Confronting Uncertainties of Simulated Air Pollution Concentrations during Persistent Cold Air Pool Events in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Sun ◽  
Cesunica E. Ivey ◽  
Kirk R. Baker ◽  
Athanasios Nenes ◽  
Neil P. Lareau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
Pollution Concentrations

Simulations of a Cold-Air Pool in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley: Sensitivity to Land Use and Snow Cover

2017 ◽  
Vol 164 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher S. Foster ◽  
Erik T. Crosman ◽  
John D. Horel
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Salt Lake Valley

The Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil P. Lareau ◽  
Erik Crosman ◽  
C. David Whiteman ◽  
John D. Horel ◽  
Sebastian W. Hoch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Lake ◽  
Complete Removal ◽  
Static Stability ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Thermodynamic Structure ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
University Of Utah ◽  
Strong Winds

The Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study (PCAPS) was conducted in Utah's Salt Lake valley from 1 December 2010 to 7 February 2011. The field campaign's primary goal was to improve understanding of the physical processes governing the evolution of multiday cold-air pools (CAPs) that are common in mountain basins during the winter. Meteorological instrumentation deployed throughout the Salt Lake valley provided observations of the processes contributing to the formation, maintenance, and destruction of 10 persistent CAP episodes. The close proximity of PCAPS field sites to residences and the University of Utah campus allowed many undergraduate and graduate students to participate in the study. Ongoing research, supported by the National Science Foundation, is using the PCAPS dataset to examine CAP evolution. Preliminary analyses reveal that variations in CAP thermodynamic structure are attributable to a multitude of physical processes affecting local static stability: for example, synoptic-scale processes impact changes in temperatures and cloudiness aloft while variations in boundary layer forcing modulate the lower levels of CAPs. During episodes of strong winds, complex interactions between the synoptic and mesoscale f lows, local thermodynamic structure, and terrain lead to both partial and complete removal of CAPs. In addition, the strength and duration of CAP events affect the local concentrations of pollutants such as PM2.5.

Coupling between Chemical and Meteorological Processes under Persistent Cold-Air Pool Conditions: Evolution of Wintertime PM2.5 Pollution Events and N2O5 Observations in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 5941-5950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munkhbayar Baasandorj ◽  
Sebastian W. Hoch ◽  
Ryan Bares ◽  
John C. Lin ◽  
Steven S. Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Lake ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
Pollution Events

scholarly journals Surface Turbulent Fluxes during Persistent Cold-Air Pool Events in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah. Part I: Observations

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (12) ◽  
pp. 2553-2568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Sun ◽  
Heather A. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Turbulent Fluxes ◽  
Neutral Stability ◽  
Stability Range ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
Ground Heat Flux

AbstractThe land surface is coupled to the atmospheric boundary layer through surface turbulent fluxes. Persistent cold-air pools (PCAPs) form in topographic depressions where cold, dense air fills the valley basin and in the presence of air pollution is accompanied by poor air quality. For the first time, the surface turbulence dataset from seven monitors during the Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study conducted in Salt Lake Valley, Utah (December 2010–February 2011), are analyzed. We found that the surface sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat fluxes were lower during strong PCAP events compared with non-PCAPs. The higher ratio of heat flux to net radiation (H/Rn and LE/Rn) for strong PCAPs compared with weak PCAPs is suspected to be related to the presence of boundary layer clouds, which could enhance the turbulent mixing through cloud top–down mixing. The daily average ground heat flux (G) was a similar order of magnitude to H and LE during wintertime. The highest surface turbulent fluxes and energy balance closure occurred in the stability range of −0.05 < ξ ≤ −0.02, or under slightly unstable conditions, near the neutral stability range. The median surface exchange coefficient (Ch), a crucial parameter to determine surface turbulent fluxes in land surface models, was slightly higher at the bare land site (BL) than the short vegetation sites (PH and CR) in wintertime, suggesting the importance of dynamic land-use information in numerical models.

scholarly journals Large-eddy simulations of a Salt Lake Valley cold-air pool

2017 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 10-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik T. Crosman ◽  
John D. Horel
Keyword(s):  
Salt Lake ◽  
Large Eddy Simulations ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
Large Eddy

scholarly journals Laser Ceilometer Investigation of Persistent Wintertime Cold-Air Pools in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 752-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Swyler Young ◽  
C. David Whiteman
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Atmospheric Stability ◽  
Experimental Period ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Mixing Processes ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
The Mean

AbstractAs part of the winter 2010/11 Persistent Cold-Air Pool Study in Utah’s Salt Lake Valley, a laser ceilometer was used to continuously measure aerosol-layer characteristics in support of an investigation of the meteorological processes producing the cold-air pools. A surface-based aerosol layer was present during much of the winter. Comparisons were made between ceilometer-measured and visual characteristics of the aerosol layers. A 3–4 January 2011 case study illustrated the meteorological value of time–height backscatter cross sections when used as a base map for meteorological analyses. A variety of meteorological mixing processes were illustrated using ceilometer backscatter data. The mean altitude of the top of the aerosol layer during undisturbed subperiods of the 1 December–7 February experimental period was 1811 m MSL, with a standard deviation of 185 m. The mean aerosol depth was ~500 m AGL in the 1200-m-deep valley. There was surprisingly little variation in the wintertime aerosol layer depth despite large variations in bulk atmospheric stability and ground-based fine particulate matter concentrations.

Relationship between particulate air pollution and meteorological variables in Utah's Salt Lake Valley

2014 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 742-753 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. David Whiteman ◽  
Sebastian W. Hoch ◽  
John D. Horel ◽  
Allison Charland
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Meteorological Variables ◽  
Salt Lake Valley ◽  
Particulate Air Pollution
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