Meteorological based parameters and ozone exceedances in Houston and other cities in Texas

In the Houston-Galveston-Beaumont (HGB) region considerable scientific effort has been directed at elucidating the relationships among atmospheric circulations and urban mixed-layer ozone concentrations. These studies of the HGB region have provided guidance on the conditions that are used herein to identify specific meteorological parameters that relate with observed exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone. These parameters were developed using 15 years of ozone concentrations and localized wind conditions enhanced by incorporating data from a private monitoring network. Using these data, several key parameters were found that described the most common meteorological conditions for an exceedance day in HGB. The most relevant parameters included: the wind direction at midnight, wind speeds from 0 to 6 LST, and the extent of wind direction rotation in a 24-hour period. These parameters, and the meteorological conditions they describe, were also found to occur in an analysis of observational data throughout the state of Texas suggesting large scale forces beyond the influence of a sea breeze. A mixed layer model was developed and shown to illustrate the large-scale synoptic forces found in the observational data. The meteorological parameters, and conditions they describe, could be part of a diagnostic model performance evaluation to assure that accurate predictions of ozone for Texas were not the result of compensating errors.Implications: This study identified meteorological-based parameters that coincided with observed exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone across the state of Texas. These parameters can be used in support of regulatory model performance evaluations to assure accuracy in predicting ozone conducive conditions. In Houston, the vast majority of meteorlogical ozone conducive days did not produce an exceedance, suggesting other as yet unidentified conditions that are necessary such as an intermittent emission of precursors.

Apportioned primary and secondary organic aerosol during pollution events of DISCOVER-AQ Houston

Understanding the drivers for high ozone (O3) and atmospheric particulate matter (PM) concentrations is a pressing issue in urban air quality, as this understanding informs decisions for control and mitigation of these key pollutants. The Houston, TX metropolitan area is an ideal location for studying the intersection between O3 and atmospheric secondary organic carbon (SOC) production due to the diversity of source types (urban, industrial, and biogenic) and the on- and off-shore cycling of air masses over Galveston Bay, TX. Detailed characterization of filter-based samples collected during Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and VERtically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) Houston field experiment in September 2013 were used to investigate sources and composition of organic carbon (OC) and potential relationships between daily maximum 8 h average O3 and PM. The current study employed a novel combination of chemical mass balance modeling defining primary (i.e. POC) versus secondary (i.e. SOC) organic carbon and radiocarbon (14C) for apportionment of contemporary and fossil carbon. The apportioned sources include contemporary POC (biomass burning [BB], vegetative detritus), fossil POC (motor vehicle exhaust), biogenic SOC and fossil SOC. The filter-based results were then compared with real-time measurements by aerosol mass spectrometry. With these methods, a consistent urban background of contemporary carbon and motor vehicle exhaust was observed in the Houston metropolitan area. Real-time and filter-based characterization both showed that carbonaceous aerosols in Houston was highly impacted by SOC or oxidized OC, with much higher contributions from biogenic than fossil sources. However, fossil SOC concentration and fractional contribution had a stronger correlation with daily maximum 8 h average O3, peaking during high PM and O3 events. The results indicate that point source emissions processed by on- and off-shore wind cycles likely contribute to peak events for both PM and O3 in the greater Houston metropolitan area.

Analysis of wintertime O3 variability using a random forest model and high-frequency observations in Zhangjiakou-an area with background pollution level of the North China Plain

The short-term health effects of ozone (O₃) have highlighted the need for high-temporal-resolution O₃ observations to accurately assess human exposure to O₃. Here, we performed 20-s resolution observations of O₃ precursors and meteorological factors to train a random forest model capable of accurately predicting O₃ concentrations. Our model performed well with an average validated R² of 0.997. Unlike in typical linear model frameworks, variable dependencies are not clearly modelled by random forest model. Thus, we conducted additional studies to provide insight into the photochemical and atmospheric dynamic processes driving variations in O₃ concentrations. At nitrogen oxides (NO_x) concentrations of 10-20 ppb, all the other O₃ precursors were in states that increased the production of O₃. Over a short timescale, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) can almost track each high-frequency variation in O₃. Meteorological factors play a more important role than O₃ precursors do in predicting O₃ concentrations at a high temporal resolution; however, individual meteorological factors are not sufficient to track every high-frequency change in O₃. Nevertheless, the sharp variations in O₃ related to flow dynamics are often accompanied by steep temperature changes. Our results suggest that high-temporal-resolution observations, both ground-based and vertical profiles, are necessary for the accurate assessment of human exposure to O₃ and the success and accountability of the emission control strategies for improving air quality.