Influence of Free Tropospheric Ozone and Particulate Matter (PM) on Surface Air Quality across the West Coast of the United States

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This project continues a multi-year sequence of observations of carbon monoxide, ozone, other trace gases, and aerosol physical properties at the Mt. Bachelor Observatory (MBO), a high elevation site in the Pacific Northwest. This site has been shown to frequently receive pollutants transported from Asia in the free troposphere. The project builds on previous work on the implications of increasing Asian and global emissions for background air quality. The observations will be used along with satellite data and computer modeling to address scientific questions concerning monthly and interannual variability of tropospheric ozone, the contribution of free tropospheric ozone to ozone levels in surface air, and the impacts of regional fires, Asian air pollutants and the stratosphere on U.S. air quality more generally. The MBO is the nation's only free tropospheric observatory for atmospheric composition on the West Coast. Observations from the site have been used in several recent assessments of intercontinental transport of pollution performed by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the UN Environmental Programs/Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollution program. Research at MBO has also been the focus of numerous graduate and undergraduate research projects. This project will support one new graduate student and one new post-doctoral fellow, who will focus on making high quality observations, integrating the in situ observations with satellite data and using global chemical transport models.