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Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations

Much progress has been made in creating satellite products for tracking the pollutants ozone and NO(2) in the troposphere. Yet, in mid-latitude regions where meteorological interactions with pollutants are complex, accuracy can be difficult to achieve, largely due to persistent layering of some cons...

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Autores principales: Thompson, Anne M., Stauffer, Ryan M., Miller, Sonya K., Martins, Douglas K., Joseph, Everette, Weinheimer, Andrew J., Diskin, Glenn S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Springer Netherlands 2014
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4665809/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26692597
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10874-014-9283-z
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author Thompson, Anne M.
Stauffer, Ryan M.
Miller, Sonya K.
Martins, Douglas K.
Joseph, Everette
Weinheimer, Andrew J.
Diskin, Glenn S.
author_facet Thompson, Anne M.
Stauffer, Ryan M.
Miller, Sonya K.
Martins, Douglas K.
Joseph, Everette
Weinheimer, Andrew J.
Diskin, Glenn S.
author_sort Thompson, Anne M.
collection PubMed
description Much progress has been made in creating satellite products for tracking the pollutants ozone and NO(2) in the troposphere. Yet, in mid-latitude regions where meteorological interactions with pollutants are complex, accuracy can be difficult to achieve, largely due to persistent layering of some constituents. We characterize the layering of ozone soundings and related species measured from aircraft over two ground sites in suburban Washington, DC (Beltsville, MD, 39.05 N; 76.9 W) and Baltimore (Edgewood, MD, 39.4 N; 76.3 W) during the July 2011 DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality) experiment. First, we compare column-ozone amounts from the Beltsville and Edgewood sondes with data from overpassing satellites. Second, processes influencing ozone profile structure are analyzed using Laminar Identification and tracers: sonde water vapor, aircraft CO and NO(y). Third, Beltsville ozone profiles and meteorological influences in July 2011 are compared to those from the summers of 2006–2010. Sonde-satellite offsets in total ozone during July 2011 at Edgewood and Beltsville, compared to the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), were 3 % mean absolute error, not statistically significant. The disagreement between an OMI/Microwave Limb Sounder-based tropospheric ozone column and the sonde averaged 10 % at both sites, with the sonde usually greater than the satellite. Laminar Identification (LID), that distinguishes ozone segments influenced by convective and advective transport, reveals that on days when both stations launched ozonesondes, vertical mixing was stronger at Edgewood. Approximately half the lower free troposphere sonde profiles have very dry laminae, with coincident aircraft spirals displaying low CO (80–110 ppbv), suggesting stratospheric influence. Ozone budgets at Beltsville in July 2011, determined with LID, as well as standard meteorological indicators, resemble those of 4 of the previous 5 summers. The penetration of stratospheric air throughout the troposphere appears to be typical for summer conditions in the Baltimore-Washington region.
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spelling pubmed-46658092015-12-09 Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations Thompson, Anne M. Stauffer, Ryan M. Miller, Sonya K. Martins, Douglas K. Joseph, Everette Weinheimer, Andrew J. Diskin, Glenn S. J Atmos Chem Article Much progress has been made in creating satellite products for tracking the pollutants ozone and NO(2) in the troposphere. Yet, in mid-latitude regions where meteorological interactions with pollutants are complex, accuracy can be difficult to achieve, largely due to persistent layering of some constituents. We characterize the layering of ozone soundings and related species measured from aircraft over two ground sites in suburban Washington, DC (Beltsville, MD, 39.05 N; 76.9 W) and Baltimore (Edgewood, MD, 39.4 N; 76.3 W) during the July 2011 DISCOVER-AQ (Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality) experiment. First, we compare column-ozone amounts from the Beltsville and Edgewood sondes with data from overpassing satellites. Second, processes influencing ozone profile structure are analyzed using Laminar Identification and tracers: sonde water vapor, aircraft CO and NO(y). Third, Beltsville ozone profiles and meteorological influences in July 2011 are compared to those from the summers of 2006–2010. Sonde-satellite offsets in total ozone during July 2011 at Edgewood and Beltsville, compared to the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), were 3 % mean absolute error, not statistically significant. The disagreement between an OMI/Microwave Limb Sounder-based tropospheric ozone column and the sonde averaged 10 % at both sites, with the sonde usually greater than the satellite. Laminar Identification (LID), that distinguishes ozone segments influenced by convective and advective transport, reveals that on days when both stations launched ozonesondes, vertical mixing was stronger at Edgewood. Approximately half the lower free troposphere sonde profiles have very dry laminae, with coincident aircraft spirals displaying low CO (80–110 ppbv), suggesting stratospheric influence. Ozone budgets at Beltsville in July 2011, determined with LID, as well as standard meteorological indicators, resemble those of 4 of the previous 5 summers. The penetration of stratospheric air throughout the troposphere appears to be typical for summer conditions in the Baltimore-Washington region. Springer Netherlands 2014-05-14 2015 /pmc/articles/PMC4665809/ /pubmed/26692597 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10874-014-9283-z Text en © The Author(s) 2014 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.
spellingShingle Article
Thompson, Anne M.
Stauffer, Ryan M.
Miller, Sonya K.
Martins, Douglas K.
Joseph, Everette
Weinheimer, Andrew J.
Diskin, Glenn S.
Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations
title Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations
title_full Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations
title_fullStr Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations
title_full_unstemmed Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations
title_short Ozone profiles in the Baltimore-Washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and DISCOVER-AQ observations
title_sort ozone profiles in the baltimore-washington region (2006–2011): satellite comparisons and discover-aq observations
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4665809/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26692597
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10874-014-9283-z
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