GMI)Simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriquez, J.; Duncan, Bryan N.; Logan, Jennifer A.

2006-01-01

Ozone concentrations in the upper troposphere are influenced by in-situ production, long-range tropospheric transport, and influx of stratospheric ozone, as well as by photochemical removal. Since ozone is an important greenhouse gas in this region, it is particularly important to understand how it will respond to changes in anthropogenic emissions and changes in stratospheric ozone fluxes.. This response will be determined by the relative balance of the different production, loss and transport processes. Ozone concentrations calculated by models will differ depending on the adopted meteorological fields, their chemical scheme, anthropogenic emissions, and treatment of the stratospheric influx. We performed simulations using the chemical-transport model from the Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) with meteorological fields from (It)h e NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM), (2) the atmospheric GCM from NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office(GMAO), and (3) assimilated winds from GMAO . These simulations adopt the same chemical mechanism and emissions, and adopt the Synthetic Ozone (SYNOZ) approach for treating the influx of stratospheric ozone -. In addition, we also performed simulations for a coupled troposphere-stratosphere model with a subset of the same winds. Simulations were done for both 4degx5deg and 2degx2.5deg resolution. Model results are being tested through comparison with a suite of atmospheric observations. In this presentation, we diagnose the ozone budget in the upper troposphere utilizing the suite of GMI simulations, to address the sensitivity of this budget to: a) the different meteorological fields used; b) the adoption of the SYNOZ boundary condition versus inclusion of a full stratosphere; c) model horizontal resolution. Model results are compared to observations to determine biases in particular simulations; by examining these comparisons in conjunction with the derived budgets, we may pinpoint

Variability in tropical tropospheric ozone: analysis with GOME observations and a global model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Valks, P.J.M.; Koelemeijer, R.B.A.; Weele, van M.; Velthoven, van P.F.J.; Fortuin, J.P.F.; Kelder, H.M.

2003-01-01

Tropical tropospheric ozone columns (TTOCs) have been determined with a convective-cloud-differential (CCD) method, using ozone column and cloud measurements from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) instrument. GOME cloud top pressures, derived with the Fast Retrieval Scheme for Clouds

Predicting tropospheric ozone and hydroxyl radical in a global, three-dimensional, chemistry, transport, and deposition model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Atherton, C.S.

1995-01-05

Two of the most important chemically reactive tropospheric gases are ozone (O{sub 3}) and the hydroxyl radical (OH). Although ozone in the stratosphere is a necessary protector against the sun`s radiation, tropospheric ozone is actually a pollutant which damages materials and vegetation, acts as a respiratory irritant, and is a greenhouse gas. One of the two main sources of ozone in the troposphere is photochemical production. The photochemistry is initiated when hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide (CO) react with nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x} = NO + NO{sub 2}) in the presence of sunlight. Reaction with the hydroxyl radical, OH, is the main sink for many tropospheric gases. The hydroxyl radical is highly reactive and has a lifetime on the order of seconds. Its formation is initiated by the photolysis of tropospheric ozone. Tropospheric chemistry involves a complex, non-linear set of chemical reactions between atmospheric species that vary substantially in time and space. To model these and other species on a global scale requires the use of a global, three-dimensional chemistry, transport, and deposition (CTD) model. In this work, I developed two such three dimensional CTD models. The first model incorporated the chemistry necessary to model tropospheric ozone production from the reactions of nitrogen oxides with carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH{sub 4}). The second also included longer-lived alkane species and the biogenic hydrocarbon isoprene, which is emitted by growing plants and trees. The models` ability to predict a number of key variables (including the concentration of O{sub 3}, OH, and other species) were evaluated. Then, several scenarios were simulated to understand the change in the chemistry of the troposphere since preindustrial times and the role of anthropogenic NO{sub x} on present day conditions.

Estimates of Free-tropospheric NO2 Abundance from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Using Cloud Slicing Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, S.; Joiner, J.; Krotkov, N. A.; Choi, Y.; Duncan, B. N.; Celarier, E. A.; Bucsela, E. J.; Vasilkov, A. P.; Strahan, S. E.; Veefkind, J. P.; Cohen, R. C.; Weinheimer, A. J.; Pickering, K. E.

2013-12-01

Total column measurements of NO2 from space-based sensors are of interest to the atmospheric chemistry and air quality communities; the relatively short lifetime of near-surface NO2 produces satellite-observed hot-spots near pollution sources including power plants and urban areas. However, estimates of NO2 concentrations in the free-troposphere, where lifetimes are longer and the radiative impact through ozone formation is larger, are severely lacking. Such information is critical to evaluate chemistry-climate and air quality models that are used for prediction of the evolution of tropospheric ozone and its impact of climate and air quality. Here, we retrieve free-tropospheric NO2 volume mixing ratio (VMR) using the cloud slicing technique. We use cloud optical centroid pressures (OCPs) as well as collocated above-cloud vertical NO2 columns (defined as the NO2 column from top of the atmosphere to the cloud OCP) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). The above-cloud NO2 vertical columns used in our study are retrieved independent of a priori NO2 profile information. In the cloud-slicing approach, the slope of the above-cloud NO2 column versus the cloud optical centroid pressure is proportional to the NO2 volume mixing ratio (VMR) for a given pressure (altitude) range. We retrieve NO2 volume mixing ratios and compare the obtained NO2 VMRs with in-situ aircraft profiles measured during the NASA Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment Phase B (INTEX-B) campaign in 2006. The agreement is good when proper data screening is applied. In addition, the OMI cloud slicing reports a high NO2 VMR where the aircraft reported lightning NOx during the Deep Convection Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) campaign in 2012. We also provide a global seasonal climatology of free-tropospheric NO2 VMR in cloudy conditions. Enhanced NO2 in free troposphere commonly appears near polluted urban locations where NO2 produced in the boundary layer may be transported vertically out of the

The impact of large scale biomass production on ozone air pollution in Europe

OpenAIRE

Beltman, Joost B.; Hendriks, Carlijn; Tum, Markus; Schaap, Martijn

2013-01-01

Tropospheric ozone contributes to the removal of air pollutants from the atmosphere but is itself a pollutant that is harmful to human health and vegetation. Biogenic isoprene emissions are important ozone precursors, and therefore future changes in land use that change isoprene emissions are likely to affect atmospheric ozone concentrations. Here, we use the chemical transport model LOTOS-EUROS (dedicated to the regional modeling of trace gases in Europe) to study a scenario in which 5% of t...

Measurements of total and tropospheric ozone from IASI: comparison with correlative satellite, ground-based and ozonesonde observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Boynard

2009-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present measurements of total and tropospheric ozone, retrieved from infrared radiance spectra recorded by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI, which was launched on board the MetOp-A European satellite in October 2006. We compare IASI total ozone columns to Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2 observations and ground-based measurements from the Dobson and Brewer network for one full year of observations (2008. The IASI total ozone columns are shown to be in good agreement with both GOME-2 and ground-based data, with correlation coefficients of about 0.9 and 0.85, respectively. On average, IASI ozone retrievals exhibit a positive bias of about 9 DU (3.3% compared to both GOME-2 and ground-based measurements. In addition to total ozone columns, the good spectral resolution of IASI enables the retrieval of tropospheric ozone concentrations. Comparisons of IASI tropospheric columns to 490 collocated ozone soundings available from several stations around the globe have been performed for the period of June 2007–August 2008. IASI tropospheric ozone columns compare well with sonde observations, with correlation coefficients of 0.95 and 0.77 for the [surface–6 km] and [surface–12 km] partial columns, respectively. IASI retrievals tend to overestimate the tropospheric ozone columns in comparison with ozonesonde measurements. Positive average biases of 0.15 DU (1.2% and 3 DU (11% are found for the [surface–6 km] and for the [surface–12 km] partial columns respectively.

Ozone Depletion in Tropospheric Volcanic Plumes: From Halogen-Poor to Halogen-Rich Emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tjarda J. Roberts

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Volcanic halogen emissions to the troposphere undergo a rapid plume chemistry that destroys ozone. Quantifying the impact of volcanic halogens on tropospheric ozone is challenging, only a few observations exist. This study presents measurements of ozone in volcanic plumes from Kīlauea (HI, USA, a low halogen emitter. The results are combined with published data from high halogen emitters (Mt Etna, Italy; Mt Redoubt, AK, USA to identify controls on plume processes. Ozone was measured during periods of relatively sustained Kīlauea plume exposure, using an Aeroqual instrument deployed alongside Multi-Gas SO2 and H2S sensors. Interferences were accounted for in data post-processing. The volcanic H2S/SO2 molar ratio was quantified as 0.03. At Halema‘uma‘u crater-rim, ozone was close to ambient in the emission plume (at 10 ppmv SO2. Measurements in grounding plume (at 5 ppmv SO2 about 10 km downwind of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō showed just slight ozone depletion. These Kīlauea observations contrast with substantial ozone depletion reported at Mt Etna and Mt Redoubt. Analysis of the combined data from these three volcanoes identifies the emitted Br/S as a strong but non-linear control on the rate of ozone depletion. Model simulations of the volcanic plume chemistry highlight that the proportion of HBr converted into reactive bromine is a key control on the efficiency of ozone depletion. This underlines the importance of chemistry in the very near-source plume on the fate and atmospheric impacts of volcanic emissions to the troposphere.

PM2.5 and tropospheric ozone in China: overview of situation and responses

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hua

This work reviewed the observational status of PM2.5 and tropospheric ozone in China. It told us the observational facts on the ratios of typical types of aerosol components to the total PM2.5/PM10, and daily and seasonal change of near surface ozone concentration at different cities of China; the global concentration distribution of tropospheric ozone observed by satellite in 2010-2013 was also given for comparison; the PM2.5 concentration distribution and their seasonal change in China region were simulated by an aerosol chemistry-global climate modeling system. Different contribution from five kinds of aerosols to the simulated PM2.5 was analyzed. Then, it linked the emissions of aerosol and greenhouse gases and their radiative forcing and thus gave their climatic effect by reducing their emissions on the basis of most recently published IPCC AR5. Finally it suggested policies on reducing emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) (such as PM2.5 and tropospheric ozone) in China from protecting both climate and environment.

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Database and Metrics Data of Global Surface Ozone Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin G. Schultz

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In support of the first Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR a relational database of global surface ozone observations has been developed and populated with hourly measurement data and enhanced metadata. A comprehensive suite of ozone data products including standard statistics, health and vegetation impact metrics, and trend information, are made available through a common data portal and a web interface. These data form the basis of the TOAR analyses focusing on human health, vegetation, and climate relevant ozone issues, which are part of this special feature. Cooperation among many data centers and individual researchers worldwide made it possible to build the world's largest collection of 'in-situ' hourly surface ozone data covering the period from 1970 to 2015. By combining the data from almost 10,000 measurement sites around the world with global metadata information, new analyses of surface ozone have become possible, such as the first globally consistent characterisations of measurement sites as either urban or rural/remote. Exploitation of these global metadata allows for new insights into the global distribution, and seasonal and long-term changes of tropospheric ozone and they enable TOAR to perform the first, globally consistent analysis of present-day ozone concentrations and recent ozone changes with relevance to health, agriculture, and climate. Considerable effort was made to harmonize and synthesize data formats and metadata information from various networks and individual data submissions. Extensive quality control was applied to identify questionable and erroneous data, including changes in apparent instrument offsets or calibrations. Such data were excluded from TOAR data products. Limitations of 'a posteriori' data quality assurance are discussed. As a result of the work presented here, global coverage of surface ozone data for scientific analysis has been significantly extended. Yet, large gaps remain in the surface

Assimilated ozone from EOS-Aura: Evaluation of the tropopause region and tropospheric columns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stajner, I.; Wargan, K.; Pawson, S.; Hayashi, H.; Chang, L.-P.; Hudman, R.C.; Froidevaux, L.; Livesey, N.J.; Levelt, P.F.; Thompson, A.M.; Tarasick, D.W.; Stübi, R.; Andersen, S.B.; Yela, M.; König-Langlo, G.; Schmidlin, F.J.; Witte, J.C.

2008-01-01

Retrievals from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) and the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on EOS-Aura were included in the Goddard Earth Observing System version 4 (GEOS-4) ozone data assimilation system. The distribution and daily to seasonal evolution of ozone in the stratosphere and troposphere

Quantification of topographic venting of boundary layer air to the free troposphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Henne

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Net vertical air mass export by thermally driven flows from the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL to the free troposphere (FT above deep Alpine valleys was investigated. The vertical export of pollutants above mountainous terrain is presently poorly represented in global chemistry transport models (GCTMs and needs to be quantified. Air mass budgets were calculated using aircraft observations obtained in deep Alpine valleys. The results show that on average 3 times the valley air mass is exported vertically per day under fair weather conditions. During daytime the type of valleys investigated in this study can act as an efficient 'air pump' that transports pollutants upward. The slope wind system within the valley plays an important role in redistributing pollutants. Nitrogen oxide emissions in mountainous regions are efficiently injected into the FT. This could enhance their ozone (O3 production efficiency and thus influences tropospheric pollution budgets. Once lifted to the FT above the Alps pollutants are transported horizontally by the synoptic flow and are subject to European pollution export. Forward trajectory studies show that under fair weather conditions two major pathways for air masses above the Alps dominate. Air masses moving north are mixed throughout the whole tropospheric column and further transported eastward towards Asia. Air masses moving south descend within the subtropical high pressure system above the Mediterranean.

Characteristics of stratospheric ozone intrusions into the lower free troposphere in subtropical East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Ou-Yang, C. F.; Lin, J. R.; Yen, M. C.; Sheu, G. R.; Wang, J. L.; Lin, N. H.

2017-12-01

Stratospheric intrusion (SI) is mainly induced by tropopause folds, frontal passages, cutoff lows, and surface pressure systems. Ozone can be increased rapidly by the SI with decreased humidity and other primary air pollutants in the lower free troposphere. We present 5 years of ozone observed at Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (LABS, 23.47°N, 120.87°E, 2862 m a.s.l.) as a representative regional mountain site located in subtropical East Asia from April 2006 to March 2011. A fast-screening algorithm was proposed to sift the SI events at the LABS. The ozone was increased approximately 13.5±6.1 ppb on average during the 54 detected SI events, whereas the mean ozone mixing ratio was calculated to be 32.8±15.2 ppb over the 5 years. Distinct seasonal variation of ozone was observed with a maximum in spring and a minimum in summer, which was predominately shaped by the long-range transport of biomass burning air masses from Southeast Asia and oceanic influences from the Pacific, respectively. By contrast, the SI events were observed at the LABS mainly during wintertime. The characteristics of the SI events were also investigated in association with Modern Era Retrospective Analysis - 2 (MERRA-2) assimilated data provided by NASA/GSFC in this study.

Why are models unable to reproduce multi-decadal trends in lower tropospheric baseline ozone levels?

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, L.; Liu, J.; Mickley, L. J.; Strahan, S. E.; Steenrod, S.

2017-12-01

Assessments of tropospheric ozone radiative forcing rely on accurate model simulations. Parrish et al (2014) found that three chemistry-climate models (CCMs) overestimate present-day O3 mixing ratios and capture only 50% of the observed O3 increase over the last five decades at 12 baseline sites in the northern mid-latitudes, indicating large uncertainties in our understanding of the ozone trends and their implications for radiative forcing. Here we present comparisons of outputs from two chemical transport models (CTMs) - GEOS-Chem and the Global Modeling Initiative model - with O3 observations from the same sites and from the global ozonesonde network. Both CTMs are driven by reanalysis meteorological data (MERRA or MERRA2) and thus are expected to be different in atmospheric transport processes relative to those freely running CCMs. We test whether recent model developments leading to more active ozone chemistry affect the computed ozone sensitivity to perturbations in emissions. Preliminary results suggest these CTMs can reproduce present-day ozone levels but fail to capture the multi-decadal trend since 1980. Both models yield widespread overpredictions of free tropospheric ozone in the 1980s. Sensitivity studies in GEOS-Chem suggest that the model estimate of natural background ozone is too high. We discuss factors that contribute to the variability and trends of tropospheric ozone over the last 30 years, with a focus on intermodel differences in spatial resolution and in the representation of stratospheric chemistry, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, halogen chemistry, and biogenic VOC emissions and chemistry. We also discuss uncertainty in the historical emission inventories used in models, and how these affect the simulated ozone trends.

Influence of corona discharge on the ozone budget in the tropical free troposphere: a case study of deep convection during GABRIEL

Science.gov (United States)

Bozem, H.; Fischer, H.; Gurk, C.; Schiller, C. L.; Parchatka, U.; Koenigstedt, R.; Stickler, A.; Martinez, M.; Harder, H.; Kubistin, D.; Williams, J.; Eerdekens, G.; Lelieveld, J.

2014-09-01

Convective redistribution of ozone and its precursors between the boundary layer (BL) and the free troposphere (FT) influences photochemistry, in particular in the middle and upper troposphere (UT). We present a case study of convective transport during the GABRIEL campaign over the tropical rain forest in Suriname in October 2005. During one measurement flight the inflow and outflow regions of a cumulonimbus cloud (Cb) have been characterized. We identified a distinct layer between 9 and 11 km altitude with enhanced mixing ratios of CO, O3, HOx, acetone and acetonitrile. The elevated O3 contradicts the expectation that convective transport brings low-ozone air from the boundary layer to the outflow region. Entrainment of ozone-rich air is estimated to account for 62% (range: 33-91%) of the observed O3. Ozone is enhanced by only 5-6% by photochemical production in the outflow due to enhanced NO from lightning, based on model calculations using observations including the first reported HOx measurements over the tropical rainforest. The "excess" ozone in the outflow is most probably due to direct production by corona discharge associated with lightning. We deduce a production rate of 5.12 × 1028 molecules O3 flash-1 (range: 9.89 × 1026-9.82 × 1028 molecules O3 flash-1), which is at the upper limit of the range reported previously.

Tropospheric Ozone Climatology over Irene, South Africa, From 1990-1994 and 1998-2002

Science.gov (United States)

Diab, R. D.; Thompson, A. M.; Marl, K.; Ramsay, L.; Coetzee, G. J. R.

2004-01-01

This paper describes ozone profiles from sonde data during the period of NASA s TRACE-A and the more recent SHADOZ (Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes) period. The data were taken by the South African Weather Service at the Irene (25 deg.54 min S; 28 deg. 13 min. E) station near Pretoria, South Africa, an area that is a unique mixture of local industry, heavy biofuels use and importation of biomass burning ozone from neighboring countries to the north. The main findings are: (1) With its geographical position at the edge of the subtropical transition zone, mid- latitude dynamical influences are evident at Irene, predominantly in winter when upper tropospheric ozone is enhanced as a result of stratospheric-tropospheric exchange. (2) There has been an increase in the near-surface ozone amount between the early 1990s and a decade later, presumably due to an influx of rural population toward the Johannesburg-Pretoria area, as well as with industrial growth and development. (3) Most significant for developing approaches for satellite ozone profile climatologies, cluster analysis has enabled the delineation of a background and "most polluted" profile. Enhancements of at least 30% occur throughout the troposphere in spring and in certain layers increases of 100 % are observed.

An upper tropospheric ‘ozone river’ from Africa to India during the 2008 Asian post-monsoon season

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flore Tocquer

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We have used ozone data from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer to follow an event of ozone-enriched air-masses in the upper troposphere from eastern Africa to northern India. The ozone transport (hereafter called ‘ozone river’ or O3R occurred during the Asian post-monsoon season in 2008 and was associated with Rossby wave propagation. The persistence of the O3R in a narrow channel was confirmed by MOZAIC airborne data over the northwestern Indian coast. The regions of origin of the O3R were identified by a transport analysis based on the Lagrangian model FLEXPART. The Lagrangian simulations combined with potential vorticity fields indicate that stratospheric intrusions are not likely to be the most important contributor to the observed O3 enhancements. A high-resolution Eulerian model, Meso-NH, with tagged tracers was used to discriminate between African biomass burning, lightnings and Indian anthropogenic pollution as potential sources of precursors for the O3R. Lightning NOx emissions, associated with convective clouds over Africa, were found to be the principal contributor to the ozone enhancement over the Indian Ocean taking advantage of a northeastward jet. This case study illustrates African lightning emissions as an important source for enhanced O3 in the upper troposphere over the Indian Ocean region during the post-monsoon season.

Balance of the tropospheric ozone and its relation to stratospheric intrusions indicated by cosmogenic radionuclides. Technical progress report, November 1, 1980-June 30, 1981

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiter, R.; Kanter, H.J.; Sladkovic, R.; Jaeger, H.; Munzert, K.H.

1981-06-01

The balance of the tropospheric ozone is studied with regard to sources and sinks. The influx of stratospheric ozone through stratospheric intrusions and photochemical production under pure air conditions is discussed. The 4-year measuring series (1977-1980) of the ozone concentration measured at 3 different levels are evaluated, the influence of meteorological parameters is examined. The time variation of the ozone layer between 1000 and 3000 m ASL is investigated as a function of different ozone sources. First results show that stratospheric ozone arriving at the troposphere penetrates only in a few rare cases to the ground layer below 1500 m ASL. Most of the time, the variation of ozone concentration in this layer is determined by photochemical processes which are, in turn, controlled by meteorological parameters. The upper boundary of the photochemically active layer is found at about 500 m above ground. Variability of the concentration of stratospheric aerosol and its optical properties after the volcanic eruptions in the year 1980 are discussed on the basis on lidar backscattering measurements

Tropospheric Column Ozone Response to ENSO in GEOS-5 Assimilation of OMI and MLS Ozone Data

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Mark A.; Wargan, Krzysztof; Pawson, Steven

2016-01-01

We use GEOS-5 analyses of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) ozone observations to investigate the magnitude and spatial distribution of the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence on tropospheric column ozone (TCO) into the middle latitudes. This study provides the first explicit spatially resolved characterization of the ENSO influence and demonstrates coherent patterns and teleconnections impacting the TCO in the extratropics. The response is evaluated and characterized by both the variance explained and sensitivity of TCO to the Nino 3.4 index. The tropospheric response in the tropics agrees well with previous studies and verifies the analyses. A two-lobed response symmetric about the Equator in the western Pacific/Indonesian region seen in some prior studies and not in others is confirmed here. This two-lobed response is consistent with the large-scale vertical transport. We also find that the large-scale transport in the tropics dominates the response compared to the small-scale convective transport. The ozone response is weaker in the middle latitudes, but a significant explained variance of the TCO is found over several small regions, including the central United States. However, the sensitivity of TCO to the Nino 3.4 index is statistically significant over a large area of the middle latitudes. The sensitivity maxima and minima coincide with anomalous anti-cyclonic and cyclonic circulations where the associated vertical transport is consistent with the sign of the sensitivity. Also, ENSO related changes to the mean tropopause height can contribute significantly to the midlatitude response. Comparisons to a 22-year chemical transport model simulation demonstrate that these results from the 9- year assimilation are representative of the longer term. This investigation brings insight to several seemingly disparate prior studies of the El Nino influence on tropospheric ozone in the middle latitudes.

Tropospheric column ozone response to ENSO in GEOS-5 assimilation of OMI and MLS ozone data

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M. A. Olsen

2016-06-01

Full Text Available We use GEOS-5 analyses of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS ozone observations to investigate the magnitude and spatial distribution of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO influence on tropospheric column ozone (TCO into the middle latitudes. This study provides the first explicit spatially resolved characterization of the ENSO influence and demonstrates coherent patterns and teleconnections impacting the TCO in the extratropics. The response is evaluated and characterized by both the variance explained and sensitivity of TCO to the Niño 3.4 index. The tropospheric response in the tropics agrees well with previous studies and verifies the analyses. A two-lobed response symmetric about the Equator in the western Pacific/Indonesian region seen in some prior studies and not in others is confirmed here. This two-lobed response is consistent with the large-scale vertical transport. We also find that the large-scale transport in the tropics dominates the response compared to the small-scale convective transport. The ozone response is weaker in the middle latitudes, but a significant explained variance of the TCO is found over several small regions, including the central United States. However, the sensitivity of TCO to the Niño 3.4 index is statistically significant over a large area of the middle latitudes. The sensitivity maxima and minima coincide with anomalous anti-cyclonic and cyclonic circulations where the associated vertical transport is consistent with the sign of the sensitivity. Also, ENSO related changes to the mean tropopause height can contribute significantly to the midlatitude response. Comparisons to a 22-year chemical transport model simulation demonstrate that these results from the 9-year assimilation are representative of the longer term. This investigation brings insight to several seemingly disparate prior studies of the El Niño influence on tropospheric ozone in the middle latitudes.

Impact of chemical lateral boundary conditions in a regional air quality forecast model on surface ozone predictions during stratospheric intrusions

Science.gov (United States)

Pendlebury, Diane; Gravel, Sylvie; Moran, Michael D.; Lupu, Alexandru

2018-02-01

A regional air quality forecast model, GEM-MACH, is used to examine the conditions under which a limited-area air quality model can accurately forecast near-surface ozone concentrations during stratospheric intrusions. Periods in 2010 and 2014 with known stratospheric intrusions over North America were modelled using four different ozone lateral boundary conditions obtained from a seasonal climatology, a dynamically-interpolated monthly climatology, global air quality forecasts, and global air quality reanalyses. It is shown that the mean bias and correlation in surface ozone over the course of a season can be improved by using time-varying ozone lateral boundary conditions, particularly through the correct assignment of stratospheric vs. tropospheric ozone along the western lateral boundary (for North America). Part of the improvement in surface ozone forecasts results from improvements in the characterization of near-surface ozone along the lateral boundaries that then directly impact surface locations near the boundaries. However, there is an additional benefit from the correct characterization of the location of the tropopause along the western lateral boundary such that the model can correctly simulate stratospheric intrusions and their associated exchange of ozone from stratosphere to troposphere. Over a three-month period in spring 2010, the mean bias was seen to improve by as much as 5 ppbv and the correlation by 0.1 depending on location, and on the form of the chemical lateral boundary condition.

Influence of isentropic transport on seasonal ozone variations in the lower stratosphere and subtropical upper troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Jing, P.; Cunnold, D. M.; Yang, E.-S.; Wang, H.-J.

2005-01-01

The isentropic cross-tropopause ozone transport has been estimated in both hemispheres in 1999 based on the potential vorticity mapping of Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment 11 ozone measurements and contour advection calculations using the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Global and Modeling Assimilation Office analysis. The estimated net isentropic stratosphere-to-troposphere ozone flux is approx.118 +/- 61 x 10(exp9)kg/yr globally within the layer between 330 and 370 K in 1999; 60% of it is found in the Northern Hemisphere, and 40% is found in the Southern Hemisphere. The monthly average ozone fluxes are strongest in summer and weakest in winter in both hemispheres. The seasonal variations of ozone in the lower stratosphere (LS) and upper troposphere (UT) have been analyzed using ozonesonde observations from ozonesonde stations in the extratropics and subtropics, respectively. It is shown that observed ozone levels increase in the UT over subtropical ozonesonde stations and decrease in the LS over extratropical stations in late spring/early summer and that the ozone increases in the summertime subtropical UT are unlikely to be explained by photochemical ozone production and diabatic transport alone. We conclude that isentropic transport is a significant contributor to ozone levels in the subtropical upper troposphere, especially in summer.

Importance of A Priori Vertical Ozone Profiles for TEMPO Air Quality Retrievals

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, M. S.; Sullivan, J. T.; Liu, X.; Zoogman, P.; Newchurch, M.; Kuang, S.; McGee, T. J.; Leblanc, T.

2017-12-01

Ozone (O3) is a toxic pollutant which plays a major role in air quality. Typically, monitoring of surface air quality and O3 mixing ratios is conducted using in situ measurement networks. This is partially due to high-quality information related to air quality being limited from space-borne platforms due to coarse spatial resolution, limited temporal frequency, and minimal sensitivity to lower tropospheric and surface-level O3. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite is designed to address the limitations of current space-based platforms and to improve our ability to monitor North American air quality. TEMPO will provide hourly data of total column and vertical profiles of O3 with high spatial resolution to be used as a near-real-time air quality product. TEMPO O3 retrievals will apply the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory profile algorithm developed based on work from GOME, GOME-2, and OMI. This algorithm is suggested to use a priori O3 profile information from a climatological data-base developed from long-term ozone-sonde measurements (tropopause-based (TB-Clim) O3 climatology). This study evaluates the TB-Clim dataset and model simulated O3 profiles, which could potentially serve as a priori O3 profile information in TEMPO retrievals, from near-real-time data assimilation model products (NASA GMAO's operational GEOS-5 FP model and reanalysis data from MERRA2) and a full chemical transport model (CTM), GEOS-Chem. In this study, vertical profile products are evaluated with surface (0-2 km) and tropospheric (0-10 km) TOLNet observations and the theoretical impact of individual a priori profile sources on the accuracy of TEMPO O3 retrievals in the troposphere and at the surface are presented. Results indicate that while the TB-Clim climatological dataset can replicate seasonally-averaged tropospheric O3 profiles, model-simulated profiles from a full CTM resulted in more accurate tropospheric and surface-level O3 retrievals from

Ozone air pollution effects on tree-ring growth,{delta}{sup 13}C, visible foliar injury and leaf gas exchange in three ozone-sensitive woody plant species

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Novak, K. [Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf (Switzerland); Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, Zurich (Switzerland); Saurer, M. [Paul Scherrer Inst. Villigen (Switzerland); Fuhrer, J. [Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, Zurich (Switzerland); Skelly, J.M. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States). Dept. of Plant Pathology; Krauchi, N.; Schaub, M. [Swiss Federal Inst. for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf (Switzerland)

2007-07-15

Species specific plant responses to tropospheric ozone pollution depend on a range of morphological, biochemical and physiological characteristics as well as environmental factors. The effects of ambient tropospheric ozone on annual tree-ring growth, {delta}{sup 13} C in the rings, leaf gas exchange and ozone-induced visible foliar injury in three ozone-sensitive woody plant species in southern Switzerland were assessed during the 2001 and 2002 growing seasons. Seedlings of Populus nigra L., Viburnum lantana L. and Fraxinus excelsior L. were exposed to charcoal-filtered air and non-filtered air in open-top chambers, and to ambient air (AA) in open plots. The objective was to determine if a relationship exists between measurable ozone-induced effects at the leaf level and subsequent changes in annual tree-ring growth and {delta} {sup 13} C signatures. The visible foliar injury, early leaf senescence and premature leaf loss in all species was attributed to the ambient ozone exposures in the region. Ozone had pronounced negative effects on net photosynthesis and stomatal conductance in all species in 2002 and in V. lantana and F. excelsior in 2001. Water-use efficiency decreased and intercellular carbon dioxide concentrations increased in all species in response to ozone in 2002 only. The width and {delta}{sup 13} C of the 2001 and 2002 growth rings were measured for all species at the end of the 2002 growing season. Significant ozone-induced effects at the leaf level did not correspond to reduced tree-ring growth or increased {delta}{sup 13} C in all species, suggesting that the timing of ozone exposure and extent of leaf-level responses may be relevant in determining the sensitivity of tree productivity to ozone exposure. 48 refs., 4 tabs., 2 figs.

Tropospheric Bromine Chemistry: Implications for Present and Pre-industrial Ozone and Mercury

Science.gov (United States)

Parella, J. P.; Jacob, D. J.; Liang, Q.; Zhang, Y.; Mickley, L. J.; Miller, B.; Evans, M. J.; Yang, X.; Pyle, J. A.; Theys, N.;

Assimilation of IASI partial tropospheric columns with an Ensemble Kalman Filter over Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Coman

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Partial lower tropospheric ozone columns provided by the IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer instrument have been assimilated into a chemistry-transport model at continental scale (CHIMERE using an Ensemble Square Root Kalman Filter (EnSRF. Analyses are made for the month of July 2007 over the European domain. Launched in 2006, aboard the MetOp-A satellite, IASI shows high sensitivity for ozone in the free troposphere and low sensitivity at the ground; therefore it is important to evaluate if assimilation of these observations can improve free tropospheric ozone, and possibly surface ozone. The analyses are validated against independent ozone observations from sondes, MOZAIC¹ aircraft and ground based stations (AIRBASE – the European Air quality dataBase and compared with respect to the free run of CHIMERE. These comparisons show a decrease in error of 6 parts-per-billion (ppb in the free troposphere over the Frankfurt area, and also a reduction of the root mean square error (respectively bias at the surface of 19% (33% for more than 90% of existing ground stations. This provides evidence of the potential of data assimilation of tropospheric IASI columns to better describe the tropospheric ozone distribution, including surface ozone, despite the lower sensitivity.

The changes in concentration resulting from the observational constraints were quantified and several geophysical explanations for the findings of this study were drawn. The corrections were most pronounced over Italy and the Mediterranean region, we noted an average reduction of 8–9 ppb in the free troposphere with respect to the free run, and still a reduction of 5.5 ppb at ground, likely due to a longer residence time of air masses in this part associated to the general circulation pattern (i.e. dominant western circulation and to persistent anticyclonic conditions over the Mediterranean basin. This is an important geophysical result, since the

Influence of corona discharge on the ozone budget in the tropical free troposphere: a case study of deep convection during GABRIEL

Science.gov (United States)

Bozem, H.; Fischer, H.; Gurk, C.; Schiller, C. L.; Parchatka, U.; Koenigstedt, R.; Stickler, A.; Martinez, M.; Harder, H.; Kubistin, D.; Williams, J.; Eerdekens, G.; Lelieveld, J.

2014-02-01

Convective redistribution of ozone and its precursors between the boundary layer (BL) and the free troposphere (FT) influences photochemistry, in particular that of the middle and upper troposphere (UT). We present a case study of convective transport during the GABRIEL campaign over the tropical rain forest in Suriname in October 2005. During a measurement flight on 12 October the inflow and outflow regions of a cumulonimbus cloud (Cb) have been characterized, providing evidence of convective transport. We identified a distinct layer between 9 and 11 km altitude with enhanced mixing ratios of CO, O3, HOx, acetone and acetonitrile. The elevated O3 contradicts the expectation that convective transport brings low ozone air from the boundary layer to the outflow region. The enhanced mixing ratio of ozone in the outflow was mainly of dynamical origin. Entrainment of ozone rich air at the outflow level into the convective outflow accounts for 62% (range: 33-91%) of the observed O3. Ozone is enhanced by only 5-6% by photochemical production in the outflow due to enhanced NO from lightning, based on steady state model calculations, using in-situ observations including the first reported HOx measurements over the tropical rainforest. The "excess" ozone in the outflow is most probably due to direct production by corona discharge associated with lightning. We deduce a production rate of 5.12 × 1028 molecules O3 flash-1 (range: 9.89 × 1026-9.82 × 1028 molecules O3 flash-1), which is at the upper limit of the range of the values reported previously.

RIVM Tropospheric ozone LIDAR Measurements during TROLIX'91

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Apituley A

1991-01-01

For the intercomparison of several LIDAR systems for the vertical profiling of tropospheric ozone developed in the EUREKA/EUROTRAC subproject TESLAS a field campaign was held at the RIVM site in Bilthoven, the Netherlands, during the period from June 10 to June 28, 1991. In this report an overview

Air mass origins and troposphere-to-stratosphere exchange associated with mid-latitude cyclogenesis and tropopause folding inferred from Be-7 measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Kritz, Mark A.; Rosner, Stefan W.; Danielsen, Edwin F.; Selkirk, Henry B.

1991-01-01

The 1984 extratropical mission of NASA's Stratosphere-Troposphere Exchange Project (STEP) studied cross-jet transport in regions of cyclogenesis and tropopause folding. Correlations of Be-7, ozone, water vapor, and potential vorticity measured on a NASA U-2 research aircraft flying in high shear regions above the jet core are indicative of mixing between the cyclonic and the anticyclonic sides of the jet and are consistent with the hypothesis that small-scale entrainments of upper tropospheric air into the lower stratosphere during cyclogenesis are important in maintaining the vertical gradients of Be-7, ozone, water vapor and other trace constituents in the lower few kilometers of the midlatitude stratosphere. Correlations between Be-7, and ozone suggest a lower tropical stratospheric origin for the ozone-poor lamina observed above the jet core.

Air pollution: Tropospheric ozone, and wet deposition of sulfate and inorganic nitrogen

Science.gov (United States)

John W. Coulston

2009-01-01

The influence of air pollutants on ecosystems in the United States is an important environmental issue. The term “air pollution” encompasses a wide range of topics, but acid deposition and ozone are primary concerns in the context of forest health. Acid deposition partially results from emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and ammonia that are deposited in wet...

Differential Absorption Lidar to Measure Subhourly Variation of Tropospheric Ozone Profiles

Science.gov (United States)

Kuang, Shi; Burris, John F.; Newchurch, Michael J.; Johnson, Steve; Long, Stephania

2011-01-01

A tropospheric ozone Differential Absorption Lidar system, developed jointly by The University of Alabama in Huntsville and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, is making regular observations of ozone vertical distributions between 1 and 8 km with two receivers under both daytime and nighttime conditions using lasers at 285 and 291 nm. This paper describes the lidar system and analysis technique with some measurement examples. An iterative aerosol correction procedure reduces the retrieval error arising from differential aerosol backscatter in the lower troposphere. Lidar observations with coincident ozonesonde flights demonstrate that the retrieval accuracy ranges from better than 10% below 4 km to better than 20% below 8 km with 750-m vertical resolution and 10-min 17 temporal integration.

Spatial Heterogeneity in Tropospheric Column Ozone over the Indian Subcontinent: Long-Term Climatology and Possible Association with Natural and Anthropogenic Activities

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Gayatry Kalita

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Monthly averaged tropospheric ozone residual (TOR data from TOMS and OMI during the period 1979–2009 are used to study the spatial distribution of tropospheric column ozone within the landmass of the Indian subcontinent, the Tibetan plateau in the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south. The climatological mean shows seasonal maxima in spring and minima in winter in all the regions. The oceanic regions exhibit broad summer maximum and the maximum to minimum ratio is the lowest for these regions. The concentration of tropospheric column ozone is found to be highest in North Eastern India (NE and the Indo Gangetic plains (IGP. NE ozone concentration exceeds that of IGP during spring whereas in post monsoon and winter reverse is the case. In the monsoon season, O3 levels in the two regions are equal. The spring time highest level of tropospheric column ozone over NE region is found to be associated with highest incidence of lightning and biomass burning activity. The Stratosphere-Troposphere exchange is also found to contribute to the enhanced level of ozone in spring in NE India. A net decrease in tropospheric ozone concentration over NE during the period 1979 to 2009 has been observed.

Effects of 1997-1998 El Nino on Tropospheric Ozone and Water Vapor

Science.gov (United States)

Chandra, S.; Ziemke, J. R.; Min, W.; Read, W. G.

1998-01-01

This paper analyzes the impact of the 1997-1998 El Nino on tropospheric column ozone and tropospheric water vapor derived respectively from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on Earth Probe and the Microwave Limb Scanning instrument on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The 1997-1998 El Nino, characterized by an anomalous increase in sea-surface temperature (SST) across the eastern and central tropical Pacific Ocean, is one of the strongest El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events of the century, comparable in magnitude to the 1982-1983 episode. The major impact of the SST change has been the shift in the convection pattern from the western to the eastern Pacific affecting the response of rain-producing cumulonimbus. As a result, there has been a significant increase in rainfall over the eastern Pacific and a decrease over the western Pacific and Indonesia. The dryness in the Indonesian region has contributed to large-scale burning by uncontrolled wildfires in the tropical rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo. Our study shows that tropospheric column ozone decreased by 4-8 Dobson units (DU) in the eastern Pacific and increased by about 10-20 DU in the western Pacific largely as a result of the eastward shift of the tropical convective activity as inferred from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data. The effect of this shift is also evident in the upper tropospheric water vapor mixing ratio which varies inversely as ozone (O3). These conclusions are qualitatively consistent with the changes in atmospheric circulation derived from zonal and vertical wind data obtained from the Goddard Earth Observing System data assimilation analyses. The changes in tropospheric column O3 during the course of the 1997-1998 El Nino appear to be caused by a combination of large-scale circulation processes associated with the shift in the tropical convection pattern and surface/boundary layer processes associated with

Global budget of tropospheric ozone: Evaluating recent model advances with satellite (OMI), aircraft (IAGOS), and ozonesonde observations

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Lu; Jacob, Daniel J.; Liu, Xiong; Zhang, Yi; Zhang, Lin; Kim, Patrick S.; Sulprizio, Melissa P.; Yantosca, Robert M.

2017-10-01

The global budget of tropospheric ozone is governed by a complicated ensemble of coupled chemical and dynamical processes. Simulation of tropospheric ozone has been a major focus of the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model (CTM) over the past 20 years, and many developments over the years have affected the model representation of the ozone budget. Here we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the standard version of GEOS-Chem (v10-01) with ozone observations from ozonesondes, the OMI satellite instrument, and MOZAIC-IAGOS commercial aircraft for 2012-2013. Global validation of the OMI 700-400 hPa data with ozonesondes shows that OMI maintained persistent high quality and no significant drift over the 2006-2013 period. GEOS-Chem shows no significant seasonal or latitudinal bias relative to OMI and strong correlations in all seasons on the 2° × 2.5° horizontal scale (r = 0.88-0.95), improving on previous model versions. The most pronounced model bias revealed by ozonesondes and MOZAIC-IAGOS is at high northern latitudes in winter-spring where the model is 10-20 ppbv too low. This appears to be due to insufficient stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE). Model updates to lightning NOx, Asian anthropogenic emissions, bromine chemistry, isoprene chemistry, and meteorological fields over the past decade have overall led to gradual increase in the simulated global tropospheric ozone burden and more active ozone production and loss. From simulations with different versions of GEOS meteorological fields we find that tropospheric ozone in GEOS-Chem v10-01 has a global production rate of 4960-5530 Tg a-1, lifetime of 20.9-24.2 days, burden of 345-357 Tg, and STE of 325-492 Tg a-1. Change in the intensity of tropical deep convection between these different meteorological fields is a major factor driving differences in the ozone budget.

Evidence of a 50-year increase in tropospheric ozone in Upper Bavaria

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M. Schmidt

Full Text Available In a series of ozone-sonde soundings at the Hohenpeißenberg observatory, starting in 1967, the most striking features are increases of sim2.2% per year in all tropospheric heights up to 8 km during the past 24 years. These facts have recently been published and discussed by several authors. In this paper, we present some evidence for the increase of tropospheric ozone concentrations during the past 50 years 1940-1990 in the territory of the northern edge of the Bavarian Alps, including the Hohenpeißenberg data. In December 1940 and August 1942, probably the first exact wet-chemical vertical soundings of ozone up to 9 km height were made by an aircraft in the region mentioned. These results were published in the earlier literature. We have converted the results of the flights on 4 days in December 1940 and on 6 days in August 1942 to modern units and have compared them with the Hohenpeißenberg ozone-sonde data of the December and August months. We also compared the data at the ground with the August results of Paris-Montsouris 1886-1898. Our results show an increase of ozone concentration at all tropospheric heights in Upper Bavaria during the past 50 years, compared with the Montsouris data in August during the past 105 years. In the recently published papers, the increases since 1967 were approximated linearly.Our results, extended to the past, show non-linear trends, with steeper increases since 1975-1979. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed. Quite recently (in case of the December months since 1986/87, the August months since 1990, the ozone mixing ratios at and above Hohenpeißenberg seem to have decreased.

Evidence of a 50-year increase in tropospheric ozone in Upper Bavaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Schmidt

1994-12-01

Full Text Available In a series of ozone-sonde soundings at the Hohenpeißenberg observatory, starting in 1967, the most striking features are increases of \\sim2.2% per year in all tropospheric heights up to 8 km during the past 24 years. These facts have recently been published and discussed by several authors. In this paper, we present some evidence for the increase of tropospheric ozone concentrations during the past 50 years 1940-1990 in the territory of the northern edge of the Bavarian Alps, including the Hohenpeißenberg data. In December 1940 and August 1942, probably the first exact wet-chemical vertical soundings of ozone up to 9 km height were made by an aircraft in the region mentioned. These results were published in the earlier literature. We have converted the results of the flights on 4 days in December 1940 and on 6 days in August 1942 to modern units and have compared them with the Hohenpeißenberg ozone-sonde data of the December and August months. We also compared the data at the ground with the August results of Paris-Montsouris 1886-1898. Our results show an increase of ozone concentration at all tropospheric heights in Upper Bavaria during the past 50 years, compared with the Montsouris data in August during the past 105 years. In the recently published papers, the increases since 1967 were approximated linearly.Our results, extended to the past, show non-linear trends, with steeper increases since 1975-1979. Possible reasons for these findings are discussed. Quite recently (in case of the December months since 1986/87, the August months since 1990, the ozone mixing ratios at and above Hohenpeißenberg seem to have decreased.

Development of a climate record of tropospheric and stratospheric column ozone from satellite remote sensing: evidence of an early recovery of global stratospheric ozone

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J. R. Ziemke

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Ozone data beginning October 2004 from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS are used to evaluate the accuracy of the Cloud Slicing technique in effort to develop long data records of tropospheric and stratospheric ozone and for studying their long-term changes. Using this technique, we have produced a 32-yr (1979–2010 long record of tropospheric and stratospheric column ozone from the combined Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS and OMI. Analyses of these time series suggest that the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO is the dominant source of inter-annual variability of stratospheric ozone and is clearest in the Southern Hemisphere during the Aura time record with related inter-annual changes of 30–40 Dobson Units. Tropospheric ozone for the long record also indicates a QBO signal in the tropics with peak-to-peak changes varying from 2 to 7 DU. The most important result from our study is that global stratospheric ozone indicates signature of a recovery occurring with ozone abundance now approaching the levels of year 1980 and earlier. The negative trends in stratospheric ozone in both hemispheres during the first 15 yr of the record are now positive over the last 15 yr and with nearly equal magnitudes. This turnaround in stratospheric ozone loss is occurring about 20 yr earlier than predicted by many chemistry climate models. This suggests that the Montreal Protocol which was first signed in 1987 as an international agreement to reduce ozone destroying substances is working well and perhaps better than anticipated.

Full-Physics Inverse Learning Machine for Satellite Remote Sensing of Ozone Profile Shapes and Tropospheric Columns

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, J.; Heue, K.-P.; Coldewey-Egbers, M.; Romahn, F.; Doicu, A.; Loyola, D.

2018-04-01

Characterizing vertical distributions of ozone from nadir-viewing satellite measurements is known to be challenging, particularly the ozone information in the troposphere. A novel retrieval algorithm called Full-Physics Inverse Learning Machine (FP-ILM), has been developed at DLR in order to estimate ozone profile shapes based on machine learning techniques. In contrast to traditional inversion methods, the FP-ILM algorithm formulates the profile shape retrieval as a classification problem. Its implementation comprises a training phase to derive an inverse function from synthetic measurements, and an operational phase in which the inverse function is applied to real measurements. This paper extends the ability of the FP-ILM retrieval to derive tropospheric ozone columns from GOME- 2 measurements. Results of total and tropical tropospheric ozone columns are compared with the ones using the official GOME Data Processing (GDP) product and the convective-cloud-differential (CCD) method, respectively. Furthermore, the FP-ILM framework will be used for the near-real-time processing of the new European Sentinel sensors with their unprecedented spectral and spatial resolution and corresponding large increases in the amount of data.

Tropospheric ozone and aerosols in climate agreements: scientific and political challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rypdal, Kristin; Berntsen, Terje; Fuglestvedt, Jan S.; Aunan, Kristin; Torvanger, Asbjorn; Stordal, Frode; Pacyna, Jozef M.; Nygaard, Lynn P.

2005-01-01

In addition to the six greenhouse gases included in the Kyoto Protocol, the tropospheric ozone precursors CO, NMVOC and NO x and the aerosols/aerosol precursors black carbon, organic carbon and SO 2 also play significant roles in climate change. The aim of this paper is to review some of the main scientific and political challenges associated with incorporating tropospheric ozone and aerosol precursors into climate agreements, and to discuss how these challenges have a bearing on the design of future climate agreements. We argue that the optimal policy design for a particular substance depends on a combination of scientific and political concerns. We look particularly at regional climate effects, negative forcing, metrics (measuring climate effects against other gases on a common scale), political attractiveness, and verification and compliance. We systematically review the existing knowledge on these issues, explore their impact on policy design, and conclude that, with current scientific knowledge, CO and NMVOC could conceivably be included in a global climate agreement, either in a basket with the long-lived greenhouse gases or in a separate basket, while NO x and aerosols might be regulated more appropriately through regional agreements with links to a global agreement. However, the complexity and fairness implications of including tropospheric ozone precursors and aerosols might negatively affect the political feasibility of a future agreement

Forests and ozone: productivity, carbon storage, and feedbacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Bin; Shugart, Herman H; Shuman, Jacquelyn K; Lerdau, Manuel T

2016-02-22

Tropospheric ozone is a serious air-pollutant, with large impacts on plant function. This study demonstrates that tropospheric ozone, although it damages plant metabolism, does not necessarily reduce ecosystem processes such as productivity or carbon sequestration because of diversity change and compensatory processes at the community scale ameliorate negative impacts at the individual level. This study assesses the impact of ozone on forest composition and ecosystem dynamics with an individual-based gap model that includes basic physiology as well as species-specific metabolic properties. Elevated tropospheric ozone leads to no reduction of forest productivity and carbon stock and to increased isoprene emissions, which result from enhanced dominance by isoprene-emitting species (which tolerate ozone stress better than non-emitters). This study suggests that tropospheric ozone may not diminish forest carbon sequestration capacity. This study also suggests that, because of the often positive relationship between isoprene emission and ozone formation, there is a positive feedback loop between forest communities and ozone, which further aggravates ozone pollution.

Improved simulation of tropospheric ozone by a global-multi-regional two-way coupling model system

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Y. Yan

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Small-scale nonlinear chemical and physical processes over pollution source regions affect the tropospheric ozone (O3, but these processes are not captured by current global chemical transport models (CTMs and chemistry–climate models that are limited by coarse horizontal resolutions (100–500 km, typically 200 km. These models tend to contain large (and mostly positive tropospheric O3 biases in the Northern Hemisphere. Here we use the recently built two-way coupling system of the GEOS-Chem CTM to simulate the regional and global tropospheric O3 in 2009. The system couples the global model (at 2.5° long.  ×  2° lat. and its three nested models (at 0.667° long.  ×  0.5° lat. covering Asia, North America and Europe, respectively. Specifically, the nested models take lateral boundary conditions (LBCs from the global model, better capture small-scale processes and feed back to modify the global model simulation within the nested domains, with a subsequent effect on their LBCs. Compared to the global model alone, the two-way coupled system better simulates the tropospheric O3 both within and outside the nested domains, as found by evaluation against a suite of ground (1420 sites from the World Data Centre for Greenhouse Gases (WDCGG, the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory Global Monitoring Division (GMD, the Chemical Coordination Centre of European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency Air Quality System (AQS, aircraft (the High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO and Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus In- Service Aircraft (MOZAIC and satellite measurements (two Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI products. The two-way coupled simulation enhances the correlation in day-to-day variation of afternoon mean surface O3

Vertical profile of tropospheric ozone derived from synergetic retrieval using three different wavelength ranges, UV, IR, and microwave: sensitivity study for satellite observation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. O. Sato

2018-03-01

Full Text Available We performed a feasibility study of constraining the vertical profile of the tropospheric ozone by using a synergetic retrieval method on multiple spectra, i.e., ultraviolet (UV, thermal infrared (TIR, and microwave (MW ranges, measured from space. This work provides, for the first time, a quantitative evaluation of the retrieval sensitivity of the tropospheric ozone by adding the MW measurement to the UV and TIR measurements. Two observation points in East Asia (one in an urban area and one in an ocean area and two observation times (one during summer and one during winter were assumed. Geometry of line of sight was nadir down-looking for the UV and TIR measurements, and limb sounding for the MW measurement. The retrieval sensitivities of the ozone profiles in the upper troposphere (UT, middle troposphere (MT, and lowermost troposphere (LMT were estimated using the degree of freedom for signal (DFS, the pressure of maximum sensitivity, reduction rate of error from the a priori error, and the averaging kernel matrix, derived based on the optimal estimation method. The measurement noise levels were assumed to be the same as those for currently available instruments. The weighting functions for the UV, TIR, and MW ranges were calculated using the SCIATRAN radiative transfer model, the Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM, and the Advanced Model for Atmospheric Terahertz Radiation Analysis and Simulation (AMATERASU, respectively. The DFS value was increased by approximately 96, 23, and 30 % by adding the MW measurements to the combination of UV and TIR measurements in the UT, MT, and LMT regions, respectively. The MW measurement increased the DFS value of the LMT ozone; nevertheless, the MW measurement alone has no sensitivity to the LMT ozone. The pressure of maximum sensitivity value for the LMT ozone was also increased by adding the MW measurement. These findings indicate that better information on LMT ozone can be obtained by adding

Vertical profile of tropospheric ozone derived from synergetic retrieval using three different wavelength ranges, UV, IR, and microwave: sensitivity study for satellite observation

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Tomohiro O.; Sato, Takao M.; Sagawa, Hideo; Noguchi, Katsuyuki; Saitoh, Naoko; Irie, Hitoshi; Kita, Kazuyuki; Mahani, Mona E.; Zettsu, Koji; Imasu, Ryoichi; Hayashida, Sachiko; Kasai, Yasuko

2018-03-01

We performed a feasibility study of constraining the vertical profile of the tropospheric ozone by using a synergetic retrieval method on multiple spectra, i.e., ultraviolet (UV), thermal infrared (TIR), and microwave (MW) ranges, measured from space. This work provides, for the first time, a quantitative evaluation of the retrieval sensitivity of the tropospheric ozone by adding the MW measurement to the UV and TIR measurements. Two observation points in East Asia (one in an urban area and one in an ocean area) and two observation times (one during summer and one during winter) were assumed. Geometry of line of sight was nadir down-looking for the UV and TIR measurements, and limb sounding for the MW measurement. The retrieval sensitivities of the ozone profiles in the upper troposphere (UT), middle troposphere (MT), and lowermost troposphere (LMT) were estimated using the degree of freedom for signal (DFS), the pressure of maximum sensitivity, reduction rate of error from the a priori error, and the averaging kernel matrix, derived based on the optimal estimation method. The measurement noise levels were assumed to be the same as those for currently available instruments. The weighting functions for the UV, TIR, and MW ranges were calculated using the SCIATRAN radiative transfer model, the Line-By-Line Radiative Transfer Model (LBLRTM), and the Advanced Model for Atmospheric Terahertz Radiation Analysis and Simulation (AMATERASU), respectively. The DFS value was increased by approximately 96, 23, and 30 % by adding the MW measurements to the combination of UV and TIR measurements in the UT, MT, and LMT regions, respectively. The MW measurement increased the DFS value of the LMT ozone; nevertheless, the MW measurement alone has no sensitivity to the LMT ozone. The pressure of maximum sensitivity value for the LMT ozone was also increased by adding the MW measurement. These findings indicate that better information on LMT ozone can be obtained by adding constraints

Stratospheric ozone changes under solar geoengineering: implications for UV exposure and air quality

Science.gov (United States)

Nowack, Peer Johannes; Abraham, Nathan Luke; Braesicke, Peter; Pyle, John Adrian

2016-03-01

Various forms of geoengineering have been proposed to counter anthropogenic climate change. Methods which aim to modify the Earth's energy balance by reducing insolation are often subsumed under the term solar radiation management (SRM). Here, we present results of a standard SRM modelling experiment in which the incoming solar irradiance is reduced to offset the global mean warming induced by a quadrupling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. For the first time in an atmosphere-ocean coupled climate model, we include atmospheric composition feedbacks for this experiment. While the SRM scheme considered here could offset greenhouse gas induced global mean surface warming, it leads to important changes in atmospheric composition. We find large stratospheric ozone increases that induce significant reductions in surface UV-B irradiance, which would have implications for vitamin D production. In addition, the higher stratospheric ozone levels lead to decreased ozone photolysis in the troposphere. In combination with lower atmospheric specific humidity under SRM, this results in overall surface ozone concentration increases in the idealized G1 experiment. Both UV-B and surface ozone changes are important for human health. We therefore highlight that both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone changes must be considered in the assessment of any SRM scheme, due to their important roles in regulating UV exposure and air quality.

Exploring the Production of NOx by Lightning and Its Impact on Tropospheric Ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Gillani, Noor; Koshak, William; Biazar, Arastoo; Doty, Kevin; Mahon, Robert; Newchurch, Michael; Byun, Daewon; Emmons, Louisa

2006-01-01

Our quantitative understanding of free tropospheric (FT) chemistry is quite poor. State-of-the-art regional air quality models (e.g., US EPA's CMAQ) perform very poorly in simulating FT chemistry, with Uniform ozone around 70 ppb throughout the FT in summer, while ozonesonde data show much higher levels of ozone and much spatial-temporal structure. Such models completely neglect lightning-NOx (LNOx) emissions (the most significant source of NOx in the FT), and also contain large uncertainties in the specifications of intercontinental transport, stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) and PBLFT exchange (PFTE). Global air chemistry models include LNOx, but in very crude fashion, with the frequency and distribution of lightning being based on modeled cloud parameters (hence large uncertainty), lightning energetics being assumed to be constant for all flashes (literature value, while in reality there is at least a two-orders of magnitude variability from flash-to-flash), and the production of NOx in the surrounding heated air, per Joule of heating, being assumed to be constant also (literature value, while in fact it is a non-linear function of the dissipated heat and local air density, p). This situation is commonly blamed on paucity of pertinent observational data, but for the USA, there is now a wealth of surface- and satellite-based data of lightning available to permit much improved observation-based estimation of LNOx emissions. In the FT, such NOx has a long residence time, and also the ozone production efficiency from NOx there is considerably higher than in the PBL. It is, therefore, of critical importance in FT chemistry. This paper will describe the approach and data products of an ongoing NSSTC project aimed at a much-improved quantification of not only LNOx production on the scale of continental USA based on local and regional lightning observations, but also of intercontinental transport, STE and PFTE, all in upgraded simulations of tropospheric

TOLNet ozone lidar intercomparison during the discover-aq and frappé campaigns

Science.gov (United States)

Newchurch, Michael J.; Alvarez, Raul J.; Berkoff, Timothy A.; Carrion, William; DeYoung, Russell J.; Ganoe, Rene; Gronoff, Guillaume; Kirgis, Guillaume; Kuang, Shi; Langford, Andy O.; Leblanc, Thierry; McGee, Thomas J.; Pliutau, Denis; Senff, Christoph; Sullivan, John T.; Sumnicht, Grant; Twigg, Laurence W.; Wang, Lihua

2018-04-01

The Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) is a unique network of lidar systems that measure atmospheric profiles of ozone and aerosols, to contribute to air-quality studies, atmospheric modeling, and satellite validation efforts. The accurate characterization of these lidars is of critical interest, and is necessary to determine cross-instrument calibration uniformity. From July to August 2014, three lidars, the TROPospheric OZone (TROPOZ) lidar, the Tunable Optical Profiler for Aerosol and oZone (TOPAZ) lidar, and the Langley Mobile Ozone Lidar (LMOL), of TOLNet participated in the "Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality" (DISCOVER-AQ) mission and the "Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment" (FRAPPÉ) to measure sub-hourly ozone variations from near the surface to the top of the troposphere. Although large differences occur at few individual altitudes in the near field and far field range, the TOLNet lidars agree with each other within ±4%. These results indicate excellent measurement accuracy for the TOLNet lidars that is suitable for use in air-quality and ozone modeling efforts.

Two case studies on the interaction of large-scale transport, mesoscale photochemistry, and boundary-layer processes on the lower tropospheric ozone dynamics in early spring

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S. Brönnimann

2001-04-01

Full Text Available The vertical distribution of ozone in the lower troposphere over the Swiss Plateau is investigated in detail for two episodes in early spring (February 1998 and March 1999. Profile measurements of boundary-layer ozone performed during two field campaigns with a tethered balloon sounding system and a kite are investigated using regular aerological and ozone soundings from a nearby site, measurements from monitoring stations at various altitudes, backward trajectories, and synoptic analyses of meteorological fields. Additionally, the effect of in situ photochemistry was estimated for one of the episodes employing the Metphomod Eulerian photochemical model. Although the meteorological situations were completely different, both cases had elevated layers with high ozone concentrations, which is not untypical for late winter and early spring. In the February episode, the highest ozone concentrations of 55 to 60 ppb, which were found at around 1100 m asl, were partly advected from Southern France, but a considerable contribution of in situ photochemistry is also predicted by the model. Below that elevation, the local chemical sinks and surface deposition probably overcompensated chemical production, and the vertical ozone distribution was governed by boundary-layer dynamics. In the March episode, the results suggest that ozone-rich air parcels, probably of stratospheric or upper tropospheric origin, were advected aloft the boundary layer on the Swiss Plateau.Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (pollution – urban and regional; troposphere – composition and  chemistry – Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (mesoscale meteorology

Relationship between surface, free tropospheric and total column ozone in 2 contrasting areas in South-Africa

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Combrink, J

1995-04-01

Full Text Available Measurements of surface ozone in two contrasting areas of South Africa are compared with free tropospheric and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) total column ozone data. Cape Point is representative of a background monitoring station which...

Vertical structure of Antarctic tropospheric ozone depletion events: characteristics and broader implications

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A. E. Jones

2010-08-01

Full Text Available The majority of tropospheric ozone depletion event (ODE studies have focussed on time-series measurements, with comparatively few studies of the vertical component. Those that exist have almost exclusively used free-flying balloon-borne ozonesondes and almost all have been conducted in the Arctic. Here we use measurements from two separate Antarctic field experiments to examine the vertical profile of ozone during Antarctic ODEs. We use tethersonde data to probe details in the lowest few hundred meters and find considerable structure in the profiles associated with complex atmospheric layering. The profiles were all measured at wind speeds less than 7 ms⁻¹, and on each occasion the lowest inversion height lay between 10 m and 40 m. We also use data from a free-flying ozonesonde study to select events where ozone depletion was recorded at altitudes >1 km above ground level. Using ERA-40 meteorological charts, we find that on every occasion the high altitude depletion was preceded by an atmospheric low pressure system. An examination of limited published ozonesonde data from other Antarctic stations shows this to be a consistent feature. Given the link between BrO and ODEs, we also examine ground-based and satellite BrO measurements and find a strong association between atmospheric low pressure systems and enhanced BrO that must arise in the troposphere. The results suggest that, in Antarctica, such depressions are responsible for driving high altitude ODEs and for generating the large-scale BrO clouds observed from satellites. In the Arctic, the prevailing meteorology differs from that in Antarctica, but, while a less common effect, major low pressure systems in the Arctic can also generate BrO clouds. Such depressions thus appear to be fundamental when considering the broader influence of ODEs, certainly in Antarctica, such as halogen export and the radiative influence of ozone-depleted air masses.

Tropospheric ozone using an emission tagging technique in the CAM-Chem and WRF-Chem models

Science.gov (United States)

Lupascu, A.; Coates, J.; Zhu, S.; Butler, T. M.

2017-12-01

Tropospheric ozone is a short-lived climate forcing pollutant. High concentration of ozone can affect human health (cardiorespiratory and increased mortality due to long-term exposure), and also it damages crops. Attributing ozone concentrations to the contributions from different sources would indicate the effects of locally emitted or transported precursors on ozone levels in specific regions. This information could be used as an important component of the design of emissions reduction strategies by indicating which emission sources could be targeted for effective reductions, thus reducing the burden of ozone pollution. Using a "tagging" approach within the CAM-Chem (global) and WRF-Chem (regional) models, we can quantify the contribution of individual emission of NOx and VOC precursors on air quality. Hence, when precursor emissions of NOx are tagged, we have seen that the largest contributors on ozone levels are the anthropogenic sources, while in the case of precursor emissions of VOCs, the biogenic sources and methane account for more than 50% of ozone levels. Further, we have extended the NOx tagging method in order to investigate continental source region contributions to concentrations of ozone over various receptor regions over the globe, with a zoom over Europe. In general, summertime maximum ozone in most receptor regions is largely attributable to local emissions of anthropogenic NOx and biogenic VOC. During the rest of the year, especially during springtime, ozone in most receptor regions shows stronger influences from anthropogenic emissions of NOx and VOC in remote source regions.

Impact of biogenic terpene emissions from Brassica napus on tropospheric ozone over Saxony (Germany): numerical investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Renner, Eberhard; Münzenberg, Annette

2003-01-01

The role of biogenic emissions in tropospheric ozone production is currently under discussion and major aspects are not well understood yet. This study aims towards the estimation of the influence of biogenic emissions on tropospheric ozone concentrations over Saxony in general and of biogenic emissions from brassica napus in special. MODELLING TOOLS: The studies are performed by utilizing a coupled numerical modelling system consisting of the meteorological model METRAS and the chemistry transport model MUSCAT. For the chemical part, the Euro-RADM algorithm is used. EMISSIONS: Anthropogenic and biogenic emissions are taken into account. The anthropogenic emissions are introduced by an emission inventory. Biogenic emissions, VOC and NO, are calculated within the chemical transport model MUSCAT at each time step and in each grid cell depending on land use type and on the temperature. The emissions of hydrocarbons from forest areas as well as biogenic NO especially from agricultural grounds are considered. Also terpene emissions from brassica napus fields are estimated. SIMULATION SETUP AND METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS: The simulations were performed over an area with an extension of 160 x 140 km2 which covers the main parts of Saxony and neighboring areas of Brandenburg, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringia. Summer smog with high ozone concentrations can be expected during high pressure conditions on hot summer days. Typical meteorological conditions for such cases were introduced in an conceptual way. It is estimated that biogenic emissions change tropospheric ozone concentrations in a noticeable way (up to 15% to 20%) and, therefore, should not be neglected in studies about tropospheric ozone. Emissions from brassica napus do have a moderate potential to enhance tropospheric ozone concentrations, but emissions are still under consideration and, therefore, results vary to a high degree. Summing up, the effect of brassica napus terpene emissions on ozone concentrations is

Impacts of the East Asian monsoon on lower tropospheric ozone over coastal South China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Derong; Ding, Aijun; Mao, Huiting; Fu, Congbin; Ding, Ke; Zhang, Yang; Liu, Jane; Wang, Tao; Chan, L Y; Lu, An; Hao, Nan

2013-01-01

The impact of the East Asian monsoon (EAM) on climatology and interannual variability of tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) over the coastal South China was investigated by analyzing 11 years of ozonesonde data over Hong Kong with the aid of Lagrangian dispersion modeling of carbon monoxide and calculation of an EAM index. It was found that the seasonal cycle of O 3 in the lower troposphere is highly related to the EAM over the study region. Ozone enhancements in the free troposphere are associated with the monsoon-induced transport of pollutants of continental anthropogenic and biomass burning origins. Lower tropospheric O 3 levels showed high interannual variability, with an annual averaged amplitude up to 61% of averaged concentrations in the boundary layer (0–1 km altitudes) and 49% below 3 km altitude. In spring and autumn, the interannual variability in boundary layer O 3 levels was predominately influenced by the EAM intensity, with high O 3 mixing ratios associated with northeasterly circulation anomalies. (letter)

FULL-PHYSICS INVERSE LEARNING MACHINE FOR SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING OF OZONE PROFILE SHAPES AND TROPOSPHERIC COLUMNS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Xu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Characterizing vertical distributions of ozone from nadir-viewing satellite measurements is known to be challenging, particularly the ozone information in the troposphere. A novel retrieval algorithm called Full-Physics Inverse Learning Machine (FP-ILM, has been developed at DLR in order to estimate ozone profile shapes based on machine learning techniques. In contrast to traditional inversion methods, the FP-ILM algorithm formulates the profile shape retrieval as a classification problem. Its implementation comprises a training phase to derive an inverse function from synthetic measurements, and an operational phase in which the inverse function is applied to real measurements. This paper extends the ability of the FP-ILM retrieval to derive tropospheric ozone columns from GOME- 2 measurements. Results of total and tropical tropospheric ozone columns are compared with the ones using the official GOME Data Processing (GDP product and the convective-cloud-differential (CCD method, respectively. Furthermore, the FP-ILM framework will be used for the near-real-time processing of the new European Sentinel sensors with their unprecedented spectral and spatial resolution and corresponding large increases in the amount of data.

Trends in Surface Level Ozone Observations from Human-health Relevant Metrics: Results from the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR)

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Z. L.; von Schneidemesser, E.; Doherty, R. M.; Malley, C.; Cooper, O. R.; Pinto, J. P.; Colette, A.; Xu, X.; Simpson, D.; Schultz, M.; Hamad, S.; Moola, R.; Solberg, S.; Feng, Z.

2017-12-01

Ozone is an air pollutant formed in the atmosphere from precursor species (NOx, VOCs, CH4, CO) that is detrimental to human health and ecosystems. The global Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR) initiative has assembled a global database of surface ozone observations and generated ozone exposure metrics at thousands of measurement sites around the world. This talk will present results from the assessment focused on those indicators most relevant to human health. Specifically, the trends in ozone, comparing different time periods and patterns across regions and among metrics will be addressed. In addition, the fraction of population exposed to high ozone levels and how this has changed between 2000 and 2014 will also be discussed. The core time period analyzed for trends was 2000-2014, selected to include a greater number of sites in East Asia. Negative trends were most commonly observed at many US and some European sites, whereas many sites in East Asia showed positive trends, while sites in Japan showed more of a mix of positive and negative trends. More than half of the sites showed a common direction and significance in the trends for all five human-health relevant metrics. The peak ozone metrics indicate a reduction in exposure to peak levels of ozone related to photochemical episodes in Europe and the US. A considerable number of European countries and states within the US have shown a decrease in population-weighted ozone over time. The 2000-2014 results will be augmented and compared to the trend analysis for additional time periods that cover a greater number of years, but by necessity are based on fewer sites. Trends are found to be statistically significant at a larger fraction of sites with longer time series, compared to the shorter (2000-2014) time series.

The effect of clouds on photolysis rates and ozone formation in the unpolluted troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, A. M.

1984-01-01

The photochemistry of the lower atmosphere is sensitive to short- and long-term meteorological effects; accurate modeling therefore requires photolysis rates for trace gases which reflect this variability. As an example, the influence of clouds on the production of tropospheric ozone has been investigated, using a modification of Luther's two-stream radiation scheme to calculate cloud-perturbed photolysis rates in a one-dimensional photochemical transport model. In the unpolluted troposphere, where stratospheric inputs of odd nitrogen appear to represent the photochemical source of O3, strong cloud reflectance increases the concentration of NO in the upper troposphere, leading to greatly enhanced rates of ozone formation. Although the rate of these processes is too slow to verify by observation, the calculation is useful in distinguishing some features of the chemistry of regions of differing mean cloudiness.

Effect of some climatic parameters on tropospheric and total ozone ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Effect of some climatic parameters on tropospheric and total ozone column over Alipore (22.52°N, 88.33°E), India ... insolation obtained from Solar Geophysical Data Book and El-ñ index collected from National Climatic Data Center, US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA.

Optimal Extraction of Tropospheric Ozone Column by Simultaneous Use of OMI and TES Data and the Surface Temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Mobasheri, M. R.; Shirazi, H.

2015-12-01

This article aims to increase the accuracy of Ozone data from tropospheric column (TOC) of the OMI and TES satellite instruments. To validate the estimated amount of satellite data, Ozonesonde data is used. The vertical resolution in both instruments in the tropospheric atmosphere decreases so that the degree of freedom signals (DOFS) on the average for TES is reduced to 2 and for OMI is reduced to1. But this decline in accuracy in estimation of tropospheric ozone is more obvious in urban areas so that estimated ozone in both instruments alone in non-urban areas show a high correlation with Ozonesonde. But in urban areas this correlation is significantly reduced, due to the ozone pre-structures and consequently an increase on surface-level ozone in urban areas. In order to improve the accuracy of satellite data, the average tropospheric ozone data from the two instruments were used. The aim is to increase the vertical resolution of ozone profile and the results clearly indicate an increase in correlations, but nevertheless the satellite data have a positive bias towards the earth data. To reduce the bias, with the solar flux and nitrogen dioxide values and surface temperatures are calculated as factors of ozone production on the earth's surface and formation of mathematical equations based on coefficients for each of the mentioned values and multiplication of these coefficients by satellite data and repeated comparison with the values of Ozonesonde, the results showed that bias in urban areas is greatly reduced.

Sources of tropospheric ozone along the Asian Pacific Rim: An analysis of ozonesonde observations

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hongyu; Jacob, Daniel J.; Chan, Lo Yin; Oltmans, Samuel J.; Bey, Isabelle; Yantosca, Robert M.; Harris, Joyce M.; Duncan, Bryan N.; Martin, Randall V.

2002-11-01

The sources contributing to tropospheric ozone over the Asian Pacific Rim in different seasons are quantified by analysis of Hong Kong and Japanese ozonesonde observations with a global three-dimensional (3-D) chemical transport model (GEOS-CHEM) driven by assimilated meteorological observations. Particular focus is placed on the extensive observations available from Hong Kong in 1996. In the middle-upper troposphere (MT-UT), maximum Asian pollution influence along the Pacific Rim occurs in summer, reflecting rapid convective transport of surface pollution. In the lower troposphere (LT) the season of maximum Asian pollution influence shifts to summer at midlatitudes from fall at low latitudes due to monsoonal influence. The UT ozone minimum and high variability observed over Hong Kong in winter reflects frequent tropical intrusions alternating with stratospheric intrusions. Asian biomass burning makes a major contribution to ozone at pollution influence (pollution influence exceeds European influence in the UT-MT, reflecting the uplift from convection and the warm conveyor belts over the eastern seaboard of North America. African outflow makes a major contribution to ozone in the low-latitude MT-UT over the Pacific Rim during November-April. Lightning influence over the Pacific Rim is minimum in summer due to westward UT transport at low latitudes associated with the Tibetan anticyclone. The Asian outflow flux of ozone to the Pacific is maximum in spring and fall and includes a major contribution from Asian anthropogenic sources year-round.

Characterization of tropospheric ozone based on lidar measurement in Hangzhou, East China during the G20 Leaders' Summit

Science.gov (United States)

Su, Wenjing; Liu, Cheng; Fan, Guangqiang; Hu, Qihou; Huang, Xin; Dong, Yunsheng; Zhang, Tianshu; Liu, Jianguo

2017-04-01

Owing to the G20 (Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) Leaders' Summit (Sep.5th-6th, 2016), a series of strict air quality control measures were implemented in Hangzhou and its surrounding regions from Aug.26th to Sep.6th. A differential absorption lidar was employed to monitor tropospheric ozone in urban Hangzhou during a campaign from Aug. 24th to Sep. 10th, and the satellite-based NO2 VCDs and HCHO VCDs in the troposphere were also retrieved using the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). During our campaign, six O3 pollution events, which were determined according to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of China (GB-3095-2012), and two stages with rapid reduction of O3 concentration on Aug. 26th and Sep.4-6th were observed. The temporal variation tendency of O3 concentrations was well reproduced by the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem). Typical cases with the abrupt rise and decline of O3 concentrations were analyzed using Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) back trajectory, satellite NO2 and HCHO product and the prediction by WRF-Chem model. The transport from northern cities have an important impact on pollutants observed in Hangzhou, and the chemical sensitivity of O3 production, which were approximately evaluated using the ratio of HCHO VCDs to NO2 VCDs in the troposphere, was turned from a mixed VOC-NOx-limited regime into a NOX-limited regime in Hangzhou due to the strict emission control measures.

North American Tropospheric Ozone Profiles from IONS (INTEX Ozonesonde Network Study, 2004, 2006): Ozone Budgets, Polution Statistics, Satellite Retrievals

Science.gov (United States)

Dougherty, M.; Thompson, A. M.; Witte, J. C.; Miller, S. K.; Oltmans, S. J.; Cooper, O. R.; Tarasick, D. W.; Chatfield, R. B.; Taubman, B. F.; Joseph, E.; Baumgardner, D.; Merrill, J. T.; Morris, G. A.; Rappenglueck, B.; Lefer, B.; Forbes, G.; Newchurch, M. J.; Schmidlin, F. J.; Pierce, R. B.; Leblanc, T.; Dubey, M.; Minschwaner, K.

2007-12-01

During INTEX-B (both Milagro and IMPEX phases in Spring 2006) and during the summer TEXAQS- 2006/GOMACCS period, the INTEX Ozonesonde Network Study (IONS-06) coordinated ozonesonde launches over North America for Aura overpasses. IONS-06 supported aircraft operations and provided profiles for ozone budgets and pollution transport, satellite validation and evaluation of models. In contrast to IONS-04, IONS-06 had a greater range (all but one 2004 IONS site plus a dozen in California, New Mexico, Mexico City, Barbados and southwestern Canada), yielding more than 700 profiles. Tropospheric pollution statistics to guide Aura satellite retrievals and contrasts in UT-LS (upper tropospheric-lower stratospheric) ozone between 2004 and 2006 are presented. With IONS-04 dominated by low-pressure conditions over northeastern North America, UT ozone originated 25% from the stratosphere [Thompson et al., 2007a,b] with significant amounts from aged or relatively fresh pollution and lightning [Cooper et al., 2006; Morris et al., 2006]. Both IONS-04 and IONS-06 summer periods displayed a persistent UT ozone maximum [Cooper et al., 2007] over the south-central US. March 2006 IONS sondes over Mexico manifested persistent UT/LS gravity wave influence and more sporadic pollution. Regional and seasonal contrasts in IONS-06 ozone distributions are described. intexb/ions06.html

Future Climate Impacts of Direct Radiative Forcing Anthropogenic Aerosols, Tropospheric Ozone, and Long-lived Greenhouse Gases

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei-Ting; Liao, Hong; Seinfeld, John H.

2007-01-01

Long-lived greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the most important driver of climate change over the next century. Aerosols and tropospheric ozone (O3) are expected to induce significant perturbations to the GHG-forced climate. To distinguish the equilibrium climate responses to changes in direct radiative forcing of anthropogenic aerosols, tropospheric ozone, and GHG between present day and year 2100, four 80-year equilibrium climates are simulated using a unified tropospheric chemistry-aerosol model within the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM) 110. Concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, primary organic (POA) carbon, secondary organic (SOA) carbon, black carbon (BC) aerosols, and tropospheric ozone for present day and year 2100 are obtained a priori by coupled chemistry-aerosol GCM simulations, with emissions of aerosols, ozone, and precursors based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenario (SRES) A2. Changing anthropogenic aerosols, tropospheric ozone, and GHG from present day to year 2100 is predicted to perturb the global annual mean radiative forcing by +0.18 (considering aerosol direct effects only), +0.65, and +6.54 W m(sup -2) at the tropopause, and to induce an equilibrium global annual mean surface temperature change of +0.14, +0.32, and +5.31 K, respectively, with the largest temperature response occurring at northern high latitudes. Anthropogenic aerosols, through their direct effect, are predicted to alter the Hadley circulation owing to an increasing interhemispheric temperature gradient, leading to changes in tropical precipitation. When changes in both aerosols and tropospheric ozone are considered, the predicted patterns of change in global circulation and the hydrological cycle are similar to those induced by aerosols alone. GHG-induced climate changes, such as amplified warming over high latitudes, weakened Hadley circulation, and increasing precipitation over the

Medium-range mid-tropospheric transport of ozone and precursors over Africa: two numerical case studies in dry and wet seasons

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B. Sauvage

2007-10-01

Full Text Available A meso-scale model was used to understand and describe the dynamical processes driving high ozone concentrations observed during both dry and monsoon season in monthly climatologies profiles over Lagos (Nigeria, 6.6° N, 3.3° E, obtained with the MOZAIC airborne measurements (ozone and carbon monoxide. This study focuses on ozone enhancements observed in the upper-part of the lower troposphere, around 3000 m. Two individual cases have been selected in the MOZAIC dataset as being representative of the climatological ozone enhancements, to be simulated and analyzed with on-line Lagrangian backtracking of air masses.

This study points out the role of baroclinic low-level circulations present in the Inter Tropical Front (ITF area. Two low-level thermal cells around a zonal axis and below 2000 m, in mirror symmetry to each other with respect to equator, form near 20° E and around 5° N and 5° S during the (northern hemisphere dry and wet seasons respectively. They are caused by surface gradients – the warm dry surface being located poleward of the ITF and the cooler wet surface equatorward of the ITF.

A convergence line exists between the poleward low-level branch of each thermal cell and the equatorward low-level branch of the Hadley cell. Our main conclusion is to point out this line as a preferred location for fire products – among them ozone precursors – to be uplifted and injected into the lower free troposphere.

The free tropospheric transport that occurs then depends on the hemisphere and season. In the NH dry season, the AEJ allows transport of ozone and precursors westward to Lagos. In the NH monsoon (wet season, fire products are transported from the southern hemisphere to Lagos by the southeasterly trade that surmounts the monsoon layer. Additionally ozone precursors uplifted by wet convection in the ITCZ can also mix to the ones uplifted by the baroclinic cell and be advected up to Lagos by the trade

Stratospheric ozone changes under solar geoengineering: implications for UV exposure and air quality

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P. J. Nowack

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Various forms of geoengineering have been proposed to counter anthropogenic climate change. Methods which aim to modify the Earth's energy balance by reducing insolation are often subsumed under the term solar radiation management (SRM. Here, we present results of a standard SRM modelling experiment in which the incoming solar irradiance is reduced to offset the global mean warming induced by a quadrupling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. For the first time in an atmosphere–ocean coupled climate model, we include atmospheric composition feedbacks for this experiment. While the SRM scheme considered here could offset greenhouse gas induced global mean surface warming, it leads to important changes in atmospheric composition. We find large stratospheric ozone increases that induce significant reductions in surface UV-B irradiance, which would have implications for vitamin D production. In addition, the higher stratospheric ozone levels lead to decreased ozone photolysis in the troposphere. In combination with lower atmospheric specific humidity under SRM, this results in overall surface ozone concentration increases in the idealized G1 experiment. Both UV-B and surface ozone changes are important for human health. We therefore highlight that both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone changes must be considered in the assessment of any SRM scheme, due to their important roles in regulating UV exposure and air quality.

Two case studies on the interaction of large-scale transport, mesoscale photochemistry, and boundary-layer processes on the lower tropospheric ozone dynamics in early spring

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S. Brönnimann

Full Text Available The vertical distribution of ozone in the lower troposphere over the Swiss Plateau is investigated in detail for two episodes in early spring (February 1998 and March 1999. Profile measurements of boundary-layer ozone performed during two field campaigns with a tethered balloon sounding system and a kite are investigated using regular aerological and ozone soundings from a nearby site, measurements from monitoring stations at various altitudes, backward trajectories, and synoptic analyses of meteorological fields. Additionally, the effect of in situ photochemistry was estimated for one of the episodes employing the Metphomod Eulerian photochemical model. Although the meteorological situations were completely different, both cases had elevated layers with high ozone concentrations, which is not untypical for late winter and early spring. In the February episode, the highest ozone concentrations of 55 to 60 ppb, which were found at around 1100 m asl, were partly advected from Southern France, but a considerable contribution of in situ photochemistry is also predicted by the model. Below that elevation, the local chemical sinks and surface deposition probably overcompensated chemical production, and the vertical ozone distribution was governed by boundary-layer dynamics. In the March episode, the results suggest that ozone-rich air parcels, probably of stratospheric or upper tropospheric origin, were advected aloft the boundary layer on the Swiss Plateau.

Key words. Atmospheric composition and structure (pollution – urban and regional; troposphere – composition and  chemistry – Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (mesoscale meteorology

Tropospheric ozone climatology over Beijing: analysis of aircraft data from the MOZAIC program

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A. J. Ding

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Ozone (O₃ profiles recorded over Beijing from 1995 to 2005 by the Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapor by Airbus In-Service Aircraft (MOZAIC program were analyzed to provide a first climatology of tropospheric O₃ over Beijing and the North China Plains (NCPs, one of the most populated and polluted regions in China. A pooled method was adopted in the data analysis to reduce the influence of irregular sampling frequency. The tropospheric O₃ over Beijing shows a seasonal and vertical distribution typical of mid-latitude locations in the Northern Hemisphere, but has higher daytime concentrations in the lower troposphere, when compared to New York City, Tokyo, and Paris at similar latitude. The tropospheric O₃ over Beijing exhibits a common summer maximum and a winter minimum, with a broad summer maximum in the middle troposphere and a narrower early summer (June peak in the lower troposphere. Examination of meteorological and satellite data suggests that the lower tropospheric O₃ maximum in June is a result of strong photochemical production, transport of regional pollution, and possibly also more intense burnings of biomass in Central-Eastern China. Trajectory analysis indicates that in summer the regional pollution from the NCPs, maybe mixed with urban plumes from Beijing, played important roles on the high O₃ concentrations in the boundary layer, but had limited impact on the O₃ concentrations in the middle troposphere. A comparison of the data recorded before and after 2000 reveals that O₃ in the lower troposphere over Beijing had a strong positive trend (approximately 2% per year from 1995 to 2005 in contrast to a flat or a decreasing trend over Tokyo, New York City, and Paris, indicating worsening photochemical pollution in Beijing and the NCPs.

An assessment of 10-year NOAA aircraft-based tropospheric ozone profiling in Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard, Mark; Petropavlovskikh, Irina; Lin, Meiyun; McClure-Begley, Audra; Johnson, Bryan J.; Oltmans, Samuel J.; Tarasick, David

2017-06-01

The Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network Aircraft Program at NOAA has sampled ozone and other atmospheric trace constituents in North America for over a decade (2005-present). The method to derive tropospheric ozone climatology from the light aircraft measurements equipped with the 2B Technology instruments is described in this paper. Since ozone instruments at most of aircraft locations are flown once a month, this raises the question of whether the sampling frequency allows for deriving a climatology that can adequately represent ozone seasonal and vertical variability over various locations. Here we interpret the representativeness of the tropospheric ozone climatology derived from these under-sampled observations using hindcast simulations conducted with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory chemistry-climate model (GFDL-AM3). We first focus on ozone measurements from monthly aircraft profiles over the Front Range of Colorado and weekly ozonesondes launched in Boulder, Colorado. The climatology is presented as monthly values separated in 5th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 95th percentiles, and averaged at three vertical layers: lower (1.6-3 km), middle (3-6 km), and upper (6-8 km) troposphere. The aircraft-based climatology is compared to the climatology derived from the nearest located ozonesondes launched from Boulder, Colorado, from GFDL-AM3 co-sampled in time with in-situ observations, and from GFDL-AM3 continuous 3-h samples. Based on these analyses, we recommend the sampling frequency to obtain adequate representation of ozone climatology in the free troposphere. The 3-h sampled AM3 model is used as a benchmark reference for the under-sampled time series. We find that the minimal number of soundings required per month for the all altitude bins (1.6-3, 3-6, and 6-8 km) to sufficiently match the 95% confidence level of the fully sampled monthly ozone means vary between 3 and 5 sounding per month, except in August with a minimum of 6 soundings per month. The

Influence of stratospheric airmasses on tropospheric vertical O3 columns based on GOME (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment measurements and backtrajectory calculation over the Pacific

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A. Ladstätter-Weißenmayer

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Satellite based GOME (Global Ozone Measuring experiment data are used to characterize the amount of tropospheric ozone over the tropical Pacific. Tropospheric ozone was determined from GOME data using the Tropospheric Excess Method (TEM. In the tropical Pacific a significant seasonal variation is detected. Tropospheric excess ozone is enhanced during the biomass burning season from September to November due to outflow from the continents. In September 1999 GOME data reveal an episode of increased excess ozone columns over Tahiti (18.0° S; 149.0° W (Eastern Pacific compared to Am. Samoa (14.23° S; 170.56° W and Fiji (18.13° S; 178.40° E, both situated in the Western Pacific. Backtrajectory calculations show that none of the airmasses arriving over the three locations experienced anthropogenic pollution (e. g. biomass burning. Consequently other sources of ozone have to be considered. One possible process leading to an increase of tropospheric ozone is stratosphere-troposphere-exchange. An analysis of the potential vorticity along trajectories arriving above each of the locations reveals that airmasses at Tahiti are subject to enhanced stratospheric influence, compared to Am. Samoa and Fiji. As a result this study shows clear incidents of transport of airmasses from the stratosphere into the troposphere.

The Vertical Structure of Relative Humidity and Ozone in the Tropical Upper Troposphere: Intercomparisons Among In Situ Observations, A-Train Measurements and Large-Scale Models

Science.gov (United States)

Selkirk, Henry B.; Manyin, Michael; Douglass, Anne R.; Oman, Luke; Pawson, Steven; Ott, Lesley; Benson, Craig; Stolarski, Richard

2010-01-01

In situ measurements in the tropics have shown that in regions of active convection, relative humidity with respect to ice in the upper troposphere is typically close to saturation on average, and supersaturations greater than 20% are not uncommon. Balloon soundings with the cryogenic frost point hygrometer (CFH) at Costa Rica during northern summer, for example, show this tendency to be strongest between 11 and 15.5 km (345-360 K potential temperature, or approximately 250-120 hPa). this is the altitude range of deep convective detrainment. Additionally, simultaneous ozonesonde measurements show that stratospheric air (O3 greater than 150 ppbv) can be found as low as approximately 14 km (350 K/150 hPa). In contrast, results from northern winter show a much drier upper troposphere and little penetration of stratospheric air below the tropopause at 17.5 km (approximately 383 K). We show that these results are consistent with in situ measurements from the Measurement of Ozone and water vapor by Airbus In-service airCraft (MOZAIC) program which samples a wider, though still limited, range of tropical locations. To generalize to the tropics as a whole, we compare our insitu results to data from two A-Train satellite instruments, the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the Aqua and Aura satellites respectively. Finally, we examine the vertical structure of water vapor, relative humidity and ozone in the NASA Goddard MERRA analysis, an assimilation dataset, and a new version of the GEOS CCM, a free-running chemistry-climate model. We demonstrate that conditional probability distributions of relative humidity and ozone are a sensitive diagnostic for assessing the representation of deep convection and upper troposphere/lower stratosphere mixing processes in large-scale analyses and climate models.

Quantifying TOLNet Ozone Lidar Accuracy During the 2014 DISCOVER-AQ and FRAPPE Campaigns

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lihua; Newchurch, Michael J.; Alvarez, Raul J., II; Berkoff, Timothy A.; Brown, Steven S.; Carrion, William; De Young, Russell J.; Johnson, Bryan J.; Ganoe, Rene; Gronoff, Guillaume;

Effects of regional-scale and convective transports on tropospheric ozone chemistry revealed by aircraft observations during the wet season of the AMMA campaign

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G. Ancellet

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (AMMA fourth airborne campaign was conducted in July–August 2006 to study the chemical composition of the middle and upper troposphere in West Africa with the major objective to better understand the processing of chemical emissions by the West African Monsoon (WAM and its associated regional-scale and vertical transports. In particular, the french airborne experiment was organized around two goals. The first was to characterize the impact of Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs on the ozone budget in the upper troposphere and the evolution of the chemical composition of these convective plumes as they move westward toward the Atlantic Ocean. The second objective was to discriminate the impact of remote sources of pollution over West Africa, including transport from the middle east, Europe, Asia and from southern hemispheric fires. Observations of O₃, CO, NO_x, H₂O and hydroperoxide above West Africa along repeated meridional transects were coupled with transport analysis based on the FLEXPART lagrangian model. The cross analysis of trace gas concentrations and transport pathways revealed 5 types of air masses: convective uplift of industrial and urban emissions, convective uplift of biogenic emissions, slow advection from Cotonou polluted plumes near the coast, meridional transport of upper tropospheric air from the subtropical barrier region, and meridional transport of Southern Hemisphere (SH biomass burning emissions. O₃/CO correlation plots and the correlation plots of H₂O₂ with a OH proxy revealed not only a control of the trace gas variability by transport processes but also significant photochemical reactivity in the mid- and upper troposphere. The study of four MCSs outflow showed contrasted chemical composition and air mass origins depending on the MCSs lifetime and latitudinal position. Favorables conditions for ozone

Ozone Pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Known as tropospheric or ground-level ozone, this gas is harmful to human heath and the environment. Since it forms from emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), these pollutants are regulated under air quality standards.

Balance of the tropospheric ozone and its relation to stratospheric intrusions indicated by cosmogenic radionuclides. Part 14. Final technical report, 1 November 1977-31 January 1984

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiter, R.; Kanter, H.J.; Jaeger, H.; Munzert, K.

1985-01-01

The objective was to clarify the effect of stratospheric intrusions on the tropospheric ozone budget. The correlation between stratospheric-tropospheric exchange and solar events was also investigated. Tropospheric ozone was recorded at three different levels. The radioisotopes 7 Be and radon daughter products 214 Pb and 214 Bi were used as tracers to identify the source of ozone

Two case studies on the interaction of large-scale transport, mesoscale photochemistry, and boundary-layer processes on the lower tropospheric ozone dynamics in early spring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Broennimann, S.; Siegrist, F.C.; Eugster, W.; Cattin, R.; Sidle, C.; Wanner, H. [Inst. of Geography, Univ. of Bern (Switzerland); Hirschberg, M.M. [Lehrstuhl fuer Bioklimatologie und Immissionsforschung, TU Muenchen, Freising-Weihenstephan (Germany); Schneiter, D. [MeteoSwiss, Station Aerologique, Payerne (Switzerland); Perego, S. [IBM Switzerland, Zuerich (Switzerland)

2001-04-01

The vertical distribution of ozone in the lower troposphere over the Swiss Plateau is investigated in detail for two episodes in early spring (February 1998 and March 1999). Profile measurements of boundary-layer ozone performed during two field campaigns with a tethered balloon sounding system and a kite are investigated using regular aerological and ozone soundings from a nearby site, measurements from monitoring stations at various altitudes, backward trajectories, and synoptic analyses of meteorological fields. Additionally, the effect of in situ photochemistry was estimated for one of the episodes employing the Metphomod Eulerian photochemical model. Although the meteorological situations were completely different, both cases had elevated layers with high ozone concentrations, which is not untypical for late winter and early spring. In the February episode, the highest ozone concentrations of 55 to 60 ppb, which were found at around 1100 m asl, were partly advected from Southern France, but a considerable contribution of in situ photochemistry is also predicted by the model. Below that elevation, the local chemical sinks and surface deposition probably overcompensated chemical production, and the vertical ozone distribution was governed by boundary-layer dynamics. In the March episode, the results suggest that ozone-rich air parcels, probably of stratospheric or upper tropospheric origin, were advected aloft the boundary layer on the Swiss Plateau. (orig.)

Modeling the impact of chlorine emissions from coal combustion and prescribed waste incineration on tropospheric ozone formation in China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yiming; Fan, Qi; Chen, Xiaoyang; Zhao, Jun; Ling, Zhenhao; Hong, Yingying; Li, Weibiao; Chen, Xunlai; Wang, Mingjie; Wei, Xiaolin

2018-02-01

Chlorine radicals can enhance atmospheric oxidation, which potentially increases tropospheric ozone concentration. However, few studies have been done to quantify the impact of chlorine emissions on ozone formation in China due to the lack of a chlorine emission inventory used in air quality models with sufficient resolution. In this study, the Anthropogenic Chlorine Emissions Inventory for China (ACEIC) was developed for the first time, including emissions of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and molecular chlorine (Cl2) from coal combustion and prescribed waste incineration (waste incineration plant). The HCl and Cl2 emissions from coal combustion in China in 2012 were estimated to be 232.9 and 9.4 Gg, respectively, while HCl emission from prescribed waste incineration was estimated to be 2.9 Gg. Spatially the highest emissions of HCl and Cl2 were found in the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Sichuan Basin. Air quality model simulations with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system were performed for November 2011, and the modeling results derived with and without chlorine emissions were compared. The magnitude of the simulated HCl, Cl2 and ClNO2 agreed reasonably with the observation when anthropogenic chlorine emissions were included in the model. The inclusion of the ACEIC increased the concentration of fine particulate Cl-, leading to enhanced heterogeneous reactions between Cl- and N2O5, which resulted in the higher production of ClNO2. Photolysis of ClNO2 and Cl2 in the morning and the reaction of HCl with OH in the afternoon produced chlorine radicals which accelerated tropospheric oxidation. When anthropogenic chlorine emissions were included in the model, the monthly mean concentrations of fine particulate Cl-, daily maximum 1 h ClNO2, and Cl radicals were estimated to increase by up to about 2.0 µg m-3, 773 pptv, and 1.5 × 103 molecule cm-3 in China, respectively. Meanwhile, the monthly mean daily maximum 8 h O3

Ozone and nitrogen oxides in surface air in Russia: TROICA experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Pankratova, N.; Elansky, N.; Belikov, I.; Shumskiy, R.

2009-04-01

The results of measurements of surface ozone and nitrogen oxides concentrations over the continental regions of Russia are discussed. The measurements were done during 10 TROICA experiments (Transcontinental Observations Into the Chemistry of the Atmosphere). The TROICA experiment started in 1995. By the present moment ten expeditions along the Trans-Siberian railroad from Moscow to Vladivostok (around 9300 km) are carried out. We separate data sets into unpolluted and polluted areas to study temporal and spatial features. Moreover we analyzed cities (more then 100 cities). About 50% of all data corresponds to unpolluted conditions. The data collected are used in an analysis of the physical and chemical processes occurring over continental Russia. In this work the estimations of seasonal and daily ozone and NOx distribution were made. The seasonal distribution of ozone for TROICA experiments concentration considerably differs from ozone distribution at Mace Head (Ireland) and Hohenpeissenberg (Germany) stations and well agrees with the ozone distribution at Zotino (Russia, East Siberia). The same concerns also a daily variability. The ozone concentration gradient is presented. Ozone concentration gradually increases in the eastward direction. Its result of the air transport from polluted regions of Europe and ozone depletions, oxidations of CH4 in Siberia, forest fires in Siberia and around Baikal Lake, regional transport of burning products from Northern China. Significant factor of ozone increasing is stratospheric-tropospheric exchange. It appears in TROICA-3 experiment. During several hours ozone concentration was more then 60 ppbv. The areas of photochemical ozone generation in polluted air are also detected. We estimate anthropogenic and natural factors, which are responsible for sharp ozone concentration increasing. Acknowledgments. The work was supported by International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) under contract No. 2770 and by Russian Basic

The influence of biogenic emissions from Africa on tropical tropospheric ozone during 2006: a global modeling study

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J. E. Williams

2009-08-01

Full Text Available We have performed simulations using a 3-D global chemistry-transport model to investigate the influence that biogenic emissions from the African continent exert on the composition of the troposphere in the tropical region. For this purpose we have applied two recently developed biogenic emission inventories provided for use in large-scale global models (Granier et al., 2005; Lathière et al., 2006 whose seasonality and temporal distribution for biogenic emissions of isoprene, other volatile organic compounds and NO is markedly different. The use of the 12 year average values for biogenic emissions provided by Lathière et al. (2006 results in an increase in the amount of nitrogen sequestrated into longer lived reservoir compounds which contributes to the reduction in the tropospheric ozone burden in the tropics. The associated re-partitioning of nitrogen between PAN, HNO₃ and organic nitrates also results in a ~5% increase in the loss of nitrogen by wet deposition. At a global scale there is a reduction in the oxidizing capacity of the model atmosphere which increases the atmospheric lifetimes of CH₄ and CO by ~1.5% and ~4%, respectively. Comparisons against a range of different measurements indicate that applying the 12 year average of Lathière et al. (2006 improves the performance of TM4_AMMA for 2006 in the tropics. By the use of sensitivity studies we show that the release of NO from soils in Africa accounts for between ~2–45% of tropospheric ozone in the African troposphere, ~10% in the upper troposphere and between ~5–20% of the tropical tropospheric ozone column over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. The subsequent reduction in OH over the source regions allows enhanced transport of CO out of the region. For biogenic volatile organic C1 to C3 species released from Africa, the effects on tropical tropospheric ozone are rather limited, although this source contributes to the global burden of VOC by between ~2–4% and

Sensitivity of stomatal conductance to soil moisture: implications for tropospheric ozone

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A. Anav

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Soil moisture and water stress play a pivotal role in regulating stomatal behaviour of plants; however, in the last decade, the role of water availability has often been neglected in atmospheric chemistry modelling studies as well as in integrated risk assessments, despite the fact that plants remove a large amount of atmospheric compounds from the lower troposphere through stomata. The main aim of this study is to evaluate, within the chemistry transport model CHIMERE, the effect of soil water limitation on stomatal conductance and assess the resulting changes in atmospheric chemistry testing various hypotheses of water uptake by plants in the rooting zone. Results highlight how dry deposition significantly declines when soil moisture is used to regulate the stomatal opening, mainly in the semi-arid environments: in particular, over Europe the amount of ozone removed by dry deposition in one year without considering any soil water limitation to stomatal conductance is about 8.5 TgO3, while using a dynamic layer that ensures that plants maximize the water uptake from soil, we found a reduction of about 10 % in the amount of ozone removed by dry deposition ( ∼  7.7 TgO3. Although dry deposition occurs from the top of canopy to ground level, it affects the concentration of gases remaining in the lower atmosphere, with a significant impact on ozone concentration (up to 4 ppb extending from the surface to the upper troposphere (up to 650 hPa. Our results shed light on the importance of improving the parameterizations of processes occurring at plant level (i.e. from the soil to the canopy as they have significant implications for concentration of gases in the lower troposphere and resulting risk assessments for vegetation or human health.

Sensitivity of stomatal conductance to soil moisture: implications for tropospheric ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Anav, Alessandro; Proietti, Chiara; Menut, Laurent; Carnicelli, Stefano; De Marco, Alessandra; Paoletti, Elena

2018-04-01

Soil moisture and water stress play a pivotal role in regulating stomatal behaviour of plants; however, in the last decade, the role of water availability has often been neglected in atmospheric chemistry modelling studies as well as in integrated risk assessments, despite the fact that plants remove a large amount of atmospheric compounds from the lower troposphere through stomata. The main aim of this study is to evaluate, within the chemistry transport model CHIMERE, the effect of soil water limitation on stomatal conductance and assess the resulting changes in atmospheric chemistry testing various hypotheses of water uptake by plants in the rooting zone. Results highlight how dry deposition significantly declines when soil moisture is used to regulate the stomatal opening, mainly in the semi-arid environments: in particular, over Europe the amount of ozone removed by dry deposition in one year without considering any soil water limitation to stomatal conductance is about 8.5 TgO3, while using a dynamic layer that ensures that plants maximize the water uptake from soil, we found a reduction of about 10 % in the amount of ozone removed by dry deposition ( ˜ 7.7 TgO3). Although dry deposition occurs from the top of canopy to ground level, it affects the concentration of gases remaining in the lower atmosphere, with a significant impact on ozone concentration (up to 4 ppb) extending from the surface to the upper troposphere (up to 650 hPa). Our results shed light on the importance of improving the parameterizations of processes occurring at plant level (i.e. from the soil to the canopy) as they have significant implications for concentration of gases in the lower troposphere and resulting risk assessments for vegetation or human health.

On the Climate Impacts of Upper Tropospheric and Lower Stratospheric Ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Yan; Huang, Yi; Hu, Yongyun

2018-01-01

The global warming simulations of the general circulation models (GCMs) are generally performed with different ozone prescriptions. We find that the differences in ozone distribution, especially in the upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric (UTLS) region, account for important model discrepancies shown in the ozone-only historical experiment of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). These discrepancies include global high cloud fraction, stratospheric temperature, and stratospheric water vapor. Through a set of experiments conducted by an atmospheric GCM with contrasting UTLS ozone prescriptions, we verify that UTLS ozone not only directly radiatively heats the UTLS region and cools the upper parts of the stratosphere but also strongly influences the high clouds due to its impact on relative humidity and static stability in the UTLS region and the stratospheric water vapor due to its impact on the tropical tropopause temperature. These consequences strongly affect the global mean effective radiative forcing of ozone, as noted in previous studies. Our findings suggest that special attention should be paid to the UTLS ozone when evaluating the climate effects of ozone depletion in the 20th century and recovery in the 21st century. UTLS ozone difference may also be important for understanding the intermodel discrepancy in the climate projections of the CMIP6 GCMs in which either prescribed or interactive ozone is used.

Bromine measurements in ozone depleted air over the Arctic Ocean

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. A. Neuman

2010-07-01

Full Text Available In situ measurements of ozone, photochemically active bromine compounds, and other trace gases over the Arctic Ocean in April 2008 are used to examine the chemistry and geographical extent of ozone depletion in the arctic marine boundary layer (MBL. Data were obtained from the NOAA WP-3D aircraft during the Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC study and the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS study. Fast (1 s and sensitive (detection limits at the low pptv level measurements of BrCl and BrO were obtained from three different chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS instruments, and soluble bromide was measured with a mist chamber. The CIMS instruments also detected Br₂. Subsequent laboratory studies showed that HOBr rapidly converts to Br₂ on the Teflon instrument inlets. This detected Br₂ is identified as active bromine and represents a lower limit of the sum HOBr + Br₂. The measured active bromine is shown to likely be HOBr during daytime flights in the arctic. In the MBL over the Arctic Ocean, soluble bromide and active bromine were consistently elevated and ozone was depleted. Ozone depletion and active bromine enhancement were confined to the MBL that was capped by a temperature inversion at 200–500 m altitude. In ozone-depleted air, BrO rarely exceeded 10 pptv and was always substantially lower than soluble bromide that was as high as 40 pptv. BrCl was rarely enhanced above the 2 pptv detection limit, either in the MBL, over Alaska, or in the arctic free troposphere.

Principal Component Analysis of Chlorophyll Content in Tobacco, Bean and Petunia Plants Exposed to Different Tropospheric Ozone Concentrations

Science.gov (United States)

Borowiak, Klaudia; Zbierska, Janina; Budka, Anna; Kayzer, Dariusz

2014-06-01

Three plant species were assessed in this study - ozone-sensitive and -resistant tobacco, ozone-sensitive petunia and bean. Plants were exposed to ambient air conditions for several weeks in two sites differing in tropospheric ozone concentrations in the growing season of 2009. Every week chlorophyll contents were analysed. Cumulative ozone effects on the chlorophyll content in relation to other meteorological parameters were evaluated using principal component analysis, while the relation between certain days of measurements of the plants were analysed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results revealed variability between plant species response. However, some similarities were noted. Positive relations of all chlorophyll forms to cumulative ozone concentration (AOT 40) were found for all the plant species that were examined. The chlorophyll b/a ratio revealed an opposite position to ozone concentration only in the ozone-resistant tobacco cultivar. In all the plant species the highest average chlorophyll content was noted after the 7th day of the experiment. Afterwards, the plants usually revealed various responses. Ozone-sensitive tobacco revealed decrease of chlorophyll content, and after few weeks of decline again an increase was observed. Probably, due to the accommodation for the stress factor. While during first three weeks relatively high levels of chlorophyll contents were noted in ozone-resistant tobacco. Petunia revealed a slow decrease of chlorophyll content and the lowest values at the end of the experiment. A comparison between the plant species revealed the highest level of chlorophyll contents in ozone-resistant tobacco.

The influence of boreal biomass burning emissions on the distribution of tropospheric ozone over North America and the North Atlantic during 2010

Science.gov (United States)

Parrington, M.; Palmer, P. I.; Henze, D. K.; Tarasick, D. W.; Hyer, E. J.; Owen, R. C.; Helmig, D.; Clerbaux, C.; Bowman, K. W.; Deeter, M. N.; Barratt, E. M.; Coheur, P.-F.; Hurtmans, D.; Jiang, Z.; George, M.; Worden, J. R.

2012-02-01

We have analysed the sensitivity of the tropospheric ozone distribution over North America and the North Atlantic to boreal biomass burning emissions during the summer of 2010 using the GEOS-Chem 3-D global tropospheric chemical transport model and observations from in situ and satellite instruments. We show that the model ozone distribution is consistent with observations from the Pico Mountain Observatory in the Azores, ozonesondes across Canada, and the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Instrument (IASI) satellite instruments. Mean biases between the model and observed ozone mixing ratio in the free troposphere were less than 10 ppbv. We used the adjoint of GEOS-Chem to show the model ozone distribution in the free troposphere over Maritime Canada is largely sensitive to NOx emissions from biomass burning sources in Central Canada, lightning sources in the central US, and anthropogenic sources in the eastern US and south-eastern Canada. We also used the adjoint of GEOS-Chem to evaluate the Fire Locating And Monitoring of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE) inventory through assimilation of CO observations from the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) satellite instrument. The CO inversion showed that, on average, the FLAMBE emissions needed to be reduced to 89% of their original values, with scaling factors ranging from 12% to 102%, to fit the MOPITT observations in the boreal regions. Applying the CO scaling factors to all species emitted from boreal biomass burning sources led to a decrease of the model tropospheric distributions of CO, PAN, and NOx by as much as -20 ppbv, -50 pptv, and -20 pptv respectively. The modification of the biomass burning emission estimates reduced the model ozone distribution by approximately -3 ppbv (-8%) and on average improved the agreement of the model ozone distribution compared to the observations throughout the free troposphere, reducing the mean model bias from 5.5 to 4.0 ppbv

Comment on "Tropospheric temperature response to stratospheric ozone recovery in the 21st century" by Hu et al. (2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. McLandress

2012-03-01

Full Text Available In a recent paper Hu et al. (2011 suggest that the recovery of stratospheric ozone during the first half of this century will significantly enhance free tropospheric and surface warming caused by the anthropogenic increase of greenhouse gases, with the effects being most pronounced in Northern Hemisphere middle and high latitudes. These surprising results are based on a multi-model analysis of CMIP3 model simulations with and without prescribed stratospheric ozone recovery. Hu et al. suggest that in order to properly quantify the tropospheric and surface temperature response to stratospheric ozone recovery, it is necessary to run coupled atmosphere-ocean climate models with stratospheric ozone chemistry. The results of such an experiment are presented here, using a state-of-the-art chemistry-climate model coupled to a three-dimensional ocean model. In contrast to Hu et al., we find a much smaller Northern Hemisphere tropospheric temperature response to ozone recovery, which is of opposite sign. We suggest that their result is an artifact of the incomplete removal of the large effect of greenhouse gas warming between the two different sets of models.

Interpretation of TOMS Observations of Tropical Tropospheric Ozone with a Global Model and In Situ Observations

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Randall V.; Jacob, Daniel J.; Logan, Jennifer A.; Bey, Isabelle; Yantosca, Robert M.; Staudt, Amanda C.; Fiore, Arlene M.; Duncan, Bryan N.; Liu, Hongyu; Ginoux, Paul

2004-01-01

We interpret the distribution of tropical tropospheric ozone columns (TTOCs) from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) by using a global three-dimensional model of tropospheric chemistry (GEOS-CHEM) and additional information from in situ observations. The GEOS-CHEM TTOCs capture 44% of the variance of monthly mean TOMS TTOCs from the convective cloud differential method (CCD) with no global bias. Major discrepancies are found over northern Africa and south Asia where the TOMS TTOCs do not capture the seasonal enhancements from biomass burning found in the model and in aircraft observations. A characteristic feature of these northern topical enhancements, in contrast to southern tropical enhancements, is that they are driven by the lower troposphere where the sensitivity of TOMS is poor due to Rayleigh scattering. We develop an efficiency correction to the TOMS retrieval algorithm that accounts for the variability of ozone in the lower troposphere. This efficiency correction increases TTOC's over biomass burning regions by 3-5 Dobson units (DU) and decreases them by 2-5 DU over oceanic regions, improving the agreement between CCD TTOCs and in situ observations. Applying the correction to CCD TTOCs reduces by approximately DU the magnitude of the "tropical Atlantic paradox" [Thompson et al, 2000], i.e. the presence of a TTOC enhancement over the southern tropical Atlantic during the northern African biomass burning season in December-February. We reproduce the remainder of the paradox in the model and explain it by the combination of upper tropospheric ozone production from lightning NOx, peristent subsidence over the southern tropical Atlantic as part of the Walker circulation, and cross-equatorial transport of upper tropospheric ozone from northern midlatitudes in the African "westerly duct." These processes in the model can also account for the observed 13-17 DU persistent wave-1 pattern in TTOCs with a maximum above the tropical Atlantic and a minimum

Aerosol indirect effects on lightning in the generation of induced NOx and tropospheric ozone over an Indian urban metropolis

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, Upal; Maitra, Animesh; Talukdar, Shamitaksha; Jana, Soumyajyoti

Lightning flashes, associated with vigorous convective activity, is one of the most prominent weather phenomena in the tropical atmosphere. High aerosol loading is indirectly associated with the increase in lightning flash rates via the formation of tropospheric ozone during the pre-monsoon and monsoon over the tropics. Tropospheric ozone, an important greenhouse pollutant gas have impact on Earth’s radiation budget and play a key role in changing the atmospheric circulation patterns. Lightning-induced NOx is a primary pollutant found in photochemical smog and an important precursor for the formation of tropospheric ozone. A critical analysis is done to study the indirect effects of high aerosol loading on the formation of tropospheric ozone via lightning flashes and induced NOx formation over an urban metropolitan location Kolkata (22°32'N, 88°20'E), India during the period 2001-2012. The seasonal variation of lightning flash rates (LFR), taken from TRMM-LIS 2.5o x 2.5o gridded dataset, show that the LFR was observed to be intensified in the pre-monsoon (March-May) and high in monsoon (June-September) months over the region. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 555nm, taken from MISR 0.5o x 0.5o gridded level-3 dataset, plays an indirect effect on the increase in LFR during the pre-monsoon and monsoon months and has positive correlations between them during these periods. This is also justified from the seasonal variation of the increase in LFR due to the increase in AOD over the region during 2001-2012. The calibrated GOME and OMI/AURA satellite data analysis shows that the tropospheric ozone, formed as a result of lightning-induced NOx and due to the increased AOD at 555 nm, also increases during the pre-monsoon and monsoon months. The seasonal variation of lightning-induced tropospheric NOx, taken from SCIAMACHY observations also justified the fact that the pre-monsoon and monsoon LFR solely responsible for the generation of induced NOx over the region. The

Convective Lofting Links Indian Ocean Air Pollution to Recurrent South Atlantic Ozone Maxima

Science.gov (United States)

Chatfield, R. B.; Guan, H.; Thompson, A. M.; Witte, J.

2003-12-01

We extend on our analysis of equatorial tropospheric ozone to illustrate the contributions of South Asian pollution export in forming episodes of high O3 over the Atlantic Ocean. We amplify on an earlier description of a broad resolution of the "Atlantic Paradox," for the Jan-Feb-March period, which included initial indications of a very long-distance contribution from South Asia. The approach has been to describe typical periods of significant maximum and minimum tropospheric ozone for early 1999, exploiting TOMS tropospheric ozone estimates jointly with characteristic features of the SHADOZ (Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes) ozone soundings. Further investigation of the Total Tropospheric Ozone (TTO) record for all of 1999 suggests that there are repeated periods of very long-distance Asian influence crossing Africa, with an apparent effect on those portions of the Atlantic Equatorial troposphere which are downwind. Trajectory analyses suggest that the pattern over the Indian Ocean is complex: a sequence invoving multiple or mixed combustion sources, low level transport, cumulonimbus venting, and high-level transport to the west seem to be indicated by the TTO record. Biomass burning, fossil and biofuel combustion, and lighting seem to all contribute. For the Atlantic, burning and lighting on adjacent continents as well as episodes of this cross-Africa long-distance transport are all linked in a coordinated seasonal march: all are related by movement of the sun. However, interseasonal tropical variability related to the Madden-Julian oscillation allows intermittent ozone buildups that depart from the seasonal norm.

Photochemistry and transport of tropospheric ozone and its precursors in urban and remote environments

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Daniel Craig

Tropospheric ozone (O3) adversely affects human health, reduces crop yields, and contributes to climate forcing. To limit these effects, the processes controlling O3 abundance as well as that of its precursor molecules must be fully characterized. Here, I examine three facets of O 3 production, both in heavily polluted and remote environments. First, using in situ observations from the DISCOVER-AQ field campaign in the Baltimore/Washington region, I evaluate the emissions of the O 3 precursors CO and NOx (NOx = NO + NO2) in the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). I find that CO/NOx emissions ratios derived from observations are 21% higher than those predicted by the NEI. Comparisons to output from the CMAQ model suggest that CO in the NEI is accurate within 15 +/- 11%, while NOx emissions are overestimated by 51-70%, likely due to errors in mobile sources. These results imply that ambient ozone concentrations will respond more efficiently to NOx controls than current models suggest. I then investigate the source of high O3 and low H2O structures in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP). A combination of in situ observations, satellite data, and models show that the high O3 results from photochemical production in biomass burning plumes from fires in tropical Southeast Asia and Central Africa; the low relative humidity results from large-scale descent in the tropics. Because these structures have frequently been attributed to mid-latitude pollution, biomass burning in the tropics likely contributes more to the radiative forcing of climate than previously believed. Finally, I evaluate the processes controlling formaldehyde (HCHO) in the TWP. Convective transport of near surface HCHO leads to a 33% increase in upper tropospheric HCHO mixing ratios; convection also likely increases upper tropospheric CH 3OOH to ~230 pptv, enough to maintain background HCHO at ~75 pptv. The long-range transport of polluted air, with NO four times the convectively controlled background

Synergistic action of tropospheric ozone and carbon dioxide on yield and nutritional quality of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.).

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Satyavan; Bhatia, Arti; Tomer, Ritu; Kumar, Vinod; Singh, B; Singh, S D

2013-08-01

Field experiments were conducted in open top chamber during rabi seasons of 2009-10 and 2010-11 at the research farm of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to study the effect of tropospheric ozone (O3) and carbon dioxide (CO2) interaction on yield and nutritional quality of Indian mustard (Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.). Mustard plants were grown from emergence to maturity under different treatments: charcoal-filtered air (CF, 80-85 % less O3 than ambient O3 and ambient CO2), nonfiltered air (NF, 5-10 % less O3 than ambient O3 and ambient CO2 ), nonfiltered air with elevated carbon dioxide (NF + CO2, NF air and 550 ± 50 ppm CO2), elevated ozone (EO, NF air and 25-35 ppb elevated O3), elevated ozone along with elevated carbon dioxide (EO + CO2, NF air, 25-35 ppb O3 and 550 ± 50 ppm CO2), and ambient chamber less control (AC, ambient O3 and CO2). Elevated O3 exposure led to reduced photosynthesis and leaf area index resulting in decreased seed yield of mustard. Elevated ozone significantly decreased the oil and micronutrient content in mustard. Thirteen to 17 ppm hour O3 exposure (accumulated over threshold of 40 ppm, AOT 40) reduced the oil content by 18-20 %. Elevated CO2 (500 ± 50 ppm) along with EO was able to counter the decline in oil content in the seed, and it increased by 11 to 13 % over EO alone. Elevated CO2, however, decreased protein, calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, and sulfur content in seed as compared to the nonfiltered control, whereas removal of O3 from air in the charcoal-filtered treatment resulted in a significant increase in the same.

Photochemical ozone production in tropical squall line convection during NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment/Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment 2A

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Kenneth E.; Thompson, Anne M.; Tao, Wei-Kuo; Simpson, Joanne; Scala, John R.

1991-01-01

The role of convection was examined in trace gas transport and ozone production in a tropical dry season squall line sampled on August 3, 1985, during NASA Global Tropospheric Experiment/Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment 2A (NASA GTE/ABLE 2A) in Amazonia, Brazil. Two types of analyses were performed. Transient effects within the cloud are examined with a combination of two-dimensional cloud and one-dimensional photochemical modeling. Tracer analyses using the cloud model wind fields yield a series of cross sections of NO(x), CO, and O3 distribution during the lifetime of the cloud; these fields are used in the photochemical model to compute the net rate of O3 production. At noon, when the cloud was mature, the instantaneous ozone production potential in the cloud is between 50 and 60 percent less than in no-cloud conditions due to reduced photolysis and cloud scavenging of radicals. Analysis of cloud inflows and outflows is used to differentiate between air that is undisturbed and air that has been modified by the storm. These profiles are used in the photochemical model to examine the aftereffects of convective redistribution in the 24-hour period following the storm. Total tropospheric column O3 production changed little due to convection because so little NO(x) was available in the lower troposphere. However, the integrated O3 production potential in the 5- to 13-km layer changed from net destruction to net production as a result of the convection. The conditions of the August 3, 1985, event may be typical of the early part of the dry season in Amazonia, when only minimal amounts of pollution from biomass burning have been transported into the region.

On the origin of tropospheric ozone and NOx over the tropical South Pacific

OpenAIRE

Schultz, Martin G.; Jacob, Daniel James; Wang, Yuhang; Logan, Jennifer A.; Atlas, Elliot L.; Blake, Donald R.; Blake, Nicola J.; Bradshaw, John D.; Browell, Edward V.; Fenn, Marta A.; Flocke, Frank; Gregory, Gerald L.; Heikes, Brian G.; Sachse, Glen W.; Sandholm, Scott T.

1999-01-01

The budgets of ozone and nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) in the tropical South Pacific troposphere are analyzed by photochemical point modeling of aircraft observations at 0–12 km altitude from the Pacific Exploratory Mission-Tropics A campaign flown in September-October 1996. The model reproduces the observed NO2/NO concentration ratio to within 30% and has similar success in simulating observed concentrations of peroxides ( H2O2, CH3OOH), lending confidence in its use to investigate ozone ...

Ozone as an air pollutant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berg, Rolf W.

1996-01-01

A Danish new book on ozone as an air pollutant has been reviewed. The Book is "Ozon som luftforurening" by Jes Fenger, Published by "Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser, 1995.......A Danish new book on ozone as an air pollutant has been reviewed. The Book is "Ozon som luftforurening" by Jes Fenger, Published by "Danmarks Miljøundersøgelser, 1995....

Balance of the tropospheric ozone and its relation to stratospheric intrusions indicated by cosmogenic radionuclides. Technical progress report, 1 November 1978-30 June 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiter, R.; Kanter, H.J.; Poetzl, K.; Sladkovic, R.; Jaeger, H.; Mueller, H.

The balance of the tropospheric ozone as a function of atmospheric pollutants, tropospheric transport, and stratospheric intrusions is under active investigation. Continuous recordings of the ozone concentration at three levels (3000 m, 1800 m, and 700 m a.s.l.) and of the cosmogenic radionuclides Be 7 , P 32 , P 33 , and the CO 2 are available and used for subject purposes. Results of a statistical evaluation concerning the frequency of high concentrations (> 70 ppB) of the tropospheric ozone are presented and possible sources discussed. Observations of changes in the fine structure of the ozone profile in the lower stratosphere after solar events are shown by balloon-borne ozone soundings up to 35 km altitude and discussed in connection with parameters of the stratospheric-tropospheric exchange. Monitoring of the stratospheric aerosol layer by lidar was continued. The accuracy of these measurements was considerably enhanced by significant system improvements. Intercomparisons with the results of nearby Dobson stations allowed conclusions to be drawn on the suitability of a filter spectrophotometer for the determination of the total ozone. Solar-terrestrial relationships were investigated and are discussed

Modeling the impact of chlorine emissions from coal combustion and prescribed waste incineration on tropospheric ozone formation in China

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Y. Liu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Chlorine radicals can enhance atmospheric oxidation, which potentially increases tropospheric ozone concentration. However, few studies have been done to quantify the impact of chlorine emissions on ozone formation in China due to the lack of a chlorine emission inventory used in air quality models with sufficient resolution. In this study, the Anthropogenic Chlorine Emissions Inventory for China (ACEIC was developed for the first time, including emissions of hydrogen chloride (HCl and molecular chlorine (Cl2 from coal combustion and prescribed waste incineration (waste incineration plant. The HCl and Cl2 emissions from coal combustion in China in 2012 were estimated to be 232.9 and 9.4 Gg, respectively, while HCl emission from prescribed waste incineration was estimated to be 2.9 Gg. Spatially the highest emissions of HCl and Cl2 were found in the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Sichuan Basin. Air quality model simulations with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ modeling system were performed for November 2011, and the modeling results derived with and without chlorine emissions were compared. The magnitude of the simulated HCl, Cl2 and ClNO2 agreed reasonably with the observation when anthropogenic chlorine emissions were included in the model. The inclusion of the ACEIC increased the concentration of fine particulate Cl−, leading to enhanced heterogeneous reactions between Cl− and N2O5, which resulted in the higher production of ClNO2. Photolysis of ClNO2 and Cl2 in the morning and the reaction of HCl with OH in the afternoon produced chlorine radicals which accelerated tropospheric oxidation. When anthropogenic chlorine emissions were included in the model, the monthly mean concentrations of fine particulate Cl−, daily maximum 1 h ClNO2, and Cl radicals were estimated to increase by up to about 2.0 µg m−3, 773 pptv, and 1.5  ×  103 molecule cm−3 in China, respectively. Meanwhile

Effect of regional precursor emission controls on long-range ozone transport – Part 1: Short-term changes in ozone air quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. J. West

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Observations and models demonstrate that ozone and its precursors can be transported between continents and across oceans. We model the influences of 10% reductions in anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NO_x emissions from each of nine world regions on surface ozone air quality in that region and all other regions. In doing so, we quantify the relative importance of long-range transport between all source-receptor pairs, for direct short-term ozone changes. We find that for population-weighted concentrations during the three-month "ozone-season", the strongest inter-regional influences are from Europe to the Former Soviet Union, East Asia to Southeast Asia, and Europe to Africa. The largest influences per unit of NO_x reduced, however, are seen for source regions in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere, which we attribute mainly to greater sensitivity to changes in NO_x in the lower troposphere, and secondarily to increased vertical convection to the free troposphere in tropical regions, allowing pollutants to be transported further. Results show, for example, that NO_x reductions in North America are ~20% as effective per unit NO_x in reducing ozone in Europe during summer, as NO_x reductions from Europe itself. Reducing anthropogenic emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs and carbon monoxide (CO by 10% in selected regions, can have as large an impact on long-range ozone transport as NO_x reductions, depending on the source region. We find that for many source-receptor pairs, the season of greatest long-range influence does not coincide with the season when ozone is highest in the receptor region. Reducing NO_x emissions in most source regions causes a larger decrease in export of ozone from the source region than in ozone production outside of the source region.

Air Quality Guide for Ozone

Science.gov (United States)

GO! Local Air Quality Conditions Zip Code: State : My Current Location Air Quality Guide for Ozone Ground-level ozone is one of our nation’s most common air pollutants. Use the chart below to help reduce ...

The influence of boreal biomass burning emissions on the distribution of tropospheric ozone over North America and the North Atlantic during 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Parrington

2012-02-01

Full Text Available We have analysed the sensitivity of the tropospheric ozone distribution over North America and the North Atlantic to boreal biomass burning emissions during the summer of 2010 using the GEOS-Chem 3-D global tropospheric chemical transport model and observations from in situ and satellite instruments. We show that the model ozone distribution is consistent with observations from the Pico Mountain Observatory in the Azores, ozonesondes across Canada, and the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Instrument (IASI satellite instruments. Mean biases between the model and observed ozone mixing ratio in the free troposphere were less than 10 ppbv. We used the adjoint of GEOS-Chem to show the model ozone distribution in the free troposphere over Maritime Canada is largely sensitive to NO_x emissions from biomass burning sources in Central Canada, lightning sources in the central US, and anthropogenic sources in the eastern US and south-eastern Canada. We also used the adjoint of GEOS-Chem to evaluate the Fire Locating And Monitoring of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE inventory through assimilation of CO observations from the Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT satellite instrument. The CO inversion showed that, on average, the FLAMBE emissions needed to be reduced to 89% of their original values, with scaling factors ranging from 12% to 102%, to fit the MOPITT observations in the boreal regions. Applying the CO scaling factors to all species emitted from boreal biomass burning sources led to a decrease of the model tropospheric distributions of CO, PAN, and NO_x by as much as −20 ppbv, −50 pptv, and −20 pptv respectively. The modification of the biomass burning emission estimates reduced the model ozone distribution by approximately −3 ppbv (−8% and on average improved the agreement of the model ozone distribution compared to the observations throughout the free troposphere

Stratosphere-troposphere exchange in a summertime extratropical low: analysis

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J. Brioude

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Ozone and carbon monoxide measurements sampled during two commercial flights in airstreams of a summertime midlatitude cyclone are analysed with a Lagrangian-based study (backward trajectories and a Reverse Domain Filling technique to gain a comprehensive understanding of transport effects on trace gas distributions. The study demonstrates that summertime cyclones can be associated with deep stratosphere-troposphere transport. A tropopause fold is sampled twice in its life cycle, once in the lower troposphere (O3≃100 ppbv; CO≃90 ppbv in the dry airstream of the cyclone, and again in the upper troposphere (O3≃200 ppbv; CO≃90 ppbv on the northern side of the large scale potential vorticity feature associated with baroclinic development. In agreement with the maritime development of the cyclone, the chemical composition of the anticyclonic portion of the warm conveyor belt outflow (O3≃40 ppbv; CO≃85 ppbv corresponds to the lowest mixing ratios of both ozone and carbon monoxide in the upper tropospheric airborne observations. The uncertain degree of confidence of the Lagrangian-based technique applied to a 100 km segment of upper level airborne observations with high ozone (200 ppbv and relatively low CO (80 ppbv observed northwest of the cyclone prevents identification of the ozone enrichment process of air parcels embedded in the cyclonic part of the upper level outflow of the warm conveyor belt. Different hypotheses of stratosphere-troposphere exchange are discussed.

Experimental and modeling study of the impact of vertical transport processes from the boundary-layer on the variability and the budget of tropospheric ozone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colette, A.

2005-12-01

Closing the tropospheric ozone budget requires a better understanding of the role of transport processes from the major reservoirs: the planetary boundary layer and the stratosphere. Case studies lead to the identification of mechanisms involved as well as their efficiency. However, their global impact on the budget must be addressed on a climatological basis. This manuscript is thus divided in two parts. First, we present case studies based on ozone LIDAR measurements performed during the ESCOMPTE campaign. This work consists in a data analysis investigation by means of a hybrid - Lagrangian study involving: global meteorological analyses, Lagrangian particle dispersion computation, and mesoscale, chemistry - transport, and Lagrangian photochemistry modeling. Our aim is to document the amount of observed ozone variability related to transport processes and, when appropriate, to infer the role of tropospheric photochemical production. Second, we propose a climatological analysis of the respective impact of transport from the boundary-layer and from the tropopause region on the tropospheric ozone budget. A multivariate analysis is presented and compared to a trajectography approach. Once validated, this algorithm is applied to the whole database of ozone profiles collected above Europe during the past 30 years in order to discuss the seasonal, geographical and temporal variability of transport processes as well as their impact on the tropospheric ozone budget. The variability of turbulent mixing and its impact on the persistence of tropospheric layers will also be discussed. (author)

Production and Transport of Ozone From Boreal Forest Fires

Science.gov (United States)

Tarasick, David; Liu, Jane; Osman, Mohammed; Sioris, Christopher; Liu, Xiong; Najafabadi, Omid; Parrington, Mark; Palmer, Paul; Strawbridge, Kevin; Duck, Thomas

2013-04-01

In the summer of 2010, the BORTAS (Quantifying the impact of BOReal forest fires on Tropospheric oxidants over the Atlantic using Aircraft and Satellites) mission was planned by several universities and government agencies in the United Kingdom, Canada, and USA. Nearly 100 ozone soundings were made at 13 stations through the BORTAS Intensive Sounding Network, although aircraft measurements were unfortunately cancelled due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland. 2010 was actually an exceptional year for Canadian boreal fires. MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) fire count data shows large fire events in Saskatchewan on several days in July. High amounts of NO2 close to the large fires are observed from OMI satellite data, indicating that not all NO2 is converted to PAN. Also associated with the fires, large amounts of CO, another precursor of ozone, are observed in MOPITT (Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere), AIRS and TES (Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer) satellite data in the middle to upper troposphere. These chemical conditions combined with sunny weather all favour ozone production. Following days with large fire activity, layers of elevated ozone mixing ratio (over 100 ppbv) are observed downwind at several sites. Back-trajectories suggest the elevated ozone in the profile is traceable to the fires in Saskatchewan. Lidar profiles also detect layers of aerosol at the same heights. However, the layers of high ozone are also associated with low humidity, which is not expected from a combustion source, and suggests the possibility of entrainment of stratospheric air.

The detection of post-monsoon tropospheric ozone variability over south Asia using IASI data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Barret

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The ozone (O₃ variability over south Asia during the 2008 post-monsoon season has been assessed using measurements from the MetOP-A/IASI instrument and O₃ profiles retrieved with the SOftware for a Fast Retrieval of IASI Data (SOFRID. The information content study and error analyses carried out in this paper show that IASI Level 1 data can be used to retrieve tropospheric O₃ columns (TOC, surface-225 hPa and UTLS columns (225–70 hPa with errors smaller than 20%. Validation with global radiosonde O₃ profiles obtained during a period of 6 months show the excellent agreement between IASI and radiosonde for the UTLS with correlation coefficient R > 0.91 and good agreement in the troposphere with correlation coefficient R > 0.74. For both the UTLS and the troposphere Relative Standard Deviations (RSD are lower than 23%. Comparison with in-situ measurements from the MOZAIC program around Hyderabad demonstrates that IASI is able to capture the TOC inter and intra-seasonal variability in central India. Nevertheless, the agreement is mitigated by the fact that the smoothing of the true O₃ profiles by the retrieval results in a reduction of the TOC variability detected by IASI relative to the variability observed by in situ instruments. The post-monsoon temporal variability of the vertical profile of O₃ around Hyderabad has been investigated with MOZAIC observations. These observations from airborne instruments show that tropospheric O₃ is steadily elevated during most of the studied period with the exception of two sharp drops following the crossing of tropical storms over India. Lagrangian simulations with the FLEXPART model indicate that elevated O₃ concentrations in the middle troposphere near Hyderabad are associated with the transport of UTLS air-masses that have followed the Subtropical Westerly Jet (SWJ and subsided over northern India together

An Assessment of Ground Level and Free Tropospheric Ozone Over California and Nevada

Science.gov (United States)

Yates, E. L.; Johnson, M. S.; Iraci, L. T.; Ryoo, J.-M.; Pierce, R. B.; Cullis, P. D.; Gore, W.; Ives, M. A.; Johnson, B. J.; Leblanc, T.; Marrero, J. E.; Sterling, C. W.; Tanaka, T.

2017-09-01

Increasing free tropospheric ozone (O3), combined with the high elevation and often deep boundary layers at western U.S. surface stations, poses challenges in attaining the more stringent 70 ppb O3 National Ambient Air Quality Standard. As such, use of observational data to identify sources and mechanisms that contribute to surface O3 is increasingly important. This work analyzes surface and vertical O3 observations over California and Nevada from 1995 to 2015. Over this period, the number of high O3 events (95th percentile) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET) sites has decreased during summer, as a result of decreasing U.S. emissions. In contrast, an increase in springtime 5th percentile O3 indicates a general increase of baseline O3. During 2012 there was a peak in exceedances and in the average spring-summer O3 mixing ratios at CASTNET sites. Goddard Earth Observing System-Chem results show that the surface O3 attributable to transport from the upper troposphere and stratosphere was increased in 2013 compared to 2012, highlighting the importance of measurements aloft. Vertical O3 measurements from aircraft, ozonesondes, and lidar show distinct seasonal trends, with a high percentage of elevated O3 laminae (O3 > 70 ppb, 3-8 km) during spring and summer. Analysis of the timing of high O3 surface events and correlation between surface and vertical O3 data is used to discuss varying sources of western U.S. surface O3.

Ozone changes under solar geoengineering: implications for UV exposure and air quality

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Nowack, P. J.; Abraham, N. L.; Braesicke, P.; Pyle, J. A.

2015-11-01

Various forms of geoengineering have been proposed to counter anthropogenic climate change. Methods which aim to modify the Earth's energy balance by reducing insolation are often subsumed under the term Solar Radiation Management (SRM). Here, we present results of a standard SRM modelling experiment in which the incoming solar irradiance is reduced to offset the global mean warming induced by a quadrupling of atmospheric carbon dioxide. For the first time in an atmosphere-ocean coupled climate model, we include atmospheric composition feedbacks such as ozone changes under this scenario. Including the composition changes, we find large reductions in surface UV-B irradiance, with implications for vitamin D production, and increases in surface ozone concentrations, both of which could be important for human health. We highlight that both tropospheric and stratospheric ozone changes should be considered in the assessment of any SRM scheme, due to their important roles in regulating UV exposure and air quality.

Operational Use of the AIRS Total Column Ozone Retrievals Along with the RGB Air Mass Product as Part of the GOES-R Proving Ground

Science.gov (United States)

Folmer, Michael; Zavodsky, Bradley; Molthan, Andrew

2012-01-01

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Hydrometeorological Prediction Center (HPC) and Ocean Prediction Center (OPC) provide short-term and medium-range forecast guidance of heavy precipitation, strong winds, and other features often associated with mid-latitude cyclones over both land and ocean. As a result, detection of factors that lead to rapid cyclogenesis and high wind events is key to improving forecast skill. One phenomenon that has been identified with these events is the stratospheric intrusion that occurs near tropopause folds. This allows for deep mixing near the top of the atmosphere where dry air high in ozone concentrations and potential vorticity descends (sometimes rapidly) deep into the mid-troposphere. Observations from satellites can aid in detection of these stratospheric air intrusions (SAI) regions. Specifically, multispectral composite imagery assign a variety of satellite spectral bands to the red, green, and blue (RGB) color components of imagery pixels and result in color combinations that can assist in the detection of dry stratospheric air associated with PV advection, which in turn may alert forecasters to the possibility of a rapidly strengthening storm system. Single channel or RGB satellite imagery lacks quantitative information about atmospheric moisture unless the sampled brightness temperatures or other data are converted to estimates of moisture via a retrieval process. Thus, complementary satellite observations are needed to capture a complete picture of a developing storm system. Here, total column ozone retrievals derived from a hyperspectral sounder are used to confirm the extent and magnitude of SAIs. Total ozone is a good proxy for defining locations and intensity of SAIs and has been used in studies evaluating that phenomenon (e.g. Tian et al. 2007, Knox and Schmidt 2005). Steep gradients in values of total ozone seen by satellites have been linked

Prediction of ozone tropospheric degradation rate constant of organic compounds by using artificial neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fatemi, M.H.

2006-01-01

Ozone tropospheric degradation of organic compound is very important in environmental chemistry. The lifetime of organic chemicals in the atmosphere can be calculated from the knowledge of the rate constant of their reaction with free radicals such as OH and NO 3 or O 3 . In the present work, the rate constant for the tropospheric degradation of 137 organic compounds by reaction with ozone, the least widely and successfully modeled degradation process, are predicted by quantitative structure activity relationships modeling based on a variety of theoretical descriptors, which screened and selected by genetic algorithm variable subset selection procedure. These descriptors which can be used as inputs for generated artificial neural networks are; HOMO-LUMO gap, number of double bonds, number of single bonds, maximum net charge on C atom, minimum (>0.1) bond order of C atom and Minimum e-e repulsion of H atom. After generation, optimization and training of artificial neural network, network was used for the prediction of log KO 3 for the validation set. The root mean square error for the neural network calculated log KO 3 for training, prediction and validation set are 0.357, 0.460 and 0.481, respectively, which are smaller than those obtained by multiple linear regressions model (1.217, 0.870 and 0.968, respectively). Results obtained reveal the reliability and good predictivity of neural network model for the prediction of ozone tropospheric degradations rate constant of organic compounds

Automatic programmable air ozonizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gubarev, S.P.; Klosovsky, A.V.; Opaleva, G.P.; Taran, V.S.; Zolototrubova, M.I.

2015-01-01

In this paper we describe a compact, economical, easy to manage auto air ozonator developed at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the NSC KIPT. It is designed for sanitation, disinfection of premises and cleaning the air from foreign odors. A distinctive feature of the developed device is the generation of a given concentration of ozone, approximately 0.7 maximum allowable concentration (MAC), and automatic maintenance of a specified level. This allows people to be inside the processed premises during operation. The microprocessor controller to control the operation of the ozonator was developed

Evaluation of atmospheric aerosol and tropospheric ozone effects on global terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Min

The increasing human activities have produced large amounts of air pollutants ejected into the atmosphere, in which atmospheric aerosols and tropospheric ozone are considered to be especially important because of their negative impacts on human health and their impacts on global climate through either their direct radiative effect or indirect effect on land-atmosphere CO2 exchange. This dissertation dedicates to quantifying and evaluating the aerosol and tropospheric ozone effects on global terrestrial ecosystem dynamics using a modeling approach. An ecosystem model, the integrated Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (iTem), is developed to simulate biophysical and biogeochemical processes in terrestrial ecosystems. A two-broad-band atmospheric radiative transfer model together with the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measured atmospheric parameters are used to well estimate global downward solar radiation and the direct and diffuse components in comparison with observations. The atmospheric radiative transfer modeling framework were used to quantify the aerosol direct radiative effect, showing that aerosol loadings cause 18.7 and 12.8 W m -2 decrease of direct-beam Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) and Near Infrared Radiation (NIR) respectively, and 5.2 and 4.4 W m -2 increase of diffuse PAR and NIR, respectively, leading to a total 21.9 W m-2 decrease of total downward solar radiation over the global land surface during the period of 2003-2010. The results also suggested that the aerosol effect may be overwhelmed by clouds because of the stronger extinction and scattering ability of clouds. Applications of the iTem with solar radiation data and with or without considering the aerosol loadings shows that aerosol loading enhances the terrestrial productions [Gross Primary Production (GPP), Net Primary Production (NPP) and Net Ecosystem Production (NEP)] and carbon emissions through plant respiration (RA) in global terrestrial ecosystems over the

The behaviour of stratospheric and upper tropospheric ozone in high and mid latitudes; the role of ozone as a climate gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kyroe, M; Rummukainen, M; Kivi, R; Turunen, T; Karhu, J [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Sodankylae (Finland); Taalas, P [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland)

1997-12-31

During the past few years, the dual role that ozone plays in climate change has been becoming increasingly obvious. First, continuous thinning of the ozone layer has been evident, even in the high and middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Secondly, ozone is also a greenhouse gas, affecting radiative transfer. Increases in tropospheric ozone have a positive forcing, whereas decreases in stratospheric ozone cause a negative forcing. During the last six years, measurements on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone have been performed at the Sodankylae Observatory. At Jokioinen Observatory, measurements on total ozone have been performed since 1990 and measurements on the vertical distribution of ozone since 1993. The overall project has focused on extending the national data series on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone. At the same time, the study has contributed to the study of interannual variability of the ozone layer. This SILMU project took part in the large-scale research activities, in addition to performing national studies. The results confirm that there has been fast chemical ozone destruction in the high latitudes in the northern hemisphere. This was particularly evident in the last two winters, 1994/95 and 1995/96. The new data also allows better trend analyses to be made on ozone in high and mid latitudes

The behaviour of stratospheric and upper tropospheric ozone in high and mid latitudes; the role of ozone as a climate gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kyroe, M.; Rummukainen, M.; Kivi, R.; Turunen, T.; Karhu, J. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Sodankylae (Finland); Taalas, P. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland)

1996-12-31

During the past few years, the dual role that ozone plays in climate change has been becoming increasingly obvious. First, continuous thinning of the ozone layer has been evident, even in the high and middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere. Secondly, ozone is also a greenhouse gas, affecting radiative transfer. Increases in tropospheric ozone have a positive forcing, whereas decreases in stratospheric ozone cause a negative forcing. During the last six years, measurements on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone have been performed at the Sodankylae Observatory. At Jokioinen Observatory, measurements on total ozone have been performed since 1990 and measurements on the vertical distribution of ozone since 1993. The overall project has focused on extending the national data series on total ozone and the vertical distribution of ozone. At the same time, the study has contributed to the study of interannual variability of the ozone layer. This SILMU project took part in the large-scale research activities, in addition to performing national studies. The results confirm that there has been fast chemical ozone destruction in the high latitudes in the northern hemisphere. This was particularly evident in the last two winters, 1994/95 and 1995/96. The new data also allows better trend analyses to be made on ozone in high and mid latitudes

Changing Conditions in the Arctic: An Analysis of 45 years of Tropospheric Ozone Measurements at Barrow Observatory

Science.gov (United States)

McClure-Begley, A.; Petropavlovskikh, I. V.; Crepinsek, S.; Jefferson, A.; Emmons, L. K.; Oltmans, S. J.

2017-12-01

In order to understand the impact of climate on local bio-systems, understanding the changes to the atmospheric composition and processes in the Arctic boundary layer and free troposphere is imperative. In the Arctic, many conditions influence tropospheric ozone variability such as: seasonal halogen caused depletion events, long range transport of pollutants from mid-northern latitudes, compounds released from wildfires, and different meteorological conditions. The Barrow station in Utqiagvik, Alaska has collected continuous measurements of ground-level ozone since 1973. This unique long-term time series allows for analysis of the influence of a rapidly changing climate on ozone conditions in this region. Specifically, this study analyzes the frequency of enhanced ozone episodes over time and provides in depth analysis of periods of positive deviations from the expected conditions. To discern the contribution of different pollutant sources to observed ozone variability, co-located measurements of aerosols, carbon monoxide, and meteorological conditions are used. In addition, the NCAR Mozart-4/MOPITT Chemical Forecast model and NOAA Hysplit back-trajectory analysis provide information on transport patterns to the Arctic and confirmation of the emission sources that influenced the observed conditions. These anthropogenic influences on ozone variability in and below the boundary layer are essential for developing an understanding of the interaction of climate change and the bio-systems in the Arctic.

Analysis of the Latitudinal Variability of Tropospheric Ozone in the Arctic Using the Large Number of Aircraft and Ozonesonde Observations in Early Summer 2008

Science.gov (United States)

Ancellet, Gerard; Daskalakis, Nikos; Raut, Jean Christophe; Quennehen, Boris; Ravetta, Francois; Hair, Jonathan; Tarasick, David; Schlager, Hans; Weinheimer, Andrew J.; Thompson, Anne M.;

Growth responses of Populus tremuloides clones to interacting elevated carbon dioxide and tropospheric ozone

Science.gov (United States)

J. G. Isebrands; E. P. McDonald; E. Kruger; G. Hendrey; K. Percy; K. Pregitzer; J. Sober; D. F. Karnosky

2001-01-01

The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) has concluded that the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and tropospheric ozone (O3) are increasing concomitantly globally. Little is known about the effect of these interacting gases on growth, survival, and productivity of forest ecosystems. In this study we assess...

The Ecophysiology Of A Pinus Ponderosa Ecosystem Exposed To High Tropospheric Ozone: Implications For Stomatal And Non-Stomatal Ozone Fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Fares, S.; McKay, M.; Goldstein, A.

2008-12-01

Ecosystems remove ozone from the troposphere through both stomatal and non-stomatal deposition. The portion of ozone taken up through stomata has an oxidative effect causing damage. We used a multi-year dataset to assess the physiological controls over ozone deposition. Environmental parameters, CO2 and ozone fluxes were measured continuously from January 2001 to December 2006 above a ponderosa pine plantation near Blodgett Forest, Georgetown, California. We studied the dynamic of NEE (Net Ecosystem Exchange, -838 g C m-2 yr-1) and water evapotranspiration on an annual and daily basis. These processes are tightly coupled to stomatal aperture which also controlled ozone fluxes. High levels of ozone concentrations (~ 100 ppb) were observed during the spring-summer period, with corresponding high levels of ozone fluxes (~ 30 μmol m-2 h-1). During the summer season, a large portion of the total ozone flux was due to non-stomatal processes, and we propose that a plant physiological control, releasing BVOC (Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds), is mainly responsible. We analyzed the correlations of common ozone exposure metrics based on accumulation of concentrations (AOT40 and SUM0) with ozone fluxes (total, stomatal and non-stomatal). Stomatal flux showed poorer correlation with ozone concentrations than non-stomatal flux during summer and fall seasons, which largely corresponded to the growing period. We therefore suggest that AOT40 and SUM0 are poor predictors of ozone damage and that a physiologically based metric would be more effective.

Is There Evidence that Mid-Latitude Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Occurs in Conjunction with North American Monsoon Convection?

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenlof, K. H.; Ray, E. A.; Portmann, R. W.

2017-12-01

A recent study suggests that during the period of the summertime North American Monsoon (NAM), ozone depletion could occur as a result of catalytic ozone destruction associated with the cold and wet conditions caused by overshooting convection. Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) water vapor measurements do show that the NAM region is wetter than other parts of the globe in regards to both the mean and extremes. However, definitive evidence of ozone depletion occurring in that region has not been presented. In this study, we examine coincident measurements of water vapor, ozone, and tropospheric tracers from aircraft data taken during the Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS) aircraft campaign looking specifically for ozone depletion in regions identified as impacted by overshooting convection. Although we do find evidence of lower ozone values in air impacted by convective overshoots, using tropospheric tracers we attribute those observations to input of tropospheric air rather than catalytic ozone destruction. Additionally, we explore the consequences of these lower ozone values on surface UV, and conclude that there is minimal impact on the UV index.

Global tropospheric ozone modeling: Quantifying errors due to grid resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, Oliver; Prather, Michael J.

2006-06-01

Ozone production in global chemical models is dependent on model resolution because ozone chemistry is inherently nonlinear, the timescales for chemical production are short, and precursors are artificially distributed over the spatial scale of the model grid. In this study we examine the sensitivity of ozone, its precursors, and its production to resolution by running a global chemical transport model at four different resolutions between T21 (5.6° × 5.6°) and T106 (1.1° × 1.1°) and by quantifying the errors in regional and global budgets. The sensitivity to vertical mixing through the parameterization of boundary layer turbulence is also examined. We find less ozone production in the boundary layer at higher resolution, consistent with slower chemical production in polluted emission regions and greater export of precursors. Agreement with ozonesonde and aircraft measurements made during the NASA TRACE-P campaign over the western Pacific in spring 2001 is consistently better at higher resolution. We demonstrate that the numerical errors in transport processes on a given resolution converge geometrically for a tracer at successively higher resolutions. The convergence in ozone production on progressing from T21 to T42, T63, and T106 resolution is likewise monotonic but indicates that there are still large errors at 120 km scales, suggesting that T106 resolution is too coarse to resolve regional ozone production. Diagnosing the ozone production and precursor transport that follow a short pulse of emissions over east Asia in springtime allows us to quantify the impacts of resolution on both regional and global ozone. Production close to continental emission regions is overestimated by 27% at T21 resolution, by 13% at T42 resolution, and by 5% at T106 resolution. However, subsequent ozone production in the free troposphere is not greatly affected. We find that the export of short-lived precursors such as NOx by convection is overestimated at coarse resolution.

Impact of enhanced ozone deposition and halogen chemistry on tropospheric ozone over the Northern Hemisphere

Science.gov (United States)

Fate of ozone in marine environments has been receiving increased attention due to the tightening of ambient air quality standards. The role of deposition and halogen chemistry is examined through incorporation of an enhanced ozone deposition algorithm and inclusion of halogen ch...

Impacts of biogenic emissions of VOC and NOx on tropospheric ozone during summertime in eastern China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qin'geng; Han, Zhiwei; Wang, Tijian; Zhang, Renjian

2008-05-20

This study is intended to understand and quantify the impacts of biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) on the formation of tropospheric ozone during summertime in eastern China. The model system consists of the non-hydrostatic mesoscale meteorological model (MM5) and a tropospheric chemical and transport model (TCTM) with the updated carbon-bond chemical reaction mechanism (CBM-IV). The spatial resolution of the system domain is 30 km x 30 km. The impacts of biogenic emissions are investigated by performing simulations (36 h) with and without biogenic emissions, while anthropogenic emissions are constant. The results indicate that biogenic emissions have remarkable impacts on surface ozone in eastern China. In big cities and their surrounding areas, surface ozone formation tends to be VOC-limited. The increase in ozone concentration by biogenic VOC is generally 5 ppbv or less, but could be more than 10 ppbv or even 30 ppbv in some local places. The impacts of biogenic NO(x) are different or even contrary in different regions, depending on the relative availability of NO(x) and VOC. The surface ozone concentrations reduced or increased by the biogenic NO(x) could be as much as 10 ppbv or 20 ppbv, respectively. The impacts of biogenic emissions on ozone aloft are generally restricted to the boundary layer and generally more obvious during the daytime than during the nighttime. This study is useful for understanding the role of biogenic emissions and for planning strategies for surface ozone abatement in eastern China. Due to limitations of the emission inventories used and the highly non-linear nature of zone formation, however, some uncertainties remain in the results.

Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report: Present-day ozone distribution and trends relevant to human health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoë L. Fleming

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This study quantifies the present-day global and regional distributions (2010–2014 and trends (2000–2014 for five ozone metrics relevant for short-term and long-term human exposure. These metrics, calculated by the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report, are: 4th highest daily maximum 8-hour ozone (4MDA8; number of days with MDA8 > 70 ppb (NDGT70, SOMO35 (annual Sum of Ozone Means Over 35 ppb and two seasonally averaged metrics (3MMDA1; AVGMDA8. These metrics were explored at ozone monitoring sites worldwide, which were classified as urban or non-urban based on population and nighttime lights data. Present-day distributions of 4MDA8 and NDGT70, determined predominantly by peak values, are similar with highest levels in western North America, southern Europe and East Asia. For the other three metrics, distributions are similar with North–South gradients more prominent across Europe and Japan. Between 2000 and 2014, significant negative trends in 4MDA8 and NDGT70 occur at most US and some European sites. In contrast, significant positive trends are found at many sites in South Korea and Hong Kong, with mixed trends across Japan. The other three metrics have similar, negative trends for many non-urban North American and some European and Japanese sites, and positive trends across much of East Asia. Globally, metrics at many sites exhibit non-significant trends. At 59% of all sites there is a common direction and significance in the trend across all five metrics, whilst 4MDA8 and NDGT70 have a common trend at ~80% of all sites. Sensitivity analysis shows AVGMDA8 trends differ with averaging period (warm season or annual. Trends are unchanged at many sites when a 1995–2014 period is used; although fewer sites exhibit non-significant trends. Over the longer period 1970–2014, most Japanese sites exhibit positive 4MDA8/SOMO35 trends. Insufficient data exist to characterize ozone trends for the rest of Asia and other world regions.

The influences of Wildfires and Stratospheric-Tropospheric exchange on ozone during SEACIONS mission over St. Louis, MO

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, J. L.

2015-12-01

A series of 32 ozonesondes were launched from St. Louis, Missouri, from 8 Aug - 23 Sept 2013, as part of the SouthEast American Consortium for Intensive Ozone Network Study (SEACIONS) mission. The time during which this site operated coincided with two large wildfires, Idaho's Beaver Creek fire and California's RIM fire, in addition to widespread agricultural fires in the Midwest. As part of our analyses, we examined multiple satellite-derived products that have been used in the analysis of tropospheric pollution, fires, and air mass flow patterns. The Fire Locating and Modeling of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE) inventory was used as an input to FLEXPART-WRF to quantify the contribution of particle trajectories and injection heights from the various sources. Trajectories from the sonde launch sites and fire locations were used as input for the two FLEXPART-WRF Model simulations to determine the origins of pollution plumes. The first simulation was conducted to model fire emissions within the planetary boundary layer (<3500m), while the second was added to investigate transportation effects from locations identified to have pyro-convective cumulonimbus. The Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5) potential vorticity was used to analyze the stratospheric component of ozone enhancements. We examined three meteorological test cases: 1) a cut-off low, 2) a blocking high pressure, and 3) a frontal passage, which involve mixed-layer O3 enhancements, which can be spotted at several sites within SEACIONS. We look to quantify the contribution of these ozone enhancement sources to local air quality.

Trends and annual cycles in soundings of Arctic tropospheric ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Christiansen, Bo; Jepsen, Nis; Kivi, Rigel; Hansen, Georg; Larsen, Niels; Smith Korsholm, Ulrik

2017-08-01

Ozone soundings from nine Nordic stations have been homogenized and interpolated to standard pressure levels. The different stations have very different data coverage; the longest period with data is from the end of the 1980s to 2014. At each pressure level the homogenized ozone time series have been analysed with a model that includes both low-frequency variability in the form of a polynomial, an annual cycle with harmonics, the possibility for low-frequency variability in the annual amplitude and phasing, and either white noise or noise given by a first-order autoregressive process. The fitting of the parameters is performed with a Bayesian approach not only giving the mean values but also confidence intervals. The results show that all stations agree on a well-defined annual cycle in the free troposphere with a relatively confined maximum in the early summer. Regarding the low-frequency variability, it is found that Scoresbysund, Ny Ålesund, Sodankylä, Eureka, and Ørland show similar, significant signals with a maximum near 2005 followed by a decrease. This change is characteristic for all pressure levels in the free troposphere. A significant change in the annual cycle was found for Ny Ålesund, Scoresbysund, and Sodankylä. The changes at these stations are in agreement with the interpretation that the early summer maximum is appearing earlier in the year. The results are shown to be robust to the different settings of the model parameters such as the order of the polynomial, number of harmonics in the annual cycle, and the type of noise.

Global 3-D modeling of atmospheric ozone in the free troposphere and the stratosphere with emphasis on midlatitude regions. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brasseur, G.; Tie, X.; Walters, S.

1999-03-01

The authors have used several global chemical/transport models (1) to study the contribution of various physical, chemical, and dynamical processes to the budget of mid-latitude ozone in the stratosphere and troposphere; (2) to analyze the potential mechanisms which are responsible for the observed ozone perturbations at mid-latitudes of the lower stratosphere and in the upper troposphere; (3) to calculate potential changes in atmospheric ozone response to anthropogenic changes (e.g., emission of industrially manufactured CFCs, CO, and NO{sub x}) and to natural perturbations (e.g., volcanic eruptions and biomass burning); and (4) to estimate the impact of these changes on the radiative forcing to the climate system and on the level of UV-B radiation at the surface.

Impact of a future H2-based road transportation sector on the composition and chemistry of the atmosphere – Part 1: Tropospheric composition and air quality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Wang

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Vehicles burning fossil fuel emit a number of substances that change the composition and chemistry of the atmosphere, and contribute to global air and water pollution and climate change. For example, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs emitted as byproducts of fossil fuel combustion are key precursors to ground-level ozone and aerosol formation. In addition, on-road vehicles are major CO2 emitters. In order to tackle these problems, molecular hydrogen (H2 has been proposed as an energy carrier to substitute for fossil fuels in the future. However, before implementing any such strategy it is crucial to evaluate its potential impacts on air quality and climate. Here, we evaluate the impact of a future (2050 H2-based road transportation sector on tropospheric chemistry and air quality for several possible growth and technology adoption scenarios. The growth scenarios are based on the high and low emissions Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Emissions Scenarios, A1FI and B1, respectively. The technological adoption scenarios include H2 fuel cell and H2 internal combustion engine options. The impacts are evaluated with the Community Atmospheric Model Chemistry global chemistry transport model (CAM-Chem. Higher resolution simulations focusing on the contiguous United States are also carried out with the Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ regional chemistry transport model. For all scenarios future air quality improves with the adoption of a H2-based road transportation sector; however, the magnitude and type of improvement depend on the scenario. Model results show that the adoption of H2 fuel cells would decrease tropospheric burdens of ozone (7%, CO (14%, NOx (16%, soot (17%, sulfate aerosol (4%, and ammonium nitrate aerosol (12% in the A1FI scenario, and would decrease those of ozone (5%, CO (4%, NOx (11%, soot (7%, sulfate aerosol (4%, and ammonium nitrate aerosol (9% in the B1 scenario

Photochemistry of the African troposphere: Influence of biomass-burning emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Marufu, L.; Dentener, F.; Lelieveld, J.; Andreae, M. O.; Helas, G.

2000-06-01

The relative importance of biomass-burning (pyrogenic) emissions from savannas, deforestation, agricultural waste burning, and biofuel consumption to tropospheric ozone abundance over Africa has been estimated for the year 1993, on the basis of global model calculations. We also calculated the importance of this emission source to tropospheric ozone in other regions of the world and compared it to different sources on the African regional and global scales. The estimated annual average total tropospheric ozone abundance over Africa for the reference year is 26 Tg. Pyrogenic, industrial, biogenic, and lightning emissions account for 16, 19, 12, and 27%, respectively, while stratospheric ozone input accounts for 26%. In the planetary boundary layer over Africa, the contribution by biomass burning is ˜24%. A large fraction of the African biomass-burning-related ozone is transported away from the continent. On a global scale, biomass burning contributes ˜9% to tropospheric ozone. Our model calculations suggest that Africa is the single most important region for biomass-burning-related tropospheric ozone, accounting for ˜35% of the global annual pyrogenic ozone enhancement of 29 Tg in 1993.

Contribution of anthropogenic pollutants to the increase of tropospheric ozone levels in the Oporto Metropolitan Area, Portugal since the 19th century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvim-Ferraz, M.C.M.; Sousa, S.I.V.; Pereira, M.C.; Martins, F.G.

2006-01-01

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of anthropogenic pollutants to the increase of tropospheric ozone levels in the Oporto Metropolitan Area (Portugal) since the 19th century. The study was based on pre-industrial and recent data series, the results being analyzed according to the atmospheric chemistry. The treatment of ozone and meteorological data was performed by classical statistics and by time-series analysis. It was concluded that in the 19th century the ozone present in the troposphere was not of photochemical origin, being possible to consider the respective concentrations as reference values. For recent data a cycle of 8 h for ozone concentrations could be related to traffic. Compared to the 19th century, the current concentrations were 147% higher (252% higher in May) due to the increased photochemical production associated with the increased anthropogenic emissions. - Compared to the 19th century, the current ozone concentrations are 147% higher at Oporto, Portugal

Revisiting the contribution of land transport and shipping emissions to tropospheric ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Mertens, Mariano; Grewe, Volker; Rieger, Vanessa S.; Jöckel, Patrick

2018-04-01

We quantify the contribution of land transport and shipping emissions to tropospheric ozone for the first time with a chemistry-climate model including an advanced tagging method (also known as source apportionment), which considers not only the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx, NO, and NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOC) separately, but also their non-linear interaction in producing ozone. For summer conditions a contribution of land transport emissions to ground-level ozone of up to 18 % in North America and Southern Europe is estimated, which corresponds to 12 and 10 nmol mol-1, respectively. The simulation results indicate a contribution of shipping emissions to ground-level ozone during summer on the order of up to 30 % in the North Pacific Ocean (up to 12 nmol mol-1) and 20 % in the North Atlantic Ocean (12 nmol mol-1). With respect to the contribution to the tropospheric ozone burden, we quantified values of 8 and 6 % for land transport and shipping emissions, respectively. Overall, the emissions from land transport contribute around 20 % to the net ozone production near the source regions, while shipping emissions contribute up to 52 % to the net ozone production in the North Pacific Ocean. To put these estimates in the context of literature values, we review previous studies. Most of them used the perturbation approach, in which the results for two simulations, one with all emissions and one with changed emissions for the source of interest, are compared. For a better comparability with these studies, we also performed additional perturbation simulations, which allow for a consistent comparison of results using the perturbation and the tagging approach. The comparison shows that the results strongly depend on the chosen methodology (tagging or perturbation approach) and on the strength of the perturbation. A more in-depth analysis for the land transport emissions reveals that the two approaches give different results

Ozone Production in Global Tropospheric Models: Quantifying Errors due to Grid Resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Wild, O.; Prather, M. J.

2005-12-01

Ozone production in global chemical models is dependent on model resolution because ozone chemistry is inherently nonlinear, the timescales for chemical production are short, and precursors are artificially distributed over the spatial scale of the model grid. In this study we examine the sensitivity of ozone, its precursors, and its production to resolution by running a global chemical transport model at four different resolutions between T21 (5.6° × 5.6°) and T106 (1.1° × 1.1°) and by quantifying the errors in regional and global budgets. The sensitivity to vertical mixing through the parameterization of boundary layer turbulence is also examined. We find less ozone production in the boundary layer at higher resolution, consistent with slower chemical production in polluted emission regions and greater export of precursors. Agreement with ozonesonde and aircraft measurements made during the NASA TRACE-P campaign over the Western Pacific in spring 2001 is consistently better at higher resolution. We demonstrate that the numerical errors in transport processes at a given resolution converge geometrically for a tracer at successively higher resolutions. The convergence in ozone production on progressing from T21 to T42, T63 and T106 resolution is likewise monotonic but still indicates large errors at 120~km scales, suggesting that T106 resolution is still too coarse to resolve regional ozone production. Diagnosing the ozone production and precursor transport that follow a short pulse of emissions over East Asia in springtime allows us to quantify the impacts of resolution on both regional and global ozone. Production close to continental emission regions is overestimated by 27% at T21 resolution, by 13% at T42 resolution, and by 5% at T106 resolution, but subsequent ozone production in the free troposphere is less significantly affected.

Distinct transcriptional profiles of ozone stress in soybean (Glycine max) flowers and pods

Science.gov (United States)

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a secondary air pollutant and anthropogenic greenhouse gas. Concentrations of tropospheric O3 ([O3] have more than doubled since the Industrial Revolution, and are high enough to damage plant productivity. Soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) is the world's most important legume...

New capability for ozone dial profiling measurements in the troposphere and lower stratosphere from aircraft

Science.gov (United States)

Hair, Johnathan; Hostetler, Chris; Cook, Anthony; Harper, David; Notari, Anthony; Fenn, Marta; Newchurch, Mike; Wang, Lihua; Kuang, Shi; Knepp, Travis; Burton, Sharon; Ferrare, Richard; Butler, Carolyn; Collins, Jim; Nehrir, Amin

2018-04-01

Recently, we successfully demonstrated a new compact and robust ozone DIAL lidar for smaller aircraft such as the NASA B200 and the ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. This is the first NASA airborne lidar to incorporate advanced solid-state lasers to produce the required power at the required ultraviolet wavelengths, and is compact and robust enough to operate nearly autonomously on the high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. This technology development resulted in the first new NASA airborne ozone DIAL instrument in more than 15 years. The combined ozone, aerosol, and clouds measurements provide valuable information on the chemistry, radiation, and dynamics of the atmosphere. In particular, from the ER-2 it offers a unique capability to study the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.

New capability for ozone dial profiling measurements in the troposphere and lower stratosphere from aircraft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hair Johnathan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, we successfully demonstrated a new compact and robust ozone DIAL lidar for smaller aircraft such as the NASA B200 and the ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. This is the first NASA airborne lidar to incorporate advanced solid-state lasers to produce the required power at the required ultraviolet wavelengths, and is compact and robust enough to operate nearly autonomously on the high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. This technology development resulted in the first new NASA airborne ozone DIAL instrument in more than 15 years. The combined ozone, aerosol, and clouds measurements provide valuable information on the chemistry, radiation, and dynamics of the atmosphere. In particular, from the ER-2 it offers a unique capability to study the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere.

Assessment of upper tropospheric and stratospheric water vapor and ozone in reanalyses as part of S-RIP

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Sean M.; Hegglin, Michaela I.; Fujiwara, Masatomo; Dragani, Rossana; Harada, Yayoi; Kobayashi, Chiaki; Long, Craig; Manney, Gloria L.; Nash, Eric R.; Potter, Gerald L.; Tegtmeier, Susann; Wang, Tao; Wargan, Krzysztof; Wright, Jonathon S.

2017-10-01

Reanalysis data sets are widely used to understand atmospheric processes and past variability, and are often used to stand in as "observations" for comparisons with climate model output. Because of the central role of water vapor (WV) and ozone (O3) in climate change, it is important to understand how accurately and consistently these species are represented in existing global reanalyses. In this paper, we present the results of WV and O3 intercomparisons that have been performed as part of the SPARC (Stratosphere-troposphere Processes and their Role in Climate) Reanalysis Intercomparison Project (S-RIP). The comparisons cover a range of timescales and evaluate both inter-reanalysis and observation-reanalysis differences. We also provide a systematic documentation of the treatment of WV and O3 in current reanalyses to aid future research and guide the interpretation of differences amongst reanalysis fields.The assimilation of total column ozone (TCO) observations in newer reanalyses results in realistic representations of TCO in reanalyses except when data coverage is lacking, such as during polar night. The vertical distribution of ozone is also relatively well represented in the stratosphere in reanalyses, particularly given the relatively weak constraints on ozone vertical structure provided by most assimilated observations and the simplistic representations of ozone photochemical processes in most of the reanalysis forecast models. However, significant biases in the vertical distribution of ozone are found in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere in all reanalyses.In contrast to O3, reanalysis estimates of stratospheric WV are not directly constrained by assimilated data. Observations of atmospheric humidity are typically used only in the troposphere, below a specified vertical level at or near the tropopause. The fidelity of reanalysis stratospheric WV products is therefore mainly dependent on the reanalyses' representation of the physical drivers that

Convective lofting links Indian Ocean air pollution to paradoxical South Atlantic ozone maxima

Science.gov (United States)

Chatfield, R. B.; Guan, H.; Thompson, A. M.; Witte, J. C.

2005-01-01

We describe a broad resolution of the Atlantic Parado concerning the seasonal and geographic distribution, of tropical tropospheric ozone. We highlight periods of significant maximum tropospheric O3 for Jan.- April, 1999, exploiting satellite estimates and SHADOZ (Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes). Trajectory analyses connecting sondes and Total Tropospheric Ozone (TTO) maps suggest a complex influence from the Indian Ocean: beginning with mixed combustion sources, then low level transport, cumulonimbus venting, possible stratospheric input, and finally high-level transport to the west, with possible mixing over Africa. For the Jan.-March highest column-O3 periods in the Atlantic, distinct sounding peaks trace to specific NO sources, especially lightning, while in the same episodes, recurring every 20-50 days, more diffuse buildups of Indian-to-Atlantic pollution make important contributions.

Trends and annual cycles in soundings of Arctic tropospheric ozone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Christiansen

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Ozone soundings from nine Nordic stations have been homogenized and interpolated to standard pressure levels. The different stations have very different data coverage; the longest period with data is from the end of the 1980s to 2014. At each pressure level the homogenized ozone time series have been analysed with a model that includes both low-frequency variability in the form of a polynomial, an annual cycle with harmonics, the possibility for low-frequency variability in the annual amplitude and phasing, and either white noise or noise given by a first-order autoregressive process. The fitting of the parameters is performed with a Bayesian approach not only giving the mean values but also confidence intervals. The results show that all stations agree on a well-defined annual cycle in the free troposphere with a relatively confined maximum in the early summer. Regarding the low-frequency variability, it is found that Scoresbysund, Ny Ålesund, Sodankylä, Eureka, and Ørland show similar, significant signals with a maximum near 2005 followed by a decrease. This change is characteristic for all pressure levels in the free troposphere. A significant change in the annual cycle was found for Ny Ålesund, Scoresbysund, and Sodankylä. The changes at these stations are in agreement with the interpretation that the early summer maximum is appearing earlier in the year. The results are shown to be robust to the different settings of the model parameters such as the order of the polynomial, number of harmonics in the annual cycle, and the type of noise.

UV Lidar Receiver Analysis for Tropospheric Sensing of Ozone

Science.gov (United States)

Pliutau, Denis; DeYoung, Russell J.

2013-01-01

A simulation of a ground based Ultra-Violet Differential Absorption Lidar (UV-DIAL) receiver system was performed under realistic daytime conditions to understand how range and lidar performance can be improved for a given UV pulse laser energy. Calculations were also performed for an aerosol channel transmitting at 3 W. The lidar receiver simulation studies were optimized for the purpose of tropospheric ozone measurements. The transmitted lidar UV measurements were from 285 to 295 nm and the aerosol channel was 527-nm. The calculations are based on atmospheric transmission given by the HITRAN database and the Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) meteorological data. The aerosol attenuation is estimated using both the BACKSCAT 4.0 code as well as data collected during the CALIPSO mission. The lidar performance is estimated for both diffuseirradiance free cases corresponding to nighttime operation as well as the daytime diffuse scattered radiation component based on previously reported experimental data. This analysis presets calculations of the UV-DIAL receiver ozone and aerosol measurement range as a function of sky irradiance, filter bandwidth and laser transmitted UV and 527-nm energy

Factors Controlling the Distribution of Atmospheric Mercury in the East Asian Free Troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Sheu, G.; Lee, C.; Lin, N.; Wang, J.; Ouyang, C.

2008-12-01

Taiwan is located to the downwind side of both East and Southeast Asia, which are the major anthropogenic mercury (Hg) source region worldwide. Also, it has been suggested that mountain-top monitoring sites, which are frequently in the free troposphere, are essential to the understanding of the global Hg transport. Accordingly, continuous measurements of atmospheric Hg have been conducting at Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (LABS, 2862 m a.s.l.) in Taiwan since April 13, 2006 to study the trans-boundary transport and transformation of Hg in the free troposphere. Three types of atmospheric Hg, including gaseous elemental Hg (GEM), reactive gaseous Hg (RGM), and particulate Hg (PHg), are measured using the Tekran 2537A/1130/1135 speciation system. Diurnal variations in the concentrations of GEM, RGM, ozone, and water vapor (WV) mixing ratio indicated the influence of boundary layer air in daytime and the subsidence of free tropospheric air masses from higher altitudes at night. Seasonal variation in GEM concentrations was evident with elevated concentrations usually observed between fall and spring when air masses were more or less under the influence of Asian continent. Low summer GEM values were associated with marine air masses. Spikes of RGM were frequently detected between midnight and early morning with concurrent decreases in GEM and WV mixing ratio and increases in ozone concentrations, suggesting the oxidation of GEM and formation of RGM in free troposphere. Concentrations of PHg were usually low; however, elevated concentrations were detected in spring when the Southeast Asian biomass burning plumes affected the LABS. Analysis of the collected data indicate that at LABS the distribution of atmospheric Hg is dynamically controlled by background atmosphere, exchange and mixing of free troposphere/boundary layer air, chemical transformation, and long-range transport from East and Southeast Asia.

Reconciliation of Halogen-Induced Ozone Loss with the Total-Column Ozone Record

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, T. G.; Plummer, D. A.; Scinocca, J. F.; Hegglin, M. I.; Fioletov, V. E.; Reader, M. C.; Remsberg, E.; von Clarmann, T.; Wang, H. J.

2014-01-01

The observed depletion of the ozone layer from the 1980s onwards is attributed to halogen source gases emitted by human activities. However, the precision of this attribution is complicated by year-to-year variations in meteorology, that is, dynamical variability, and by changes in tropospheric ozone concentrations. As such, key aspects of the total-column ozone record, which combines changes in both tropospheric and stratospheric ozone, remain unexplained, such as the apparent absence of a decline in total-column ozone levels before 1980, and of any long-term decline in total-column ozone levels in the tropics. Here we use a chemistry-climate model to estimate changes in halogen-induced ozone loss between 1960 and 2010; the model is constrained by observed meteorology to remove the eects of dynamical variability, and driven by emissions of tropospheric ozone precursors to separate out changes in tropospheric ozone. We show that halogen-induced ozone loss closely followed stratospheric halogen loading over the studied period. Pronounced enhancements in ozone loss were apparent in both hemispheres following the volcanic eruptions of El Chichon and, in particular, Mount Pinatubo, which significantly enhanced stratospheric aerosol loads. We further show that approximately 40% of the long-term non-volcanic ozone loss occurred before 1980, and that long-term ozone loss also occurred in the tropical stratosphere. Finally, we show that halogeninduced ozone loss has declined by over 10% since stratospheric halogen loading peaked in the late 1990s, indicating that the recovery of the ozone layer is well underway.

The influence of boreal biomass burning emissions on the distribution of tropospheric ozone over North America and the North Atlantic during 2010

OpenAIRE

M. Parrington; P. I. Palmer; D. K. Henze; D. W. Tarasick; E. J. Hyer; R. C. Owen; D. Helmig; C. Clerbaux; K. W. Bowman; M. N. Deeter; E. M. Barratt; P.-F. Coheur; D. Hurtmans; M. George; J. R. Worden

2011-01-01

We analyse the tropospheric ozone distribution over North America and the North Atlantic to boreal biomass burning emissions during the summer of 2010 using the GEOS-Chem 3-D global tropospheric chemical transport model, and observations from in situ and satellite instruments. In comparison to observations from the PICO-NARE observatory in the Azores, ozonesondes across Canada, and the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Instrument (IASI) satellite instr...

Modelling the Impacts of Climate Change on Tropospheric Ozone over three Centuries

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt Hedegaard, Gitte; Brandt, Jørgen; Christensen, Jesper H.; Gross, Allan; May, Wihelm; Hansen, Kaj M.; Skjøth, Carsten A.

2010-05-01

So far reduction of the anthropogenic emissions of chemical species to the atmosphere has been profoundly investigated. However, new research indicates that climate change on its own also has a significant impact on the future air pollution levels. Climate Change and its impact on air pollution levels are currently studied by a number of research groups using, global, hemispherical and regional modelling systems. In the Department of Atmospheric Environment, National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), Aarhus University, in Denmark, we have developed a hemispherical model system which is based on the DEHM model (Christensen, 1997; Frohn et al., 2002a; Frohn et al., 2002b). In the DEHM modelling system an option for modelling the impacts of climate change has been included by using meteorological input from global climate models. Here we present results by using climate data that are provided by the ECHAM5/MPI-OM Atmosphere-Ocean General Circulation Model (May, 2008; Roeckner et al., 2003). In the current experiment the anthropogenic emissions in the chemistry model DEHM are kept constant on a 2000 level to separate out the signal of climate change on air pollutants while the meteorological drivers simulated by the ECHAM5/MPI-OM climate model is based on the IPCC SRES A1B Scenario. To save computing time the experiment is carried out in time-slices representing four centuries (1890s, 1990s, 2090s and the 2190s). The results show that the dominating impacts from climate change on a large number of the chemical species are related to the predicted temperature increase. This temperature affects chemistry as well as emissions from nature. The largest changes in both meteorology and air quality is found to happen in the 21st century. However, significant changes are also found in some parameters including tropospheric ozone in the following century. In general the background ozone concentrations is predicted to decrease at surface level however in the densely

Evaluation of emission control strategies to reduce ozone pollution in the Paso del Norte region using a photochemical air quality modeling system

Science.gov (United States)

Valenzuela, Victor Hugo

Air pollution emissions control strategies to reduce ozone precursor pollutants are analyzed by applying a photochemical modeling system. Simulations of air quality conditions during an ozone episode which occurred in June, 2006 are undertaken by increasing or reducing area source emissions in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Two air pollutants are primary drivers in the formation of tropospheric ozone. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) undergo multiple chemical reactions under favorable meteorological conditions to form ozone, which is a secondary pollutant that irritates respiratory systems in sensitive individuals especially the elderly and young children. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency established National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to limit ambient air pollutants such as ozone by establishing an 8-hour average concentration of 0.075 ppm as the threshold at which a violation of the standard occurs. Ozone forms primarily due reactions in the troposphere of NOx and VOC emissions generated primarily by anthropogenic sources in urban regions. Data from emissions inventories indicate area sources account for ˜15 of NOx and ˜45% of regional VOC emissions. Area sources include gasoline stations, automotive paint bodyshops and nonroad mobile sources. Multiplicity of air pollution emissions sources provides an opportunity to investigate and potentially implement air quality improvement strategies to reduce emissions which contribute to elevated ozone concentrations. A baseline modeling scenario was established using the CAMx photochemical air quality model from which a series of sensitivity analyses for evaluating air quality control strategies were conducted. Modifications to area source emissions were made by varying NOx and / or VOC emissions in the areas of particular interest. Model performance was assessed for each sensitivity analysis. Normalized bias (NB) and normalized error (NE) were used to identify

Model Calculations of Changes in Tropospheric Ozone Over Europe and the Role of Surface Sources and Aircraft Emissions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hov, Oe [Bergen Univ. (Norway)

1996-01-01

This conference paper deals with a study of the impact of various sources of NO{sub x} on the ozone production in the free troposphere. A comprehensive two-dimensional zonally averaged chemistry/transport model and a three-dimensional meso-scale chemical transport (MCT) model are used in the study. Using the two-dimensional model, three surches of NO{sub x} in the upper troposphere were examined covering NO{sub x} produced by lightening, NO{sub x} (and NO{sub y}) brought to the upper troposphere from the planetary boundary layer by rapid vertical transport processes, and NO{sub x} emitted from aircraft. 4 refs.

Ozone Transport Aloft Drives Surface Ozone Maxima Across the Mojave Desert

Science.gov (United States)

VanCuren, R. A.

2014-12-01

A persistent layer of polluted air in the lower free troposphere over the Mojave Desert (California and Nevada) drives spring and summer surface ozone maxima as deep afternoon mixing delivers ozone and ozone precursors to surface measurement sites 200 km or more downwind of the mountains that separate the deserts from the heavily populated coastal areas of California. Pollutants in this elevated layer derive from California source regions (the Los Angeles megacity region and the intensive agricultural region of the San Joaquin Valley), and from long-range transport from Asia. Recognition of this poorly studied persistent layer explains and expands the significance of previously published reports of ozone and other pollutants observed in and over the Mojave Desert, resolves an apparent paradox in the timing of ozone peaks due to transport from the upwind basins, and provides a new perspective on the long-range downwind impacts of megacity pollution plumes.

The effects of Southeast Asia fire activities on tropospheric ozone, trace gases and aerosols at a remote site over the Tibetan Plateau of Southwest China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, C.Y.; Wong, K.H.; Li, Y.S.; Chan, L.Y.

2006-01-01

Tropospheric ozone (O 3 ), carbon monoxide (CO), total reactive nitrogen (NO y ) and aerosols (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) were measured on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau at Tengchong (25.01 deg N, 98.3 deg E, 1960 m a.s.l.) in Southwest China, where observational data is scarce, during a field campaign of the TAPTO-China (Transport of Air Pollutants and Tropospheric O 3 over China) in the spring of 2004. Fire maps derived from satellite data and backward air trajectories were used to trace the source regions and transport pathways of pollution. Ozone, CO, NO y , PM 10 and PM 2.5 had average concentrations of 26 ± 8 ppb, 179 ± 91 ppb, 2.7 ± 1.2 ppb and 34 ± 23 and 28 ± 19 μg/m 3 , respectively. The measured O 3 level is low when compared with those reported for similar longitudinal sites in Southeast (SE) Asia and northeastern Tibetan Plateau in Northwest China suggesting that there exist complex O 3 variations in the Tibetan Plateau and its neighbouring SE Asian region. High levels of pollution with hourly averages of O 3 , CO, NO y , PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations up to 59, 678 and 7.7 ppb and 158 and 137 μg/m 3 , respectively, were observed. The increase of pollutants in the lower troposphere was caused by regional built-up and transport of pollution from active fire regions of the SE Asia subcontinent and from northern South Asia. Our results showed that pollution transport from SE Asia and South Asia had relatively stronger impacts than that from Central and South China on the abundance of O 3 , trace gases and aerosols in the background atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau of Southwest China

Assessment of atmospheric processes driving ozone variations in the subtropical North Atlantic free troposphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Cuevas

2013-02-01

Full Text Available An analysis of the 22-yr ozone (O₃ series (1988–2009 at the subtropical high mountain Izaña~station (IZO; 2373 m a.s.l., representative of free troposphere (FT conditions, is presented. Diurnal and seasonal O₃ variations as well as the O₃ trend (0.19 ± 0.05 % yr⁻¹ or 0.09 ppbv yr⁻¹, are assessed. A climatology of O₃ transport pathways using backward trajectories shows that higher O₃ values are associated with air masses travelling above 4 km altitude from North America and North Atlantic Ocean, while low O₃ is transported from the Saharan continental boundary layer (CBL. O₃ data have been compared with PM₁₀, ²¹⁰Pb, ⁷Be, potential vorticity (PV and carbon monoxide (CO. A clear negative logarithmic relationship was observed between PM₁₀ and surface O₃ for all seasons. A similar relationship was found between O₃ and ²¹⁰Pb. The highest daily O₃ values (90th percentile are observed in spring and in the first half of summer time. A positive correlation between O₃ and PV, and between O₃ and ⁷Be is found throughout the year, indicating that relatively high surface O₃ values at IZO originate from the middle and upper troposphere. We find a good correlation between O₃ and CO in winter, supporting the hypothesis of long-range transport of photochemically generated O₃ from North America. Aged air masses, in combination with sporadic inputs from the upper troposphere, are observed in spring, summer and autumn. In summer time high O₃ values seem to be the result of stratosphere-to-troposphere (STT exchange processes in regions neighbouring the Canary Islands. Since 1995–1996, the North Atlantic Oscillation has changed from a predominantly high positive phase to alternating between negative

Balance of the tropospheric ozone and its relation to stratospheric intrusions indicated by cosmogenic radionuclides. Technical progress report, 1 November 1977--30 June 1978

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiter, R.; Kanter, H.J.; Sladkovic, R.; Jaeger, H.; Mueller, H.

1978-01-01

The study of the balance of the tropospheric ozone as a function of atmospheric pollutants and tropospheric transport has been started. Continuous recordings are available of ozone concentration at three levels (3000 m, 1800 m, and 700 m a.s.l.) and of the concentration of the cosmogenic radionuclides 7 Be, 32 P, 33 P, and the CO 2 -concentration. Ozone concentrations >70 ppB have been observed after stratospheric intrusions as well as in consequence of photochemical reactions in the boundary layer. An observation sequence, covering now a period of 20 months, is presented of the stratospheric aerosol layer by means of lidar monitoring. Possible errors in the measuring technique are discussed. A filter photospectrometer for the measurement of the atmospheric total ozone is described, its suitability is checked by a direct intercomparison with a Dobson spectrometer

Leaf age affects the responses of foliar injury and gas exchange to tropospheric ozone in Prunus serotina seedlings

Science.gov (United States)

Jianwei Zhang; Marcus Schaub; Jonathan A. Ferdinand; John M. Skelly; Kim C. Steiner; James E. Savage

2010-01-01

We investigated the effect of leaf age on the response of net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gwv), foliar injury, and leaf nitrogen concentration (NL) to tropospheric ozone (O3) on Prunus serotina seedlings grown in open-plots (AA) and open-top...

Study of stratosphere-troposphere exchange via 10Be/7Be isotope ratios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Priller, A.; Berger, M.; Golser, R.; Kutschera, W.; Steier, P.; Vockenhuber, C.; Wild, E.M.

2001-01-01

Full text: The present study is part of the European project STACCATO (influence of stratosphere-troposphere exchange in a changing climate on atmospheric transport and oxidation capacity). Stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) is one of the key factors controlling the budgets of ozone, water vapor and other substances in both the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. However, its contribution to their ozone budget relative to photo-chemical ozone formation from natural and anthropogenic precursor emissions is still uncertain. An international effort is made to estimate the strength of STE and its impact on tropospheric chemistry. The two cosmogenic radioisotopes of beryllium, 10 Be and 7 Be have very different half-lives of 1.51 Ma and 53.4 d, respectively. The combination of production rates, half-lives and different residence times in the stratosphere and troposphere, respectively, results in 10 Be/ 7 Be isotope ratios which can be used as fingerprints for STE. This ratio helps to give a much improved estimate of STE. However, only few 10 Be measurements exist, because its detection requires the rather elaborate method of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). At the AMS facility VERA we are now measuring the 10 Be content of air filters from the high-alpine stations 'Hoher Sonnblick', Austria, and 'Zugspitze', Germany. The TBe content is measured separately by decay counting. In this presentation, we want to describe the method of measuring 10 Be with AMS, and to discuss the results of first 10 Be/ 7 Be ratios. (author)

77 FR 30087 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-21

... and 81 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards; Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area Classifications...-9668-2] RIN 2060-AP37 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality...

Cultivar specific plant-soil feedback overrules soil legacy effects of elevated ozone in a rice-wheat rotation system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Li, Qi; Yang, Yue; Bao, Xuelian; Zhu, Jianguo; Liang, Wenju; Bezemer, T. Martijn

2016-01-01

Abstract Tropospheric ozone has been recognized as one of the most important air pollutants. Many studies have shown that elevated ozone negatively impacts yields of important crops such as wheat or rice, but how ozone influences soil ecosystems of these crops and plant growth in rotation systems is

A revised global ozone dry deposition estimate based on a new two-layer parameterisation for air-sea exchange and the multi-year MACC composition reanalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Luhar, Ashok K.; Woodhouse, Matthew T.; Galbally, Ian E.

2018-03-01

Dry deposition at the Earth's surface is an important sink of atmospheric ozone. Currently, dry deposition of ozone to the ocean surface in atmospheric chemistry models has the largest uncertainty compared to deposition to other surface types, with implications for global tropospheric ozone budget and associated radiative forcing. Most global models assume that the dominant term of surface resistance in the parameterisation of ozone dry deposition velocity at the oceanic surface is constant. There have been recent mechanistic parameterisations for air-sea exchange that account for the simultaneous waterside processes of ozone solubility, molecular diffusion, turbulent transfer, and first-order chemical reaction of ozone with dissolved iodide and other compounds, but there are questions about their performance and consistency. We present a new two-layer parameterisation scheme for the oceanic surface resistance by making the following realistic assumptions: (a) the thickness of the top water layer is of the order of a reaction-diffusion length scale (a few micrometres) within which ozone loss is dominated by chemical reaction and the influence of waterside turbulent transfer is negligible; (b) in the water layer below, both chemical reaction and waterside turbulent transfer act together and are accounted for; and (c) chemical reactivity is present through the depth of the oceanic mixing layer. The new parameterisation has been evaluated against dry deposition velocities from recent open-ocean measurements. It is found that the inclusion of only the aqueous iodide-ozone reaction satisfactorily describes the measurements. In order to better quantify the global dry deposition loss and its interannual variability, modelled 3-hourly ozone deposition velocities are combined with the 3-hourly MACC (Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate) reanalysis ozone for the years 2003-2012. The resulting ozone dry deposition is found to be 98.4 ± 30.0 Tg O3 yr-1 for the ocean

A Compact Mobile Ozone Lidar for Atmospheric Ozone and Aerosol Profiling

Science.gov (United States)

De Young, Russell; Carrion, William; Pliutau, Denis

2014-01-01

A compact mobile differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system has been developed at NASA Langley Research Center to provide ozone, aerosol and cloud atmospheric measurements in a mobile trailer for ground-based atmospheric ozone air quality campaigns. This lidar is integrated into the Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet) currently made up of four other ozone lidars across the country. The lidar system consists of a UV and green laser transmitter, a telescope and an optical signal receiver with associated Licel photon counting and analog channels. The laser transmitter consist of a Q-switched Nd:YLF inter-cavity doubled laser pumping a Ce:LiCAF tunable UV laser with all the associated power and lidar control support units on a single system rack. The system has been configured to enable mobile operation from a trailer and was deployed to Denver, CO July 15-August 15, 2014 supporting the DISCOVER-AQ campaign. Ozone curtain plots and the resulting science are presented.

Ozone - Current Air Quality Index

Science.gov (United States)

GO! Local Air Quality Conditions Zip Code: State : My Current Location Current AQI Forecast AQI Loop More Maps AQI: Good (0 - 50) ... resources for Hawaii residents and visitors more announcements Air Quality Basics Air Quality Index | Ozone | Particle Pollution | Smoke ...

A multi-model analysis of vertical ozone profiles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. E. Jonson

2010-06-01

Full Text Available A multi-model study of the long-range transport of ozone and its precursors from major anthropogenic source regions was coordinated by the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution (TF HTAP under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP. Vertical profiles of ozone at 12-h intervals from 2001 are available from twelve of the models contributing to this study and are compared here with observed profiles from ozonesondes. The contributions from each major source region are analysed for selected sondes, and this analysis is supplemented by retroplume calculations using the FLEXPART Lagrangian particle dispersion model to provide insight into the origin of ozone transport events and the cause of differences between the models and observations.

In the boundary layer ozone levels are in general strongly affected by regional sources and sinks. With a considerably longer lifetime in the free troposphere, ozone here is to a much larger extent affected by processes on a larger scale such as intercontinental transport and exchange with the stratosphere. Such individual events are difficult to trace over several days or weeks of transport. This may explain why statistical relationships between models and ozonesonde measurements are far less satisfactory than shown in previous studies for surface measurements at all seasons. The lowest bias between model-calculated ozone profiles and the ozonesonde measurements is seen in the winter and autumn months. Following the increase in photochemical activity in the spring and summer months, the spread in model results increases, and the agreement between ozonesonde measurements and the individual models deteriorates further.

At selected sites calculated contributions to ozone levels in the free troposphere from intercontinental transport are shown. Intercontinental transport is identified based on differences in model calculations with unperturbed emissions and

Leaf age affects the responses of foliar injury and gas exchange to tropospheric ozone in Prunus serotina seedlings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jianwei; Schaub, Marcus; Ferdinand, Jonathan A.; Skelly, John M.; Steiner, Kim C.; Savage, James E.

2010-01-01

We investigated the effect of leaf age on the response of net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (g wv ), foliar injury, and leaf nitrogen concentration (N L ) to tropospheric ozone (O 3 ) on Prunus serotina seedlings grown in open-plots (AA) and open-top chambers, supplied with either carbon-filtered or non-filtered air. We found significant variation in A, g wv , foliar injury, and N L (P 3 treatments. Seedlings in AA showed the highest A and g wv due to relatively low vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Older leaves showed significantly lower A, g wv , N L , and higher foliar injury (P wv , and foliar injury to O 3 . Both VPD and N L had a strong influence on leaf gas exchange. Foliar O 3 -induced injury appeared when cumulative O 3 uptake reached 8-12 mmol m -2 , depending on soil water availability. The mechanistic assessment of O 3 -induced injury is a valuable approach for a biologically relevant O 3 risk assessment for forest trees. - Ozone effects on symptom development and leaf gas exchange interacted with leaf age and N-content on black cherry seedlings.

Comparative scenario study of tropospheric ozone climate interactions using a global model. A 1% global increase rate, the IS92a IPCC scenario and a simplified aircraft traffic increase scenario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chalita, S [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 75 - Paris (France). Service d` Aeronomie; Le Treut, H [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 75 - Paris (France). Lab. de Meteorologie Dynamique

1998-12-31

Sensitivity studies have been made to establish the relationship between different scenarios of tropospheric ozone increase and radiative forcing. Some aspects of the ozone-climate interactions for past and future scenarios are investigated. These calculations employ IMAGES tropospheric ozone concentrations for a pre-industrial, present and future atmospheres. The averaged last 10 years of the 25-year seasonal integrations were analyzed. The results of this study are preliminary. Ozone forcing is basically different from the CO{sub 2} forcing, for its regional and temporal structured nature and for its rather weak intensity. (R.P.) 14 refs.

Comparative scenario study of tropospheric ozone climate interactions using a global model. A 1% global increase rate, the IS92a IPCC scenario and a simplified aircraft traffic increase scenario

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chalita, S. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 75 - Paris (France). Service d`Aeronomie; Le Treut, H. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 75 - Paris (France). Lab. de Meteorologie Dynamique

1997-12-31

Sensitivity studies have been made to establish the relationship between different scenarios of tropospheric ozone increase and radiative forcing. Some aspects of the ozone-climate interactions for past and future scenarios are investigated. These calculations employ IMAGES tropospheric ozone concentrations for a pre-industrial, present and future atmospheres. The averaged last 10 years of the 25-year seasonal integrations were analyzed. The results of this study are preliminary. Ozone forcing is basically different from the CO{sub 2} forcing, for its regional and temporal structured nature and for its rather weak intensity. (R.P.) 14 refs.

CHARACTERIZATION OF OZONE EMISSIONS FROM AIR CLEANERS EQUIPPED WITH OZONE GENERATORS AND SENSOR AND FEEDBACK CONTROL CIRCUITRY

Science.gov (United States)

The paper give results of a characterization of ozone emissions from air cleaners equipped with ozone generators and sensor and feedback control circuitry. Ozone emission rates of several consumer appliances, marketed as indoor air treatment or air purification systems, were det...

Merging of OMI and AIRS Ozone Data

Science.gov (United States)

Labow, Gordon J.; Fisher, Bradford; Susskind, Joel

2014-01-01

The OMI Instrument measures ozone using the backscattered light in the UV part of the spectrum. In polar night there are no OMI measurements so we hope to incorporate the AIRS ozone data to fill in these missing regions. AIRS is on the Aqua platform and has been operating since May 2002. AIRS is a multi-detector array grating spectrometer containing 2378 IR channels between 650 per centimeter and 2760 per centimeter which measures atmospheric temperature, precipitable water, water vapor, CO, CH4, CO2 and ozone profiles and column amount. It can also measure effective cloud fraction and cloud top pressure for up to two cloud layers and sea-land skin temperature. Since 2008, OMI has had part of its aperture occulted with a piece of the thermal blanket resulting in several scan positions being unusable. We hope to use the AIRS data to fill in the missing ozone values for those missing scan positions.

Rethinking the ozone problem in urban and regional air pollution

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Committee on Geosciences, Environment and Resourcs S; National Research Council Staff; Division on Earth and Life Studies; National Research Council; National Academy of Sciences

... on Tropospheric Ozone Formation and Measurement Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1991 Copyrightthe cannot be not from book, paper however, version for formatting, original authoritati...

Experimental and modeling study of the impact of vertical transport processes from the boundary-layer on the variability and the budget of tropospheric ozone; Etude experimentale et numerique de l'influence des processus de transport depuis la couche-limite sur la variabilite et le bilan d'ozone tropospherique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colette, A

2005-12-15

Closing the tropospheric ozone budget requires a better understanding of the role of transport processes from the major reservoirs: the planetary boundary layer and the stratosphere. Case studies lead to the identification of mechanisms involved as well as their efficiency. However, their global impact on the budget must be addressed on a climatological basis. This manuscript is thus divided in two parts. First, we present case studies based on ozone LIDAR measurements performed during the ESCOMPTE campaign. This work consists in a data analysis investigation by means of a hybrid - Lagrangian study involving: global meteorological analyses, Lagrangian particle dispersion computation, and mesoscale, chemistry - transport, and Lagrangian photochemistry modeling. Our aim is to document the amount of observed ozone variability related to transport processes and, when appropriate, to infer the role of tropospheric photochemical production. Second, we propose a climatological analysis of the respective impact of transport from the boundary-layer and from the tropopause region on the tropospheric ozone budget. A multivariate analysis is presented and compared to a trajectography approach. Once validated, this algorithm is applied to the whole database of ozone profiles collected above Europe during the past 30 years in order to discuss the seasonal, geographical and temporal variability of transport processes as well as their impact on the tropospheric ozone budget. The variability of turbulent mixing and its impact on the persistence of tropospheric layers will also be discussed. (author)

Tropospheric ozone climatology at two Southern Hemisphere tropical/subtropical sites, (Reunion Island and Irene, South Africa from ozonesondes, LIDAR, and in situ aircraft measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. Clain

2009-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a climatology and trends of tropospheric ozone in the Southwestern Indian Ocean (Reunion Island and South Africa (Irene and Johannesburg. This study is based on a multi-instrumental dataset: PTU-O₃ ozonesondes, DIAL LIDAR and MOZAIC airborne instrumentation.

The seasonal profiles of tropospheric ozone at Reunion Island have been calculated from two different data sets: ozonesondes and LIDAR. The two climatological profiles are similar, except in austral summer when the LIDAR profiles show greater values in the free troposphere, and in the upper troposphere when the LIDAR profiles show lower values during all seasons. These results show that the climatological value of LIDAR profiles must be discussed with care since LIDAR measurements can be performed only under clear sky conditions, and the upper limit of the profile depends on the signal strength.

In addition, linear trends have been calculated from ozonesonde data at Reunion and Irene. Considering the whole tropospheric column, the trend is slightly positive for Reunion, and more clearly positive for Irene. Trend calculations have also been made separating the troposphere into three layers, and separating the dataset into seasons. Results show that the positive trend for Irene is governed by the lower layer that is affected by industrial pollution and biomass burning. On the contrary, for Reunion Island, the strongest trends are observed in the upper troposphere, and in winter when stratosphere-troposphere exchange is more frequently expected.

Diagnostic Evaluation of Ozone Production and Horizontal Transport in a Regional Photochemical Air Quality Modeling System

Science.gov (United States)

A diagnostic model evaluation effort has been performed to focus on photochemical ozone formation and the horizontal transport process since they strongly impact the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of ozone (O3) within the lower troposphere. Results from th...

Modelled surface ozone over southern africa during the cross border air pollution impact assessment project

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Zunckel, M

2006-07-01

Full Text Available , T.S., Kasibhatla, P., Hao, W., Sistla, G., Mathur, R., Mc Henry, J., 2001. Evaluating the performance of regional-scale photochemical modelling systems: Part II-ozone predictions. Atmospheric Environment 35, 4175e4188. Jenkins, M.J., Clemitshaw, K.... These conditions are favourable to the formation of ozone and suggest that ozone concentrations over southern Africa may be relatively high. Ozone is an important constituent in tropospheric chemistry (Jenkins and Clemitshaw, 2000). It is also associated...

Air pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feugier, A.

1996-01-01

The air pollution results from the combustion of petroleum products, natural gas, coal, wastes and transports. Some compounds are considered as particularly pollutants: the carbon monoxide, the nitrogen oxides, the tropospheric ozone and the sulfur dioxides. Their environmental and biological effects are described. The present political guide lines concerns the combustion plants, the ozone, the wastes incineration and the vehicles emissions. The aim is at some future date to control the air quality, to reduce the volatile organic compounds emissions and to limit the sulfur rate of some petroleum products. (O.L.)

Susceptibility of adult and senescent brown norway rats to repeated ozone exposure: An assessment of behavior, serum biochemistry and cardiopulmonary function

Science.gov (United States)

Tropospheric ozone (03) is a pervasive air pollutant that produces pulmonary and cardiovascular dysfunction and there is growing evidence suggesting neurological dysfunction as well. Young and old individuals are generally recognized as being susceptible to ozone toxicity; howeve...

Aviation-attributable ozone as a driver for changes in mortality related to air quality and skin cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Eastham, Sebastian D.; Barrett, Steven R. H.

2016-11-01

Aviation is a significant source of tropospheric ozone, which is a critical UV blocking agent, an indirect precursor to the formation of particulate matter, and a respiratory health hazard. To date, investigations of human health impacts related to aviation emissions have focused on particulate matter, and no global estimate yet exists of the combined health impact of aviation due to ozone, particulate matter and UV exposure changes. We use a coupled tropospheric-stratospheric chemical-transport model with a global aviation emissions inventory to estimate the total impact of aviation on all three risk factors. We find that surface ozone due to aviation emissions is maximized during hemispheric winter due to the greater wintertime chemical lifetime of ozone, but that a smaller enhancement of 0.5 ppbv occurs during summertime. This summertime increase results in an estimated 6,800 premature mortalities per year due to ozone exposure, over three times greater than previous estimates. During the winter maximum, interaction with high background NOx concentrations results in enhanced production of nitrate aerosol and increased annual average exposure to particulate matter. This ozone perturbation is shown to be the driving mechanism behind an additional 9,200 premature mortalities due to exposure to particulate matter. However, the increase in tropospheric ozone is also found to result in 400 fewer mortalities due to melanoma skin cancer in 2006. This is the first estimate of global melanoma mortality due to aviation, and the first estimate of skin cancer mortality impacts due to aviation using a global chemical transport model.

Experimental and modeling study of the impact of vertical transport processes from the boundary-layer on the variability and the budget of tropospheric ozone; Etude experimentale et numerique de l'influence des processus de transport depuis la couche-limite sur la variabilite et le bilan d'ozone tropospherique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colette, A

2005-12-15

Closing the tropospheric ozone budget requires a better understanding of the role of transport processes from the major reservoirs: the planetary boundary layer and the stratosphere. Case studies lead to the identification of mechanisms involved as well as their efficiency. However, their global impact on the budget must be addressed on a climatological basis. This manuscript is thus divided in two parts. First, we present case studies based on ozone LIDAR measurements performed during the ESCOMPTE campaign. This work consists in a data analysis investigation by means of a hybrid - Lagrangian study involving: global meteorological analyses, Lagrangian particle dispersion computation, and mesoscale, chemistry - transport, and Lagrangian photochemistry modeling. Our aim is to document the amount of observed ozone variability related to transport processes and, when appropriate, to infer the role of tropospheric photochemical production. Second, we propose a climatological analysis of the respective impact of transport from the boundary-layer and from the tropopause region on the tropospheric ozone budget. A multivariate analysis is presented and compared to a trajectography approach. Once validated, this algorithm is applied to the whole database of ozone profiles collected above Europe during the past 30 years in order to discuss the seasonal, geographical and temporal variability of transport processes as well as their impact on the tropospheric ozone budget. The variability of turbulent mixing and its impact on the persistence of tropospheric layers will also be discussed. (author)

Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on European tropospheric composition: an observational and modelling study

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, R.; Chipperfield, M.

2017-12-01

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has a strong influence on winter-time North Atlantic and European circulation patterns. Under the positive phase of the NAO (NAO+), intensification of the climatological Icelandic low and Azores high pressure systems results in strong westerly flow across the Atlantic into Europe. Under the NAO negative phase (NAO-), there is a weakening of this meridional pressure gradient resulting in a southerly shift in the westerlies flow towards the sub-tropical Atlantic. Therefore, NAO+ and NAO- introduce unstable stormy and drier stable conditions into Europe, respectively. Under NAO+ conditions, the strong westerlies tend to enhance transport of European pollution (e.g. nitrogen oxides) away from anthropogenic source regions. While during NAO-, the more stable conditions lead to a build up of pollutants. However, secondary pollutants (i.e. tropospheric ozone) show the opposite signal where NAO+, while transporting primary pollutants away, introduces Atlantic ozone enriched air into Europe. Here ozone can form downwind of pollution from continental North America and be transported into Europe via the westerly flow. Under NAO-, this westerly ozone transport is reduced yielding lower European ozone concentrations also depleted further by ozone loss through the reaction with NOx, which has accumulated over the continent. Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), observed in the upper troposphere - lower stratosphere (UTLS) by satellite, peaks over Iceland/Southern Greenland in NAO-, between 200-100 hPa, consistent with trapping by an anticyclone at this altitude. During NAO+, PAN is enhanced over the sub-tropical Atlantic and Arctic. Model simulations show that enhanced PAN over Iceland/Southern Greenland in NAO- is associated with vertical transport from the troposphere into the UTLS, while peak Arctic PAN in NAO+ is its accumulation given the strong northerly meridional transport in the UTLS. UTLS ozone spatial anomalies, relative to the winter

NARSTO fine-particle and ozone assessments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hales, Jeremy M.

2003-01-01

The NARSTO ozone and fine-particle assessments compile and present policy-relevant scientific information. - NARSTO, a tri-national North American consortium for applied tropospheric pollution research, conducts periodic assessments of air-pollution behavior to provide an information interface between the research community and individuals working in policy analysis and air-quality management. The first of these, entitled An Assessment of Tropospheric Ozone Pollution-A North American Perspective, appeared in late 2000 and has been circulated widely throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and South America. The second (currently) entitled NARSTO Assessment of the Atmospheric Science on Particulate Matter, is presently in its third-draft phase and is available for general review. A fourth draft, incorporating comments from the current review stage, will be submitted in January 2002 to a tri-national review committee composed of the Canadian Royal Society, the US National Academy of Sciences, and the Mexican Red de Desarrollo e Investigacion de la Calidad del Aire en Grandes Ciudades. Finalization of the document will follow this review, which will conclude in July 2000. Publication is expected in December 2002. These two assessments contain substantial amounts of policy-relevant information, which is of interest to the research community as well as those working in policy analysis and air-quality management. This presentation provides a brief overview of features and findings of the two documents

Two Years of Ozone Vertical Profiles Collected from Aircraft over California and the Pacific Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Austerberry, D.; Yates, E. L.; Roby, M.; Chatfield, R. B.; Iraci, L. T.; Pierce, B.; Fairlie, T. D.; Johnson, B. J.; Ives, M.

2012-12-01

Tropospheric ozone transported across the Pacific Ocean has been strongly suggested to contribute substantially to surface ozone levels at several sites within Northern California's Sacramento Valley. Because this contribution can affect a city's ability to meet regulatory ozone limits, the influence of Pacific ozone transport has implications for air quality control strategies in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV). The Alpha Jet Atmospheric Experiment is designed to collect a multi-year data set of tropospheric ozone vertical profiles. Forty-four flights with ozone profiles were conducted between February 2nd, 2011 and August 9th, 2012, and approximately ten more flights are expected in the remainder of 2012. Twenty marine air profiles have been collected at sites including Trinidad Head and two locations tens of kilometers offshore at 37° N latitude. Good agreement is seen with ozonesondes launched from Trinidad Head. Additional profiles over Merced, California were obtained on many of these flight days. These in-situ measurements were conducted during spiral descents of H211's Alpha Jet at mid-day local times using a 2B Technologies Dual Beam Ozone Monitor. Hourly surface ambient ozone data were obtained from the California Air Resources Board's SJV monitoring sites. For each site, the Pearson linear correlation coefficient was calculated between ozone in a 300m vertical layer of an offshore profile and the surface site at varying time offsets from the time of the profile. Each site's local and regional ozone production component was estimated and removed. The resulting correlations suggest instances of Pacific ozone transport following some of the offshore observations. Real-Time Air Quality Modeling System (RAQMS) products constrained by assimilated satellite data model the transport of ozone enhancements and guide flight planning. RAQMS hindcasts also suggest that ozone transport to the surface of the SJV basin occurred following some of these offshore profiles

effect of ambient levels of ozone on photosynthetic components

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

To clarify the long-term effects of ambient levels of tropospheric ozone (O3) on ... (Rubisco), thus contributing to the reduction in net photosynthetic rate at the .... USA). During the measurements, atmospheric. CO2 concentrations, air ...... productivity and implications for climate change. Annual Review of Plant Biology 63:.

Attribution and evolution of ozone from Asian wild fires using satellite and aircraft measurements during the ARCTAS campaign

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Dupont

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We use ozone and carbon monoxide measurements from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES, model estimates of Ozone, CO, and ozone pre-cursors from the Real-time Air Quality Modeling System (RAQMS, and data from the NASA DC8 aircraft to characterize the source and dynamical evolution of ozone and CO in Asian wildfire plumes during the spring ARCTAS campaign 2008. On the 19 April, NASA DC8 O₃ and aerosol Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL observed two biomass burning plumes originating from North-Western Asia (Kazakhstan and South-Eastern Asia (Thailand that advected eastward over the Pacific reaching North America in 10 to 12 days. Using both TES observations and RAQMS chemical analyses, we track the wildfire plumes from their source to the ARCTAS DC8 platform. In addition to photochemical production due to ozone pre-cursors, we find that exchange between the stratosphere and the troposphere is a major factor influencing O₃ concentrations for both plumes. For example, the Kazakhstan and Siberian plumes at 55 degrees North is a region of significant springtime stratospheric/tropospheric exchange. Stratospheric air influences the Thailand plume after it is lofted to high altitudes via the Himalayas. Using comparisons of the model to the aircraft and satellite measurements, we estimate that the Kazakhstan plume is responsible for increases of O₃ and CO mixing ratios by approximately 6.4 ppbv and 38 ppbv in the lower troposphere (height of 2 to 6 km, and the Thailand plume is responsible for increases of O₃ and CO mixing ratios of approximately 11 ppbv and 71 ppbv in the upper troposphere (height of 8 to 12 km respectively. However, there are significant sources of uncertainty in these estimates that point to the need for future improvements in both model and satellite observations. For example, it is challenging to characterize the fraction of air parcels from the stratosphere versus those from the

Airborne lidar observations of long-range transport in the free troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Shipley, S. T.; Browell, E. V.; Mcdougal, D. S.; Orndorff, B. L.; Haagenson, P.

1984-01-01

Airborne lidar measurements of ozone and aerosols in the lower troposphere show the presence of pollutant layers above the mixed layer. Two case studies are analyzed to identify probable source regions and mechanisms for material injection into the free troposphere above local mixed layers. An elevated haze/oxidant layer observed over South Carolina on Aug. 2, 1980, was found to originate in cumulus convection over Georgia on Aug. 1, 1980. An extensive haze/oxidant layer observed over southeastern Virginia on July 31, 1981, is shown to have been in contact with the New England mixed layer on July 30, 1981. This transported air mass is estimated to contribute approximately 30 percent of the ozone maximum measured at the surface in the Norfolk, VA, area on July 31, 1981. Such elevated 'reservoir' layers are transported over long ranges and are not detected by sensors which are confined to the surface.

AIRS/Aqua Level 3 Monthly CO2 in the free troposphere (AIRS-only) V005

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This is the AIRS mid-tropospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Level 3 Monthly Gridded Retrieval, from the AIRS instrument on board of Aqua satellite. It is a monthly...

Impacts of Lowered Urban Air Temperatures on Precursor Emission and Ozone Air Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Taha, Haider; Konopacki, Steven; Akbari, Hashem

1998-09-01

Meteorological, photochemical, building-energy, and power plant simulations were performed to assess the possible precursor emission and ozone air quality impacts of decreased air temperatures that could result from implementing the "cool communities" concept in California's South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). Two pathways are considered. In the direct pathway, a reduction in cooling energy use translates into reduced demand for generation capacity and, thus, reduced precursor emissions from electric utility power plants. In the indirect pathway, reduced air temperatures can slow the atmospheric production of ozone as well as precursor emission from anthropogenic and biogenic sources. The simulations suggest small impacts on emissions following implementation of cool communities in the SoCAB. In summer, for example, there can be reductions of up to 3% in NO x emissions from in-basin power plants. The photochemical simulations suggest that the air quality impacts of these direct emission reductions are small. However, the indirect atmospheric effects of cool communities can be significant. For example, ozone peak concentrations can decrease by up to 11% in summer and population-weighted exceedance exposure to ozone above the California and National Ambient Air Quality Standards can decrease by up to 11 and 17%, respectively. The modeling suggests that if these strategies are combined with others, such as mobile-source emission control, the improvements in ozone air quality can be substantial.

Evaluation of linear ozone photochemistry parametrizations in a stratosphere-troposphere data assimilation system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. J. Geer

2007-01-01

Full Text Available This paper evaluates the performance of various linear ozone photochemistry parametrizations using the stratosphere-troposphere data assimilation system of the Met Office. A set of experiments were run for the period 23 September 2003 to 5 November 2003 using the Cariolle (v1.0 and v2.1, LINOZ and Chem2D-OPP (v0.1 and v2.1 parametrizations. All operational meteorological observations were assimilated, together with ozone retrievals from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS. Experiments were validated against independent data from the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE and ozonesondes. Additionally, a simple offline method for comparing the parametrizations is introduced. It is shown that in the upper stratosphere and mesosphere, outside the polar night, ozone analyses are controlled by the photochemistry parametrizations and not by the assimilated observations. The most important factor in getting good results at these levels is to pay attention to the ozone and temperature climatologies in the parametrizations. There should be no discrepancies between the climatologies and the assimilated observations or the model, but there is also a competing demand that the climatologies be objectively accurate in themselves. Conversely, in the lower stratosphere outside regions of heterogeneous ozone depletion, the ozone analyses are dominated by observational increments and the photochemistry parametrizations have little influence. We investigate a number of known problems in LINOZ and Cariolle v1.0 in more detail than previously, and we find discrepancies in Cariolle v2.1 and Chem2D-OPP v2.1, which are demonstrated to have been removed in the latest available versions (v2.8 and v2.6 respectively. In general, however, all the parametrizations work well through much of the stratosphere, helped by the presence of good quality assimilated MIPAS observations.

AIRS/Aqua Level 3 Monthly CO2 in the free troposphere (AIRS+AMSU) V005

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This is the AIRS mid-tropospheric Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Level 3 Monthly Gridded Retrieval, from the AIRS and AMSU instruments on board of Aqua satellite. It is a...

Generation of layering in the upper arctic troposphere away from the jet stream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Karpetchko

Full Text Available Ozone sounding databases for two stations, So-dankylä (67° N, 27° E and Ny-Ålesund (79° N, 12° E were used in order to investigate the generation of layering in the upper and middle troposphere of the Arctic. We concentrated on dry, ozone-rich and stable layers observed below the thermal tropopause under light wind conditions. This condition ensures that the observed layer is not a tropopause fold, a well-known phenomenon that develops within frontal zones near the jet stream. Selection criteria for ozone, humidity and stability anomalies of the tropopause fold detection algorithm were used here to pick out for detailed studies the most pronounced examples of laminae. For all these cases the meteorological situations were investigated in order to establish the origin of the observed layers. We found that layers could be classified into two groups. Laminae of the first group were observed equatorward of the jet stream and those of a second group were observed poleward of the jet. The meteorological situation for the first group resembles that for equatorward stratospheric streamer propagation. It was found that this group accounts for only a small fraction of the layers observed at Sodankylä and for none of those observed at Ny-Ålesund during the period investigated. A large case-to-case variability in the synoptic situation was observed for the second group of laminae, which were detected northward of the jet stream. Nevertheless, in about half of the cases, streamers of tropospheric air were found in the vicinity of the stations on the isentropic surfaces just above the detected stratospheric layers. Back trajectory analyses showed that these layers originated in the vicinity of the polar jet stream. We suppose that laminae-like structures in the troposphere were caused, in both groups, by equatorward (poleward advection of the stratospheric (tropospheric air, together with differential vertical shear. Forward-trajectory calculations

Generation of layering in the upper arctic troposphere away from the jet stream

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Karpetchko

2003-07-01

Full Text Available Ozone sounding databases for two stations, So-dankylä (67° N, 27° E and Ny-Ålesund (79° N, 12° E were used in order to investigate the generation of layering in the upper and middle troposphere of the Arctic. We concentrated on dry, ozone-rich and stable layers observed below the thermal tropopause under light wind conditions. This condition ensures that the observed layer is not a tropopause fold, a well-known phenomenon that develops within frontal zones near the jet stream. Selection criteria for ozone, humidity and stability anomalies of the tropopause fold detection algorithm were used here to pick out for detailed studies the most pronounced examples of laminae. For all these cases the meteorological situations were investigated in order to establish the origin of the observed layers. We found that layers could be classified into two groups. Laminae of the first group were observed equatorward of the jet stream and those of a second group were observed poleward of the jet. The meteorological situation for the first group resembles that for equatorward stratospheric streamer propagation. It was found that this group accounts for only a small fraction of the layers observed at Sodankylä and for none of those observed at Ny-Ålesund during the period investigated. A large case-to-case variability in the synoptic situation was observed for the second group of laminae, which were detected northward of the jet stream. Nevertheless, in about half of the cases, streamers of tropospheric air were found in the vicinity of the stations on the isentropic surfaces just above the detected stratospheric layers. Back trajectory analyses showed that these layers originated in the vicinity of the polar jet stream. We suppose that laminae-like structures in the troposphere were caused, in both groups, by equatorward (poleward advection of the stratospheric (tropospheric air, together with differential vertical shear. Forward-trajectory calculations

Redox Toxicology of Ambient Air Pollution

Science.gov (United States)

Ambient air pollution is a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality. Millions of Americans live in areas in which levels of tropospheric ozone exceed air quality standards, while exposure to particulate matter (PM2.5) alone results in 3.2 million excess deaths annually wor...

Evaluating Lightning-generated NOx (LNOx) Parameterization based on Cloud Top Height at Resolutions with Partially-resolved Convection for Upper Tropospheric Chemistry Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, J.; Barth, M. C.; Noone, D. C.

2012-12-01

Lightning-generated nitrogen oxides (LNOx) is an important precursor to tropospheric ozone production. With a meteorological time-scale variability similar to that of the ozone chemical lifetime, it can nonlinearly perturb tropospheric ozone concentration. Coupled with upper-air circulation patterns, LNOx can accumulate in significant amount in the upper troposphere with other precursors, thus enhancing ozone production (see attached figure). While LNOx emission has been included and tuned extensively in global climate models, its inclusions in regional chemistry models are seldom tested. Here we present a study that evaluates the frequently used Price and Rind parameterization based on cloud-top height at resolutions that partially resolve deep convection using the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) over the contiguous United States. With minor modifications, the parameterization is shown to generate integrated flash counts close to those observed. However, the modeled frequency distribution of cloud-to-ground flashes do not represent well for storms with high flash rates, bringing into question the applicability of the intra-cloud/ground partitioning (IC:CG) formulation of Price and Rind in some studies. Resolution dependency also requires attention when sub-grid cloud-tops are used instead of the originally intended grid-averaged cloud-top. LNOx passive tracers being gathered by monsoonal upper tropospheric anticyclone.

Tropospheric Halogen Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

von Glasow, R.; Crutzen, P. J.

2003-12-01

Halogens are very reactive chemicals that are known to play an important role in anthropogenic stratospheric ozone depletion chemistry, first recognized by Molina and Rowland (1974). However, they also affect the chemistry of the troposphere. They are of special interest because they are involved in many reaction cycles that can affect the oxidation power of the atmosphere indirectly by influencing the main oxidants O3 and its photolysis product OH and directly, e.g., by reactions of the Cl radical with hydrocarbons (e.g., CH4).Already by the middle of the nineteenth century, Marchand (1852) reported the presence of bromine and iodine in rain and other natural waters. He also mentions the benefits of iodine in drinking water through the prevention of goitres and cretinism. In a prophetic monograph "Air and Rain: The Beginnings of a Chemical Climatology," Smith (1872) describes measurements of chloride in rain water, which he states to originate partly from the oceans by a process that he compares with the bursting of "soap bubbles" which produces "small vehicles" that transfer small spray droplets of seawater to the air. From deviations of the sulfate-to-chloride ratio in coastal rain compared to seawater, Smith concluded that chemical processes occur once the particles are airborne.For almost a century thereafter, however, atmospheric halogens received little attention. One exception was the work by Cauer (1939), who reported that iodine pollution has been significant in Western and Central Europe due to the inefficient burning of seaweed, causing mean gas phase atmospheric concentrations as high as or greater than 0.5 μg m-3. In his classical textbook Air Chemistry and Radioactivity, Junge (1963) devoted less than three pages to halogen gas phase chemistry, discussing chlorine and iodine. As reviewed by Eriksson (1959a, b), the main atmospheric source of halogens is sea salt, derived from the bursting of bubbles of air which are produced by ocean waves and other

Chemical and aerosol characterisation of the troposphere over West Africa during the monsoon period as part of AMMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. E. Reeves

2010-08-01

Full Text Available During June, July and August 2006 five aircraft took part in a campaign over West Africa to observe the aerosol content and chemical composition of the troposphere and lower stratosphere as part of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA project. These are the first such measurements in this region during the monsoon period. In addition to providing an overview of the tropospheric composition, this paper provides a description of the measurement strategy (flights performed, instrumental payloads, wing-tip to wing-tip comparisons and points to some of the important findings discussed in more detail in other papers in this special issue.

The ozone data exhibits an "S" shaped vertical profile which appears to result from significant losses in the lower troposphere due to rapid deposition to forested areas and photochemical destruction in the moist monsoon air, and convective uplift of ozone-poor air to the upper troposphere. This profile is disturbed, particularly in the south of the region, by the intrusions in the lower and middle troposphere of air from the southern hemisphere impacted by biomass burning. Comparisons with longer term data sets suggest the impact of these intrusions on West Africa in 2006 was greater than in other recent wet seasons. There is evidence for net photochemical production of ozone in these biomass burning plumes as well as in urban plumes, in particular that from Lagos, convective outflow in the upper troposphere and in boundary layer air affected by nitrogen oxide emissions from recently wetted soils. This latter effect, along with enhanced deposition to the forested areas, contributes to a latitudinal gradient of ozone in the lower troposphere. Biogenic volatile organic compounds are also important in defining the composition both for the boundary layer and upper tropospheric convective outflow.

Mineral dust was found to be the most abundant and ubiquitous aerosol type in the

What-ifs for a Northern ozone hole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newman, A.

1993-08-01

Based on papers presented at a recent American Geophysical Union meeting in Baltimore, this article discusses various processes that could lead to further significant stratospheric ozone losses over northern latitudes. In southern high latitudes, ClO, formed when Cl atoms react with O[sub 3], persists into the spring and enters a photocatalytic cycle that regenerates ozone-destroying Cl atoms. Type II polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are believed to act as catalysts in this cycle. Although type II PSCs rarely form in the warmer Arctic stratosphere, it is possible that type I PSCs and sulfuric acid droplets may act as catalytic surfaces in this region. The arctic however, currently lacks a pronounced ozone hole, unlike Antartica. This is because in the Northern Hemisphere, large-scale tropospheric weather disturbances leak a portion of their energy to the less dense stratosphere. This indirectly leads to the descent of air over the Arctic region which produces compression heating of the polar cap and keeps the Arctic winter stratosphere warm enough to evade the cold temperatures that would produce widespread PSCs, and the associated significant ozone destruction. However, the greenhouse effect could lead to a cooler stratosphere containing more water and weaker tropospheric large-scale disturbances meaning colder Arctic winters. All these factors would contribute to greater PSC formation and the associated ozone destruction.

What-ifs for a Northern ozone hole

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newman, A.

1993-01-01

Based on papers presented at a recent American Geophysical Union meeting in Baltimore, this article discusses various processes that could lead to further significant stratospheric ozone losses over northern latitudes. In southern high latitudes, ClO, formed when Cl atoms react with O 3 , persists into the spring and enters a photocatalytic cycle that regenerates ozone-destroying Cl atoms. Type II polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are believed to act as catalysts in this cycle. Although type II PSCs rarely form in the warmer Arctic stratosphere, it is possible that type I PSCs and sulfuric acid droplets may act as catalytic surfaces in this region. The arctic however, currently lacks a pronounced ozone hole, unlike Antartica. This is because in the Northern Hemisphere, large-scale tropospheric weather disturbances leak a portion of their energy to the less dense stratosphere. This indirectly leads to the descent of air over the Arctic region which produces compression heating of the polar cap and keeps the Arctic winter stratosphere warm enough to evade the cold temperatures that would produce widespread PSCs, and the associated significant ozone destruction. However, the greenhouse effect could lead to a cooler stratosphere containing more water and weaker tropospheric large-scale disturbances meaning colder Arctic winters. All these factors would contribute to greater PSC formation and the associated ozone destruction

OZONE CONCENTRATION ATTRIBUTABLE PREMATURE DEATH IN POLAND

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krzysztof Skotak

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Ozone in the lower part of the atmosphere (troposphere, strong photochemical oxidant, is not directly emitted to the atmosphere but formed through a series of complex reactions. Ozone concentrations depends on ozone precursors air contamination (mainly nitrogen dioxide and non-methane volatile organic compounds and meteorological conditions (temperature and solar radiation. The main sectors emitted ozone precursors are road transport, power and heat generation plants, household (heating, industry, and petrol storage and distribution. Ozone and some of its precursors are also transported long distances in the atmosphere and are therefore considered a transboundary problem. As a result, the ozone concentrations are often low in busy urban areas and higher in suburban and rural areas. Nowadays, instead of particulate matter, ozone is one of the most widespread global air pollution problems. In and around urban areas, relatively large gradients of ozone can be observed. Because of its high reactivity in elevated concentrations ozone causes serious health problems and damage to ecosystems, agricultural crops and materials. Main ill-health endpoints as a results of ozone concentrations can be characterised as an effect of pulmonary and cardiovascular system, time morbidity and mortality series, development of atherosclerosis and asthma and finally reduction in life expectancy. The associations with increased daily mortality due to ozone concentrations are confirmed by many researches and epidemiological studies. Estimation of the level selected ill-health endpoints (mortality in total and due to cardiovascular and respiratory causes as a result of the short-term ozone exposure in Poland was the main aim of the project. Final results have been done based on estimation method elaborated by WHO, ozone measurements from National Air Quality Monitoring System and statistical information such as mortality rate and populations. All analysis have been done in

Urban exports to the nonurban troposphere: Results from project MISTT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, W.H.; Patterson, D.E.; Wilson, W.E. Jr.

1983-01-01

An identifiable plume of contaminated air forms downwind of metropolitan St. Louis under certain conditions. The contribution of this urban plume to tropospheric ozone and aerosol loadings is calculated from concentration and wind fields measured during Project MISTT. On all three summer days selected for study, net ozone exports reached 2-3 x 10 6 g mol/h, or about 3/2 mole per mole of emitted nitrogen, within hours of emission. Conversion of sulfur dioxide to sulfate aerosol was incomplete at the distances sampled: it is estimated that haze exports ultimately reached 500--600 km 2 /h, or 8--9 m 2 per gram of emitted sulfur. Simple extrapolation of the yields observed at St. Louis indicates that anthropogenic inputs overwhelm natural contributions to ozone and aerosols over eastern North America

Ozone dose-response relationships for spring oilseed rape and broccoli

Science.gov (United States)

De Bock, Maarten; Op de Beeck, Maarten; De Temmerman, Ludwig; Guisez, Yves; Ceulemans, Reinhart; Vandermeiren, Karine

2011-03-01

Tropospheric ozone is an important air pollutant with known detrimental effects for several crops. Ozone effects on seed yield, oil percentage, oil yield and 1000 seed weight were examined for spring oilseed rape ( Brassica napus cv. Ability). For broccoli ( Brassica oleracea L. cv. Italica cv. Monaco) the effects on fresh marketable weight and total dry weight were studied. Current ozone levels were compared with an increase of 20 and 40 ppb during 8 h per day, over the entire growing season. Oilseed rape seed yield was negatively correlated with ozone dose indices calculated from emergence until harvest. This resulted in an R2 of 0.24 and 0.26 ( p broccoli the applied ozone doses had no effect on yield.

Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO)

Science.gov (United States)

Zoogman, P.; Liu, X.; Suleiman, R. M.; Pennington, W. F.; Flittner, D. E.; Al-Saadi, J. A.; Hilton, B. B.; Nicks, D. K.; Newchurch, M. J.; Carr, J. L.;

Ozone Measurements Monitoring Using Data-Based Approach

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi; Kadri, Farid; Khadraoui, Sofiane; Sun, Ying

2016-01-01

The complexity of ozone (O3) formation mechanisms in the troposphere make the fast and accurate modeling of ozone very challenging. In the absence of a process model, principal component analysis (PCA) has been extensively used as a data-based monitoring technique for highly correlated process variables; however conventional PCA-based detection indices often fail to detect small or moderate anomalies. In this work, we propose an innovative method for detecting small anomalies in highly correlated multivariate data. The developed method combine the multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) monitoring scheme with PCA modelling in order to enhance anomaly detection performance. Such a choice is mainly motivated by the greater ability of the MEWMA monitoring scheme to detect small changes in the process mean. The proposed PCA-based MEWMA monitoring scheme is successfully applied to ozone measurements data collected from Upper Normandy region, France, via the network of air quality monitoring stations. The detection results of the proposed method are compared to that declared by Air Normand air monitoring association.

Ozone Measurements Monitoring Using Data-Based Approach

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi

2016-02-01

The complexity of ozone (O3) formation mechanisms in the troposphere make the fast and accurate modeling of ozone very challenging. In the absence of a process model, principal component analysis (PCA) has been extensively used as a data-based monitoring technique for highly correlated process variables; however conventional PCA-based detection indices often fail to detect small or moderate anomalies. In this work, we propose an innovative method for detecting small anomalies in highly correlated multivariate data. The developed method combine the multivariate exponentially weighted moving average (MEWMA) monitoring scheme with PCA modelling in order to enhance anomaly detection performance. Such a choice is mainly motivated by the greater ability of the MEWMA monitoring scheme to detect small changes in the process mean. The proposed PCA-based MEWMA monitoring scheme is successfully applied to ozone measurements data collected from Upper Normandy region, France, via the network of air quality monitoring stations. The detection results of the proposed method are compared to that declared by Air Normand air monitoring association.

Leaf age affects the responses of foliar injury and gas exchange to tropospheric ozone in Prunus serotina seedlings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang Jianwei, E-mail: jianweizhang@fs.fed.u [Environmental Resources Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); School of Forest Resources, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Schaub, Marcus; Ferdinand, Jonathan A. [Environmental Resources Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Skelly, John M. [Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Steiner, Kim C. [School of Forest Resources, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States); Savage, James E. [Department of Plant Pathology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

2010-08-15

We investigated the effect of leaf age on the response of net photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (g{sub wv}), foliar injury, and leaf nitrogen concentration (N{sub L}) to tropospheric ozone (O{sub 3}) on Prunus serotina seedlings grown in open-plots (AA) and open-top chambers, supplied with either carbon-filtered or non-filtered air. We found significant variation in A, g{sub wv}, foliar injury, and N{sub L} (P < 0.05) among O{sub 3} treatments. Seedlings in AA showed the highest A and g{sub wv} due to relatively low vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Older leaves showed significantly lower A, g{sub wv}, N{sub L}, and higher foliar injury (P < 0.001) than younger leaves. Leaf age affected the response of A, g{sub wv}, and foliar injury to O{sub 3}. Both VPD and N{sub L} had a strong influence on leaf gas exchange. Foliar O{sub 3}-induced injury appeared when cumulative O{sub 3} uptake reached 8-12 mmol m{sup -2}, depending on soil water availability. The mechanistic assessment of O{sub 3}-induced injury is a valuable approach for a biologically relevant O{sub 3} risk assessment for forest trees. - Ozone effects on symptom development and leaf gas exchange interacted with leaf age and N-content on black cherry seedlings.

Transport and build-up of tropospheric trace gases during the MINOS campaign: comparision of GOME, in situ aircraft measurements and MATCH-MPIC-data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Ladstätter-Weißenmayer

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The MINOS (Mediterranean INtensive Oxidant Study campaign was an international, multi-platform field campaign to measure long-range transport of air-pollution and aerosols from South East Asia and Europe towards the Mediterranean basin during August 2001. High pollution events were observed during this campaign. For the Mediterranean region enhanced tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2 and formaldehyde (HCHO, which are precursors of tropospheric ozone (O3, were detected by the satellite based GOME (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment instrument and compared with airborne in situ measurements as well as with the output from the global 3D photochemistry-transport model MATCH-MPIC (Model of Atmospheric Transport and CHemistry - Max Planck Institute for Chemistry. The increase of pollution in that region leads to severe air quality degradation with regional and global implications.

Hydrogen Radicals, Nitrogen Radicals, and the Production of O3 in the Upper Troposphere

Science.gov (United States)

Wennberg, P. O.; Hanisco, T. F.; Jaegle, L.; Jacob, D. J.; Hintsa, E. J.; Lanzendorf, E. J.; Anderson, J. G.; Gao, R.-S.; Keim, E. R.; Donnelly, S. G.;

Demonstration of AIRS Total Ozone Products to Operations to Enhance User Readiness

Science.gov (United States)

Berndt, Emily; Zavodsky, Bradley; Jedlovec, Gary

2014-01-01

Cyclogenesis is a key forecast challenge at operational forecasting centers such as WPC and OPC, so these centers have a particular interest in unique products that can identify key storm features. In some cases, explosively developing extratropical cyclones can produce hurricane force, non-convective winds along the East Coast and north Atlantic as well as the Pacific Ocean, with the potential to cause significant damage to life and property. Therefore, anticipating cyclogenesis for these types of storms is crucial for furthering the NOAA goal of a "Weather Ready Nation". Over the last few years, multispectral imagery (i.e. RGB) products have gained popularity among forecasters. The GOES-R satellite champion at WPC/OPC has regularly evaluated the Air Mass RGB products from GOES Sounder, MODIS, and SEVIRI to aid in forecasting cyclogenesis as part of ongoing collaborations with SPoRT within the framework of the GOES-R Proving Ground. WPC/OPC has used these products to identify regions of stratospheric air associated with tropopause folds that can lead to cyclogenesis and hurricane force winds. RGB products combine multiple channels or channel differences into multi-color imagery in which different colors represent a particular cloud or air mass type. Initial interaction and feedback from forecasters evaluating the legacy Air Mass RGBs revealed some uncertainty regarding what physical processes the qualitative RGB products represent and color interpretation. To enhance forecaster confidence and interpretation of the Air Mass RGB, NASA SPoRT has transitioned a total column ozone product from AIRS retrievals to the WPC/OPC. The use of legacy AIRS demonstrates future JPSS capabilities possible with CrIS or OMPS. Since stratospheric air can be identified by anomalous potential vorticity and warm, dry, ozone-rich air, hyperspectral infrared sounder ozone products can be used in conjunction with the Air Mass RGB for identifying the role of stratospheric air in explosive

Responses of the lichen Ramalina menziesii Tayl. to ozone fumigations

Science.gov (United States)

J. Riddell; T.H. Nash; P. Padgett

2010-01-01

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a strong oxidant, and is known to have serious negative effects on forest health. Lichens have bccn used as biomonitors of the effects of air pollution on forest health for sulfur and nitrogen pollutants. However, effects of O3 on lichens are not well understood, as past fumigation studies and...

Tropospheric ozone lidar intercomparison experiment, TROLIX '91, field phase report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boesenberg, J.; Ancellet, G.; Bergwerff, H.; Cossart, G. v.; Fiedler, J.; Jonge, C. de; Mellqvist, J.; Mitev, V.; Sonnemann, G.; Swart, D.; Wallinder, E.

1993-01-01

The Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Intercomparison Experiment TROLIX '91 has been initiated as part of the TESLAS subproject of the cooperative programme EUROTRAC. It has been performed in June 1991 at the Rijksinstitut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiene (RIVM) in Bilthoven, The Netherlands. The experiment was based on the simultaneous operation of different types of differential absorption lidars (DIAL), a special version of a Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy Instrument (DOAS), helicopter borne in situ instruments, and many other supporting measurements. After a short introduction to the general methodology the instruments are described, the experimental operations are explained, and a selection of data are presented. Some examples are given for the results of the intercomparison, as far as they have been available at the present stage of evaluation. The main purpose of this report, however, is to provide an overview over the material collected during the experiment, on order to facilitate further detailed studies in cooperation between the different groups which have participated. (orig.)

Spatial distribution of ozone over Indonesia (Study case: Forest fire event 2015)

Science.gov (United States)

Muslimah, Sri; Buce Saleh, Muhamad; Hidayat, Rahmat

2018-05-01

Tropospheric ozone is known as surface ozone and caused several health impact. The objective of this study was to analysis spatial distribution of tropospheric ozone over Indonesia case study forest fire event in 2015. Monthly observation measured by Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) have been analysed from January – December 2015 to study spatial distribution of tropospheric ozone related to forest fire event 2015. The study discovered high level of tropospheric column ozone (TCO) from October to November 2015. The result shows increasing average of TCO from September to October almost 6 DU. Meanwhile, monthly number of hotspot is higher in September 2015 with total number 257 hotspot which is acquired by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Terra version 6.1 with confidence level same or more than 90%. The hotspot distribution compared with spatial TCO distribution and shows interesting time lag with respect to hotspot distribution, one month. Further study for daily comparison of TCO and forest fire event needed. This result suggested that the tropospheric ozone over the Indonesian region increases in 2015 were remarkable and corresponded to forest fire event.

A New Retrieval Algorithm for OMI NO2: Tropospheric Results and Comparisons with Measurements and Models

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, W. H.; Bucesla, E. J.; Lamsal, L. N.; Celarier, E. A.; Krotkov, N. A.; Bhartia, P, K,; Strahan, S. E.; Gleason, J. F.; Herman, J.; Pickering, K.

2012-01-01

Nitrogen oxides (NOx =NO+NO2) are important atmospheric trace constituents that impact tropospheric air pollution chemistry and air quality. We have developed a new NASA algorithm for the retrieval of stratospheric and tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities using measurements from the nadir-viewing Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite. The new products rely on an improved approach to stratospheric NO2 column estimation and stratosphere-troposphere separation and a new monthly NO2 climatology based on the NASA Global Modeling Initiative chemistry-transport model. The retrieval does not rely on daily model profiles, minimizing the influence of a priori information. We evaluate the retrieved tropospheric NO2 columns using surface in situ (e.g., AQS/EPA), ground-based (e.g., DOAS), and airborne measurements (e.g., DISCOVER-AQ). The new, improved OMI tropospheric NO2 product is available at high spatial resolution for the years 200S-present. We believe that this product is valuable for the evaluation of chemistry-transport models, examining the spatial and temporal patterns of NOx emissions, constraining top-down NOx inventories, and for the estimation of NOx lifetimes.

The influences of wildfires and stratospheric-tropospheric exchange on ozone during seacions mission over St. Louis

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Joseph L.

The influence of wildfire biomass burning and stratospheric air mass transport on tropospheric ozone (O3) concentrations in St. Louis during the SEAC4RS and SEACIONS-2013 measurement campaigns has been investigated. The Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART-WRF analysis reveals that 55% of ozonesonde profiles during SEACIONS were effected by biomass burning. Comparing ozonesonde profiles with numerical simulations show that as biomass burning plumes age there is O3 production aloft. A new plume injection height technique was developed based on the Naval Research Laboratory's (NRL) detection algorithm for pyro-convection. The NRL method identified 29 pyro-cumulonimbus events that occurred during the summer of 2013, of which 13 (44%) impacted the SEACIONS study area, and 4 (14%) impacted the St. Louis area. In this study, we investigate wildfire plume injection heights using model simulations and the FLAMBE emissions inventory using 2 different algorithms. In the first case, wildfire emissions are injected at the surface and allowed to mix within the boundary layer simulated by the meteorological model. In the second case, the injection height of wildfire emissions is determined by a guided deep-convective pyroCb run using the NRL detection algorithm. Results show that simulations using surface emissions were able to represent the transport of carbon monoxide plumes from wildfires when the plumes remained below 5 km or occurred during large convective systems, but that the surface effects were over predicted. The pyroCb cases simulated the long-range transport of elevated plumes above 5 km 68% of the time. In addition analysis of potential vorticity suggests that stratospheric intrusions or tropopause folds affected 13 days (48%) when there were sonde launches and 27 days (44%) during the entire study period. The largest impact occurred on September 12, 2013 when ozone-rich air impacted the nocturnal boundary layer. By analyzing ozonesonde profiles with

Application of OMI tropospheric NO2 for air quality monitoring in Northern Europe: shipping and land-based case studies

Science.gov (United States)

Ialongo, Iolanda; Hakkarainen, Janne; Jalkanen, Jukka-Pekka; Johansson, Lasse; Boersma, Folkert; Krotkov, Nickolay; Tamminen, Johanna

2014-05-01

Satellite-based data are very important for air quality applications in the Baltic Sea area, because they provide information on air pollution over sea and there where ground-based network and aircraft measurements are not available. Both the emissions from urban sites over land and ships over sea, contribute to the tropospheric NO2 levels. The tropospheric NO2 monitoring at high latitudes using satellite data is challenging because of the reduced light hours in winter and the snow-covered surface, which make the retrieval complex, and because of the reduced signal due to low Sun. This work presents a detailed characterization of the tropospheric NO2 columns focused on part of the Baltic Sea region using the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) tropospheric NO2 standard product. Previous works have focused on larger seas and lower latitudes. The results showed that, despite the regional area of interest, it is possible to distinguish the signal from the main coastal cities and from the ships by averaging the data over a seasonal time range. The summertime NO2 emission and lifetime values (E = (1.0 ± 0.1)x1028 molec. and τ = (3.0 ± 0.5) h, respectively) in Helsinki were estimated from the decay of the signal with distance from the city center. The method developed for megacities was successfully applied to a smaller scale source, in both size and intensity (i.e., the city of Helsinki), which is located at high latitudes (~ 60oN). The same methodology could be applied to similar scale cities elsewhere, as far as they are relatively isolated from other sources. The transport by the wind plays an important role in the Baltic Sea area. The NO2 spatial distribution is mainly determined by the contribution of strong westerly winds, which dominate the wind patterns during summer. The comparison between the emissions from model calculations and OMI NO2 tropospheric columns confirmed the applicability of satellite data for ship emission monitoring. In particular, both the

Associations between ozone and morbidity using the Spatial Synoptic Classification system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arora Gurmeet

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Synoptic circulation patterns (large-scale tropospheric motion systems affect air pollution and, potentially, air-pollution-morbidity associations. We evaluated the effect of synoptic circulation patterns (air masses on the association between ozone and hospital admissions for asthma and myocardial infarction (MI among adults in North Carolina. Methods Daily surface meteorology data (including precipitation, wind speed, and dew point for five selected cities in North Carolina were obtained from the U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS, which were in turn based on data from the National Climatic Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We used the Spatial Synoptic Classification system to classify each day of the 9-year period from 1996 through 2004 into one of seven different air mass types: dry polar, dry moderate, dry tropical, moist polar, moist moderate, moist tropical, or transitional. Daily 24-hour maximum 1-hour ambient concentrations of ozone were obtained from the AQS. Asthma and MI hospital admissions data for the 9-year period were obtained from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Generalized linear models were used to assess the association of the hospitalizations with ozone concentrations and specific air mass types, using pollutant lags of 0 to 5 days. We examined the effect across cities on days with the same air mass type. In all models we adjusted for dew point and day-of-the-week effects related to hospital admissions. Results Ozone was associated with asthma under dry tropical (1- to 5-day lags, transitional (3- and 4-day lags, and extreme moist tropical (0-day lag air masses. Ozone was associated with MI only under the extreme moist tropical (5-day lag air masses. Conclusions Elevated ozone levels are associated with dry tropical, dry moderate, and moist tropical air masses, with the highest ozone levels being associated with the dry tropical air mass. Certain

Air quality simulation over South Asia using Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution version-2 (HTAP-v2) emission inventory and Model for Ozone and Related chemical Tracers (MOZART-4)

Science.gov (United States)

Surendran, Divya E.; Ghude, Sachin D.; Beig, G.; Emmons, L. K.; Jena, Chinmay; Kumar, Rajesh; Pfister, G. G.; Chate, D. M.

2015-12-01

This study presents the distribution of tropospheric ozone and related species for South Asia using the Model for Ozone and Related chemical Tracers (MOZART-4) and Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution version-2 (HTAP-v2) emission inventory. The model present-day simulated ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are evaluated against surface-based, balloon-borne and satellite-based (MOPITT and OMI) observations. The model systematically overestimates surface O3 mixing ratios (range of mean bias about: 1-30 ppbv) at different ground-based measurement sites in India. Comparison between simulated and observed vertical profiles of ozone shows a positive bias from the surface up to 600 hPa and a negative bias above 600 hPa. The simulated seasonal variation in surface CO mixing ratio is consistent with the surface observations, but has a negative bias of about 50-200 ppb which can be attributed to a large part to the coarse model resolution. In contrast to the surface evaluation, the model shows a positive bias of about 15-20 × 1017 molecules/cm2 over South Asia when compared to satellite derived CO columns from the MOPITT instrument. The model also overestimates OMI retrieved tropospheric column NO2 abundance by about 100-250 × 1013 molecules/cm2. A response to 20% reduction in all anthropogenic emissions over South Asia shows a decrease in the anuual mean O3 mixing ratios by about 3-12 ppb, CO by about 10-80 ppb and NOX by about 3-6 ppb at the surface level. During summer monsoon, O3 mixing ratios at 200 hPa show a decrease of about 6-12 ppb over South Asia and about 1-4 ppb over the remote northern hemispheric western Pacific region.

Influence of isoprene chemical mechanism on modelled changes in tropospheric ozone due to climate and land use over the 21st century

Science.gov (United States)

Squire, O. J.; Archibald, A. T.; Griffiths, P. T.; Jenkin, M. E.; Smith, D.; Pyle, J. A.

2015-05-01

Isoprene is a~precursor to tropospheric ozone, a key pollutant and greenhouse gas. Anthropogenic activity over the coming century is likely to cause large changes in atmospheric CO2 levels, climate and land use, all of which will alter the global vegetation distribution leading to changes in isoprene emissions. Previous studies have used global chemistry-climate models to assess how possible changes in climate and land use could affect isoprene emissions and hence tropospheric ozone. The chemistry of isoprene oxidation, which can alter the concentration of ozone, is highly complex, therefore it must be parameterised in these models. In this work, we compare the effect of four different reduced isoprene chemical mechanisms, all currently used in Earth system models, on tropospheric ozone. Using a box model we compare ozone in these reduced schemes to that in a more explicit scheme (the Master Chemical Mechanism) over a range of NOx and isoprene emissions, through the use of O3 isopleths. We find that there is some variability, especially at high isoprene emissions, caused by differences in isoprene-derived NOx reservoir species. A global model is then used to examine how the different reduced schemes respond to potential future changes in climate, isoprene emissions, anthropogenic emissions and land use change. We find that, particularly in isoprene-rich regions, the response of the schemes varies considerably. The wide-ranging response is due to differences in the model descriptions of the peroxy radical chemistry, particularly their relative rates of reaction towards NO, leading to ozone formation, or HO2, leading to termination. Also important is the yield of isoprene nitrates and peroxyacyl nitrate precursors from isoprene oxidation. Those schemes that produce less of these NOx reservoir species, tend to produce more ozone locally and less away from the source region. We also note changes in other key oxidants such as NO3 and OH (due to the inclusion of

Optical remote measurement of ozone in cirrus clouds; Optische Fernmessung von Ozon in Zirruswolken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reichardt, J. [GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH (Germany). Inst. fuer Physikalische und Chemische Analytik

1998-12-31

The subject of this thesis is theoretical and experimental investigations into the simultaneous optical remote measurement of atmospheric ozone concentration and particle properties. A lidar system was developed that combines the Raman-lidar and the polarization-lidar with the Raman-DIAL technique. An error analysis is given for ozone measurements in clouds. It turns out that the wavelength dependencies of photon multiple scattering and of the particle extinction coefficient necessitate a correction of the measured ozone concentration. To quantify the cloud influence, model calculations based on particle size distributions of spheres are carried out. The most important experimental result of this thesis is the measured evidence of pronounced minima in the ozone distribution in a humid upper troposphere shortly before and during cirrus observation. Good correlation between ozone-depleted altitude ranges and ice clouds is found. This finding is in contrast to ozone profiles measured in a dry and cloud-free troposphere. (orig.) 151 refs.

Ozone and meteorological boundary-layer conditions at Summit, Greenland, during 3-21 June 2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helmig, D.; Boulter, J.; David, D.; Birks, J.W.; Cullen, N.J.; Steffen, K. [University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences; Johnson, B.J.; Oltmans, S.J. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Boulder, CO (United States). Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory

2002-06-01

The temporal and spatial distributions of boundary-layer ozone were studied during June 2000 at Summit, Greenland, using surface-level measurements and vertical profiling from a tethered balloon platform. Three weeks of continuous ozone surface data, 133 meteorological vertical profile data and 82 ozone vertical profile data sets were collected from the surface to a maximum altitude of 1400 m above ground. The lower atmosphere at Summit was characterized by the prevalence of strong stable conditions with strong surface temperature inversions. These inversions reversed to neutral to slightly unstable conditions between {approx} 9.00 and 18.00 h local time with the formation of shallow mixing heights of {approx} 70-250 m above the surface. The surface ozone mixing ratio ranged from 39 to 68 ppbv and occasionally had rapid changes of up to 20 ppb in 12 h. The diurnal mean ozone mixing ratio showed diurnal trends indicating meteorological and photochemical controls of surface ozone. Vertical profiles were within the range of 37-76 ppb and showed strong stratification in the lower troposphere. A high correlation of high ozone/low water vapor air masses indicated the transport of high tropospheric/low stratospheric air into the lower boundary layer. An {approx} 0.1-3 ppb decline of the ozone mixing ratio towards the surface was frequently observed within the neutrally stable mixed layer during midday hours. These data suggest that the boundary-layer ozone mixing ratio and ozone depletion and deposition to the snowpack are influenced by the boundary-layer ozone mixing ratio and ozone depletion and deposition to the snowpack are influenced by photochemical processes and/or transport phenomena that follow diurnal dependencies. With 37 ppb of ozone being the lowest mixing ratio measured in all data no evidence was seen for the occurrence of ozone depletion episodes similar to those that have been reported within the boundary layer at coastal Arctic sites during springtime

Interaction between ozone and airborne particulate matter in office air

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mølhave, Lars; Kjærgaard, Søren K.; Sigsgaard, Torben

2005-01-01

This study investigated the hypotheses that humans are affected by air pollution caused by ozone and house dust, that the effect of simultaneous exposure to ozone and dust in the air is larger than the effect of these two pollutants individually, and that the effects can be measured as release of...

Ozone pollution: rising concentrations despite French and EU efforts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ba, M.; Elichegaray, Ch.

2003-11-01

Ozone is the main indicator of photochemical pollution which is caused by a complex combination of primary pollutants formed by chemical reactions in the troposphere, in the presence of sunlight. These primary pollutants, otherwise known as precursors of ozone (nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide), are emitted both by natural sources and human activities. In urban areas, during the summer months, ozone is often the main cause of deterioration in air quality. Directive 2002/3/EC relating to ozone in ambient air entered into force on 9 September 2003, superseding the first ozone Directive (92/72/CE) of 21 September 1992. In the last 10 years, monitoring of ozone pollution has considerably progressed in France (the number of analysers has increased tenfold). Emissions of the ozone precursors fell significantly (-27%) between 1990 and 2000 in France as a result of combined efforts in all sectors of activity. However, between 1994 and 2002, ozone levels remained above the information threshold for the protection of human health and vegetation on average more than 100 days a year in rural areas and over 40 days a year in urban and peri-urban areas. Efforts undertaken both in France and other European countries aim to improve the situation and ensure compliance with the requirements of Directive 2002/3/EC. (author)

Breeding of ozone resistant rice: Relevance, approaches and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frei, Michael

2015-01-01

Tropospheric ozone concentrations have been rising across Asia, and will continue to rise during the 21st century. Ozone affects rice yields through reductions in spikelet number, spikelet fertility, and grain size. Moreover, ozone leads to changes in rice grain and straw quality. Therefore the breeding of ozone tolerant rice varieties is warranted. The mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) using bi-parental populations identified several tolerance QTL mitigating symptom formation, grain yield losses, or the degradation of straw quality. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) demonstrated substantial natural genotypic variation in ozone tolerance in rice, and revealed that the genetic architecture of ozone tolerance in rice is dominated by multiple medium and small effect loci. Transgenic approaches targeting tolerance mechanisms such as antioxidant capacity are also discussed. It is concluded that the breeding of ozone tolerant rice can contribute substantially to the global food security, and is feasible using different breeding approaches. - Highlights: • Tropospheric ozone affects millions of hectares of rice land. • Ozone affects rice yield and quality. • Breeding approaches to adapt rice to high ozone are discussed. • Challenges in the breeding of ozone resistant rice are discussed. - This review summarizes the effects of tropospheric ozone on rice and outlines approaches and challenges in the breeding of adapted varieties

Tropospheric emissions: Monitoring of pollution (TEMPO)

Science.gov (United States)

Zoogman, P.; Liu, X.; Suleiman, R. M.; Pennington, W. F.; Flittner, D. E.; Al-Saadi, J. A.; Hilton, B. B.; Nicks, D. K.; Newchurch, M. J.; Carr, J. L.; Janz, S. J.; Andraschko, M. R.; Arola, A.; Baker, B. D.; Canova, B. P.; Chan Miller, C.; Cohen, R. C.; Davis, J. E.; Dussault, M. E.; Edwards, D. P.; Fishman, J.; Ghulam, A.; González Abad, G.; Grutter, M.; Herman, J. R.; Houck, J.; Jacob, D. J.; Joiner, J.; Kerridge, B. J.; Kim, J.; Krotkov, N. A.; Lamsal, L.; Li, C.; Lindfors, A.; Martin, R. V.; McElroy, C. T.; McLinden, C.; Natraj, V.; Neil, D. O.; Nowlan, C. R.; O`Sullivan, E. J.; Palmer, P. I.; Pierce, R. B.; Pippin, M. R.; Saiz-Lopez, A.; Spurr, R. J. D.; Szykman, J. J.; Torres, O.; Veefkind, J. P.; Veihelmann, B.; Wang, H.; Wang, J.; Chance, K.

2017-01-01

TEMPO was selected in 2012 by NASA as the first Earth Venture Instrument, for launch between 2018 and 2021. It will measure atmospheric pollution for greater North America from space using ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy. TEMPO observes from Mexico City, Cuba, and the Bahamas to the Canadian oil sands, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, hourly and at high spatial resolution ( 2.1 km N/S×4.4 km E/W at 36.5°N, 100°W). TEMPO provides a tropospheric measurement suite that includes the key elements of tropospheric air pollution chemistry, as well as contributing to carbon cycle knowledge. Measurements are made hourly from geostationary (GEO) orbit, to capture the high variability present in the diurnal cycle of emissions and chemistry that are unobservable from current low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that measure once per day. The small product spatial footprint resolves pollution sources at sub-urban scale. Together, this temporal and spatial resolution improves emission inventories, monitors population exposure, and enables effective emission-control strategies. TEMPO takes advantage of a commercial GEO host spacecraft to provide a modest cost mission that measures the spectra required to retrieve ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), formaldehyde (H2CO), glyoxal (C2H2O2), bromine monoxide (BrO), IO (iodine monoxide), water vapor, aerosols, cloud parameters, ultraviolet radiation, and foliage properties. TEMPO thus measures the major elements, directly or by proxy, in the tropospheric O3 chemistry cycle. Multi-spectral observations provide sensitivity to O3 in the lowermost troposphere, substantially reducing uncertainty in air quality predictions. TEMPO quantifies and tracks the evolution of aerosol loading. It provides these near-real-time air quality products that will be made publicly available. TEMPO will launch at a prime time to be the North American component of the global geostationary constellation of pollution monitoring

Ozone, air quality and climatic change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Noije, T.

2008-01-01

Changes in climate due to increased greenhouse gas emissions differ per region. Regional climate changes can also be caused by regional changes in air quality, though. On the other hand, global and regional changes in climate also lead to changes in air quality without any changes in sources of pollution. This article discusses the various aspects of the interaction between air quality and climate change with extra focus on the role of ozone. [mk] [nl

Aerosol-ozone correlations during dust transport episodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Bonasoni

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Its location in the Mediterranean region and its physical characteristics render Mt. Cimone (44°11′ N, 10°42′ E, the highest peak of the Italian northern Apennines (2165 m asl, particularly suitable to study the transport of air masses from the north African desert area to Europe. During these northward transports 12 dust events were registered in measurements of the aerosol concentration at the station during the period June–December 2000, allowing the study of the impact of mineral dust transports on free tropospheric ozone concentrations, which were also measured at Mt. Cimone. Three-dimensional backward trajectories were used to determine the air mass origin, while TOMS Aerosol Index data for the Mt. Cimone area were used to confirm the presence of absorbing aerosol over the measurement site. A trajectory statistical analysis allowed identifying the main source areas of ozone and aerosols. The analysis of these back trajectories showed that central Europe and north and central Italy are the major pollution source areas for ozone and fine aerosol, whereas the north African desert regions were the most important source areas for coarse aerosol and low ozone concentrations. During dust events, the Mt. Cimone mean volume concentration for coarse particles was 6.18 µm3/cm3 compared to 0.63 µm3/cm3 in dust-free conditions, while the ozone concentrations were 4% to 21% lower than the monthly mean background values. Our observations show that surface ozone concentrations were lower than the background values in air masses coming from north Africa, and when these air masses were also rich in coarse particles, the lowest ozone values were registered. Moreover, preliminary results on the possible impact of the dust events on PM10 and ozone values measured in Italian urban and rural areas showed that during the greater number of the considered dust events, significant PM10 increases and ozone decreases have occurred in the Po valley.

Space-Based Diagnosis of Surface Ozone Sensitivity to Anthropogenic Emissions

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Randall V.; Fiore, Arlene M.; VanDonkelaar, Aaron

2004-01-01

We present a novel capability in satellite remote sensing with implications for air pollution control strategy. We show that the ratio of formaldehyde columns to tropospheric nitrogen dioxide columns is an indicator of the relative sensitivity of surface ozone to emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO(x) = NO + NO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The diagnosis from these space-based observations is highly consistent with current understanding of surface ozone chemistry based on in situ observations. The satellite-derived ratios indicate that surface ozone is more sensitive to emissions of NO(x) than of VOCs throughout most continental regions of the Northern Hemisphere during summer. Exceptions include Los Angeles and industrial areas of Germany. A seasonal transition occurs in the fall when surface ozone becomes less sensitive to NOx and more sensitive to VOCs.

Global health benefits of mitigating ozone pollution with methane emission controls.

Science.gov (United States)

West, J Jason; Fiore, Arlene M; Horowitz, Larry W; Mauzerall, Denise L

2006-03-14

Methane (CH(4)) contributes to the growing global background concentration of tropospheric ozone (O(3)), an air pollutant associated with premature mortality. Methane and ozone are also important greenhouse gases. Reducing methane emissions therefore decreases surface ozone everywhere while slowing climate warming, but although methane mitigation has been considered to address climate change, it has not for air quality. Here we show that global decreases in surface ozone concentrations, due to methane mitigation, result in substantial and widespread decreases in premature human mortality. Reducing global anthropogenic methane emissions by 20% beginning in 2010 would decrease the average daily maximum 8-h surface ozone by approximately 1 part per billion by volume globally. By using epidemiologic ozone-mortality relationships, this ozone reduction is estimated to prevent approximately 30,000 premature all-cause mortalities globally in 2030, and approximately 370,000 between 2010 and 2030. If only cardiovascular and respiratory mortalities are considered, approximately 17,000 global mortalities can be avoided in 2030. The marginal cost-effectiveness of this 20% methane reduction is estimated to be approximately 420,000 US dollars per avoided mortality. If avoided mortalities are valued at 1 US dollars million each, the benefit is approximately 240 US dollars per tone of CH(4) ( approximately 12 US dollars per tone of CO(2) equivalent), which exceeds the marginal cost of the methane reduction. These estimated air pollution ancillary benefits of climate-motivated methane emission reductions are comparable with those estimated previously for CO(2). Methane mitigation offers a unique opportunity to improve air quality globally and can be a cost-effective component of international ozone management, bringing multiple benefits for air quality, public health, agriculture, climate, and energy.

Investigating Ozone Sources in California Using AJAX Airborne Measurements and Models: Implications for Stratospheric Intrusion and Long Range Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Ryoo, Ju-Mee; Johnson, Matthew S.; Iraci, Laura T.; Yates, Emma L.; Pierce, R. Bradley; Tanaka, Tomoaki; Gore, Warren

2016-01-01

High ozone concentrations at low altitudes near the surface were detected from airborne Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) measurements on May 30, 2012. We investigate the causes of the elevated ozone concentrations using the airborne measurements and various models. GEOSchem and WRF-STILT model simulations show that the contribution from local sources is small. From MERRA reanalysis, it is found that high potential vorticity (PV) is observed at low altitudes. This high PV appears to be only partially coming through the stratospheric intrusions because the air inside the high PV region is moist, which shows that mixing appears to be enhanced in the low altitudes. Considering that diabatic heating can also produce high PV in the lower troposphere, high ozone is partially coming through stratospheric intrusion, but this cannot explain the whole ozone concentration in the target areas of the western U.S. A back-trajectory model is utilized to see where the air masses originated. The air masses of the target areas came from the lower stratosphere (LS), upper (UT), mid- (MT), and lower troposphere (LT). The relative number of trajectories coming from LS and UT is low (7.7% and 7.6%, respectively) compared to that from LT (64.1%), but the relative ozone concentration coming from LS and UT is high (38.4% and 20.95%, respectively) compared to that from LT (17.7%). The air mass coming from LT appears to be mostly coming from Asia. Q diagnostics show that there is sufficient mixing along the trajectory to indicate that ozone from the different origins is mixed and transported to the western U.S. This study shows that high ozone concentrations can be detected by airborne measurements, which can be analyzed by integrated platforms such as models, reanalysis, and satellite data.

Measurements of the potential ozone production rate in a forest

Science.gov (United States)

Crilley, L.; Sklaveniti, S.; Kramer, L.; Bloss, W.; Flynn, J. H., III; Alvarez, S. L.; Erickson, M.; Dusanter, S.; Locoge, N.; Stevens, P. S.; Millet, D. B.; Alwe, H. D.

2017-12-01

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) are a significant source of organic compounds globally and alongside NOx play a key role in the formation of ozone in the troposphere. Understanding how changes in NOx concentrations feed through to altered ozone production in BVOC dominated environments will aid our understanding of future atmospheric composition, notably as developing nations transition from NOx dominated to NOx limited chemistry as a result of mitigation strategies. Here we empirically investigate this ambient ozone formation potential. We report deployment of a custom built instrument to measure in near real time the potential for in situ chemical ozone production, using an artificial light source. Our results are thus indicative of the ozone formation potential for a sampled ambient air mixture, including full VOC complexity, i.e. independent of characterization of individual organic compounds. Ground level measurements were performed as part of the PROPHET-AMOS 2016 field campaign, at a site located within a Northern Michigan forest that has typically low NOx abundance, but high isoprene and terpenoid loadings. As the ambient NOx concentrations were low during the campaign, experiments were performed in which NO was artificially added to the sampled ambient air mixture, to quantify changes in the potential ozone production rate as a function of NOx, and hence the ozone forming characteristics of the ambient air. Preliminarily results from these experiments are presented, and indicate that while ozone production increases with added NO, significant variation was observed for a given NO addition, reflecting differences in the ambient VOC chemical reactivity and ozone formation tendency.

Ozone in the Tropical Troposphere

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peters, Wouter

2002-01-01

The aim of the research presented here is to acquire knowledge of the past, present, and future composition, stability, sensitivity, and variability of the troposphere. We focus mostly on the tropical regions because it has received little attention so far, measurements here are scarce, and large

Ozone production by a dc corona discharge in air contaminated by n-heptane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pekarek, S

2008-01-01

Beneficial purposes of ozone such as elimination of odours, harmful bacteria and mildew can be used for transportation of food, fruits and vegetables with the aim to extend their storage life. To date the main technique used for this purpose in the transportation of these commodities, e.g. by trucks, was cooling. Here a combination of cooling together with the supply of ozone into containers with these commodities is considered. For these purposes we studied the effect of air contamination by n-heptane (part of automotive fuels) and humidity on ozone production by a dc hollow needle to mesh corona discharge. We found that, for both polarities of the needle electrode, addition of n-heptane to air (a) decreases ozone production; (b) causes discharge poisoning to occur at lower current than for air; (c) does not substantially influence the current for which the ozone production reaches the maximum. Finally the maximum ozone production for the discharge in air occurs for the same current as the maximum ozone production for the discharge contaminated by n-heptane. We also found that humidity decreases ozone production from air contaminated by n-heptane irrespective of the polarity of the coronating needle electrode. This dependence is stronger for the discharge with the needle biased positively

Soil respiration, root biomass, and root turnover following long-term exposure of northern forests to elevated atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric O3

Science.gov (United States)

Kurt S. Pregitzer; Andrew J. Burton; John S. King; Donald R. Zak

2008-01-01

The Rhinelander free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiment is designed to understand ecosystem response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (+CO2) and elevated tropospheric ozone (+O3). The objectives of this study were: to understand how soil respiration responded to the experimental treatments; to...

Ozone Generators That Are Sold as Air Cleaners

Science.gov (United States)

... Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). 1989. ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals . Atlanta. p. 12.5. Boeniger, Mark F. 1995. ... Indoor Ozone Levels. Journal of Air and Waste Management Association . 41:161-170. Pierce, Mark W.; Janczewski, ...

Pulsed Streamer Discharge Characteristics of Ozone Production in Dry Air

OpenAIRE

Samaranayake, W.J.M.; Miyahara, Y.; Namihira, T.; Katsuki, S.; Sakugawa, T.; Hackam, R.; Akiyama, H.; ナミヒラ, タカオ; カツキ, スナオ; アキヤマ, ヒデノリ; 波平, 隆男; 勝木, 淳; 秋山, 秀典

2000-01-01

Experimental investigation of HV short pulsed streamer discharges in dry air-fed ozonizers under various operating conditions are reported. Ozone concentration, energy input and ozone production yield (efficiency) were measured at various voltages (14 to 37 kV), pulse repetition rates (25 to 400 pulses per second, pps), flow rates (1.5 to 3.0 1/min) and different gap spacings (10 to 20 mm) at a pressure of 1.01×105 Pa in dry air. A spiral copper wire (1 mm in diameter) made to a cylindrical c...

Photochemical processes and ozone production in Finnish conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laurila, T; Hakola, H [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Air Quality Dept.

1997-12-31

Photochemical ozone production is observed in March-September. Highest ozone concentrations and production efficiencies are observed in spring in the northern parts and in summer in the southern parts of the country. VOC concentrations are relatively low compared to continental areas in general. During the growing season a substantial part of the total reactive mass of VOCs is of biogenic origin. Large forest areas absorb ozone substantially, decreasing the ambient ozone concentrations in central and northern parts of Finland where long-range transport of ozone is relatively important compared to local production. The aim of the work conducted at Finnish Meteorological Institute has been to characterise concentrations of photochemically active species in the boundary layer and their photochemical formation and deposition including the effects on vegetation. Also interactions between the boundary layer and free troposphere of ozone have been studied. In the future, fluxes of both biogenic species and air pollutants will be measured and the models will be further developed so that the photochemical and micrometeorological processes could be better understood

Photochemical processes and ozone production in Finnish conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laurila, T.; Hakola, H. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Air Quality Dept.

1996-12-31

Photochemical ozone production is observed in March-September. Highest ozone concentrations and production efficiencies are observed in spring in the northern parts and in summer in the southern parts of the country. VOC concentrations are relatively low compared to continental areas in general. During the growing season a substantial part of the total reactive mass of VOCs is of biogenic origin. Large forest areas absorb ozone substantially, decreasing the ambient ozone concentrations in central and northern parts of Finland where long-range transport of ozone is relatively important compared to local production. The aim of the work conducted at Finnish Meteorological Institute has been to characterise concentrations of photochemically active species in the boundary layer and their photochemical formation and deposition including the effects on vegetation. Also interactions between the boundary layer and free troposphere of ozone have been studied. In the future, fluxes of both biogenic species and air pollutants will be measured and the models will be further developed so that the photochemical and micrometeorological processes could be better understood

Investigation of Ozone Sources in California Using AJAX Airborne Measurements and Models: Implications for Stratospheric Intrusion and Long Range Transport

Science.gov (United States)

Ryoo, Ju-Mee; Johnson, Matthew S.; Iraci, Laura T.; Yates, Emma L.; Pierce, R. Bradley; Tanaka, Tomoaki; Gore, Warren

2015-01-01

High ozone concentrations at low altitudes near the surface were detected from airborne Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) measurements on May 30, 2012. We investigate the causes of the elevated ozone concentrations using the airborne measurements and various models. GEOS-chem and WRF-STILT model simulations show that the contribution from local sources is small. From MERRA reanalysis, it is found that high potential vorticity (PV) is observed at low altitudes. This high PV appears to be only partially coming through the stratospheric intrusions because the air inside the high PV region is moist, which shows that mixing appears to be enhanced in the low altitudes. Considering that diabatic heating can also produce high PV in the lower troposphere, high ozone is partially coming through stratospheric intrusion, but this cannot explain the whole ozone concentration in the target areas of the western U.S. A back-trajectory model is utilized to see where the air masses originated. The air masses of the target areas came from the lower stratosphere (LS), upper (UT), mid- (MT), and lower troposphere (LT). The relative number of trajectories coming from LS and UT is low (7.7 and 7.6, respectively) compared to that from LT (64.1), but the relative ozone concentration coming from LS and UT is high (38.4 and 20.95, respectively) compared to that from LT (17.7). The air mass coming from LT appears to be mostly coming from Asia. Q diagnostics show that there is sufficient mixing along the trajectory to indicate that ozone from the different origins is mixed and transported to the western U.S. This study shows that high ozone concentrations can be detected by airborne measurements, which can be analyzed by integrated platforms such as models, reanalysis, and satellite data.

Budget calculations for ozone and its precursors: Seasonal and episodic features based on model simulations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Memmesheimer, M.; Ebel, A.; Roemer, M.

1997-01-01

Results from two air quality models (LOTOS, EURAD) have been used to analyse the contribution of the different terms in the continuity equation to the budget of ozone, NO(x) and PAN. Both models cover large parts of Europe and describe the processes relevant for tropospheric chemistry and dynamics.

Observation of enhanced ozone in an electrically active storm over Socorro, NM: Implications for ozone production from corona discharges

Science.gov (United States)

Minschwaner, K.; Kalnajs, L. E.; Dubey, M. K.; Avallone, L. M.; Sawaengphokai, P. C.; Edens, H. E.; Winn, W. P.

2008-09-01

Enhancements in ozone were observed between about 3 and 10 km altitude within an electrically active storm in central New Mexico. Measurements from satellite sensors and ground-based radar show cloud top pressures between 300 and 150 mb in the vicinity of an ozonesonde launched from Socorro, NM, and heavy precipitation with radar reflectivities exceeding 50 dBZ. Data from a lightning mapping array and a surface electric field mill show a large amount of electrical activity within this thunderstorm. The observed ozone enhancements are large (50% above the mean) and could have resulted from a number of possible processes, including the advection of polluted air from the urban environments of El Paso and Juarez, photochemical production by lightning-generated NOx from aged thunderstorm outflow, downward mixing of stratospheric air, or local production from within the thunderstorm. We find that a large fraction of the ozone enhancement is consistent with local production from corona discharges, either from cloud particles or by corona associated with lightning. The implied global source of ozone from thunderstorm corona discharge is estimated to be 110 Tg O3 a-1 with a range between 40 and 180 Tg O3 a-1. This value is about 21% as large as the estimated ozone production rate from lightning NOx, and about 3% as large as the total chemical production rate of tropospheric ozone. Thus while the estimated corona-induced production of ozone may be significant on local scales, it is unlikely to be as important to the global ozone budget as other sources.

Tropospheric O3 compromises net primary production in young stands of trembling aspen, paper birch and sugar maple in response to elevated atmospheric CO2

Science.gov (United States)

John S. King; Mark E. Kubiske; Kurt S. Pregitzer; George R. Hendrey; Evan P. McDonald; Christian P. Giardina; Vanessa S. Quinn; David F. Karnosky

2005-01-01

Concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and tropospheric ozone (O3) are rising concurrently in the atmosphere, with potentially antagonistic effects on forest net primary production (NPP) and implications for terrestrial carbon sequestration. Using free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) technology, we exposed north...

Modeling Stomatal Conductance to Estimate Seasonal Uptake in the Ozone-Sensitive Bioindicator Plant Common Milkweed (A. syriaca L.)

Science.gov (United States)

Bergweiler, C.

2008-12-01

The US EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) was not conceived to nor does it provide an accurate definition of the absorbed ozone dose or baseline exposure level to protect vegetation. This research presents a multiplicative modeling approach based not only on atmospheric, but on equally important physiological, phenological, and environmental parameters. Physiological constraints on ozone uptake demonstrate that actual absorption is substantially lower than that assumed by a simple interpretation of hourly atmospheric ozone concentrations. Coupled with development of foliar injury expression this provides evidence that tropospheric ozone is more toxic to vegetation than is currently understood.