scholarly journals Surface ozone in the Colorado northern Front Range and the influence of oil and gas development during FRAPPE/DISCOVER-AQ in summer 2014

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Cheadle ◽  
S. J. Oltmans ◽  
G. Pétron ◽  
R. C. Schnell ◽  
E. J. Mattson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Surface O3

High mixing ratios of ozone (O3) in the northern Front Range (NFR) of Colorado are not limited to the urban Denver area but were also observed in rural areas where oil and gas activity is the primary source of O3 precursors. On individual days, oil and gas O3 precursors can contribute in excess of 30 ppb to O3 growth and can lead to exceedances of the EPA O3 National Ambient Air Quality Standard. Data used in this study were gathered from continuous surface O3 monitors for June–August 2013–2015 as well as additional flask measurements and mobile laboratories that were part of the FRAPPE/DISCOVER-AQ field campaign of July–August 2014. Overall observed O3 levels during the summer of 2014 were lower than in 2013, likely due to cooler and damper weather than an average summer. This study determined the median hourly surface O3 mixing ratio in the NFR on summer days with limited photochemical production to be approximately 45–55 ppb. Mobile laboratory and flask data collected on three days provide representative case studies of different O3 formation environments in and around Greeley, Colorado. Observations of several gases (including methane, ethane, CO, nitrous oxide) along with O3 are used to identify sources of O3 precursor emissions. A July 23 survey demonstrated low O3 (45–60 ppb) while August 3 and August 13 surveys recorded O3 levels of 75–80 ppb or more. August 3 exemplifies influence of moderate urban and high oil and gas O3 precursor emissions. August 13 demonstrates high oil and gas emissions, low agricultural emissions, and CO measurements that were well correlated with ethane from oil and gas, suggesting an oil and gas related activity as a NOx and O3 precursor source. Low isoprene levels indicated that they were not a significant contributor to O3 precursors measured during the case studies.

scholarly journals Changes in summertime ozone in Colorado during 2000–2015

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Bien ◽  
Detlev Helmig
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
P Value ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
June July ◽  
Surface O3

In 2016, the Denver Metro Area (DMA)/Northern Colorado Front Range (NCFR) was reclassified from a Marginal to a Moderate O3 Non-Attainment Area due to the prevalence of high summer ozone (O3) occurrences. Hourly surface O3 data collected during 2000–2015 from a total of 80 monitoring sites in the State of Colorado were investigated for geographical features in O3 behavior and O3 changes over time. We particularly focus on summer O3 (June, July, August), which is the time when most exceedances of the O3 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) have been recorded. Variables investigated include the statistical (5th, 50th (median), and 95th percentile) distribution of O3 mixing ratios, diurnal amplitudes, and their trends. Trend analyses were conducted for 20 site records that had at least ten years of data. The majority of Colorado ozone monitoring sites show an increase of the 5th (16 total; 11 of these are statistically significant (p-value ≤ 0.05) trends) and 50th (15 total; 4 statistically significant trends) percentile values. Changes for the 95th percentile values were smaller and less consistent. One site showed a statistically significant declining trend, and one site an increasing trend; the majority of other sites had slightly negative, albeit not statistically significant declining O3. Ozone changes at the two highest elevations sites (>2500 m asl) are all negative, contrasting increasing O3 at U.S. West Coast sites. NCFR urban sites do not show the rate of decreasing higher percentile O3 as seen for the majority of urban areas across the U.S. during the past 1–2 decades. The amplitudes of diurnal O3 cycles were studied as a proxy for nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions and the diurnal O3 production chemistry. The majority of sites show a decrease in the median summer O3 diurnal amplitude (19 total/10 statistically significant). This is mostly driven by the increase in nighttime O3 minima, which is most likely a sign for a declining rate of nighttime O3 loss from titration with nitric oxide (NO), indicating a change in O3 behavior from declining NOx emissions. Since median and upper percentile surface O3 values in the DMA have not declined at the rates seen in other western U.S. regions, thus far the reduction in NOx has had a more pronounced effect on the lower percentile O3 distribution than on high O3 occurrences that primarily determine air quality. An assessment of the influence of oil and gas emissions on Colorado, and in particular DMA O3, is hampered by the sparsity of monitoring within oil and gas basins. Continuous, long-term, high quality, and co-located O3, NOx, and VOC monitoring are recommended for elucidating the geographical heterogeneity of O3 precursors, their changing emissions, and for evaluation of the effectiveness of O3 air quality regulations.

scholarly journals Spatio-temporal of surface ozone (O3) variations at urban and suburban sites in Sarawak region of Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 880 (1) ◽  
pp. 012004
Author(s):  
H Mahidin ◽  
M T Latif ◽  
A Hamdan ◽  
J Salleh ◽  
D Dominick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Ambient Air Quality Standard ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Sarawak Region of Malaysia is currently experiencing a high demand for capital needs such as transformation forest to plantations, economic development, and improving transportation systems. Those land cover changes will increase primary pollutant emissions and trigger surface O3 formation. Surface O3 is a secondary pollutant and a significant greenhouse gas contributing to climate change and declining air quality. In this study, variations in surface O3 concentrations at urban and suburban sites in Sarawak were explored using the Malaysian Department of Environment data spanning a two-year cycle (2018-2019). The primary aim of this study is to ascertain the variation of surface O3 concentrations reported at four monitoring stations in Sarawak, namely Kuching (SQ1) (Urban), Sibu (SQ2) (Suburban), Bintulu (SQ3) (Suburban), and Miri (SQ4) (Suburban). The study also analysed the relationship between O3 distribution and nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2). The findings showed that O3 concentrations observed in the region during the study period were lower than the maximum permissible value of 100 ppbv suggested by the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Standard (2020). SQ4 (Miri) at suburban sites recorded the highest average surface O3 concentrations with an hourly average and daily maximum O3 concentration of 15.7 and 89.5 ppbv, respectively. Temperatures, UV exposure, and wind speed all impact the concentration of surface O3 in Sarawak. In all stations, concentrations of O3 were inversely linked with NO, NO2, and relative humidity (RH). This research will assist the relevant agency in forecast, monitor, and mitigate the level of O3 in the ambient environment, especially in the Sarawak Region.

scholarly journals Characterizing sources of high surface ozone events in the southwestern U.S. with intensive field measurements and two global models

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhang ◽  
Meiyun Lin ◽  
Andrew O. Langford ◽  
Larry W. Horowitz ◽  
Christoph J. Senff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Las Vegas ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Global Models ◽  
High Background ◽  
Stratospheric Intrusions ◽  
Surface O3

Abstract. The detection and attribution of high background ozone (O3) events in the southwestern U.S. is challenging but relevant to the effective implementation of the lowered National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS; 70 ppbv). Here we leverage intensive field measurements from the Fires, Asian, and Stratospheric TransportLas Vegas Ozone Study (FAST-LVOS) in MayJune 2017, alongside high-resolution simulations with two global models (GFDL-AM4 and GEOS-Chem), to pinpoint the sources of O3 during high-O3 events. We show stratospheric influence on four out of the ten events with daily maximum 8-hour average (MDA8) surface O3 above 65 ppbv in the greater Las Vegas region. While O3 produced from regional anthropogenic emissions dominates pollution in the Las Vegas Valley, stratospheric intrusions can mix with regional pollution to push surface O3 above 70 ppbv. GFDL-AM4 captures the key characteristics of deep stratospheric intrusions consistent with ozonesondes, lidar profiles, and co-located measurements of O3, CO, and water vapor at Angel Peak, whereas GEOS-Chem has difficulty simulating the observed features and underestimates observed O3 by ~ 20 ppbv at the surface. The two models also differ substantially during a wildfire event, with GEOS-Chem estimating ~ 15 ppbv greater O3, in better agreement with lidar observations. At the surface, the two models bracket the observed MDA8 O3 values during the wildfire event. Both models capture the large-scale transport of Asian pollution, but neither resolves some fine-scale pollution plumes, as evidenced from aerosol backscatter, aircraft, and satellite measurements. U.S. background O3 estimates from the two models differ by 5 ppbv on average and up to 15 ppbv episodically. Our multi-model approach tied closely to observational analysis yields process insights, suggesting that elevated background O3 may pose challenges to achieving a potentially lower NAAQS level (e.g., 65 ppbv) in the southwestern U.S.

scholarly journals Evaluation of regional simulation of surface ozone over Southeast Asia using ground-based observation at two existing Global Atmospheric Watch stations

2021 ◽  
Vol 880 (1) ◽  
pp. 012006
Author(s):  
Didin Agustian Permadi ◽  
Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Ozone Pollution ◽  
Ozone Precursors ◽  
Remote Sites

Abstract High level of ground level ozone concentrations was found in most of Southeast Asian (SEA) large cities and often exceeded the national ambient air quality standard. Ozone and PM10 are among of the critical air quality parameters that cause the unhealthy air quality index. Effort to mitigate ozone pollution is greatly complicated due to the photochemistry processes therefore photochemical smog modelling has been widely used. Surface ozone simulation in SEA was done using CHIMERE and weather research forecast (WRF) model. Emission inventory of ozone precursors was done for three countries in the domain, i.e. Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. Modelling performance evaluation for meteorological parameters and ozone at the SEA big cities was done in another study. This paper focused on the model evaluation conducted at the two remote sites represented by 2 (two) global atmospheric watch (GAW) remote stations of Bukit Kototabang (BKT) and Danum Valley (DNV). Evaluation result showed an overestimation of observed ozone in BKT while a contradictive result was seen in DNV station which was due to the ozone chemistry and inaccurate estimation of emissions (both anthropogenic and biogenic emission). The evaluation conducted at the remote sites was not even better than that conducted previously at the urban areas. Statistically, only mean normalized gross error and unpaired peak accuracy values that satisfy the criteria for surface ozone modelling suggesting major improvement required for ozone precursors emission inventory data.

The importance of the planktonic ecosystem of the North Sea in the context of oil and gas development

1987 ◽  
Vol 316 (1181) ◽  
pp. 587-602 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
The North ◽  
Marine Food Chain ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Marine Food

Planktonic organisms are the primary source of food for the top level of the marine food chain, the fish. Yet only part of the plankton is ingested by fish, the remainder sediments to the bottom to provide food for benthic organisms (which may in turn be grazed by demersal fish) and to contribute to a detrital sink. Although the relative proportions of the plankton entering each of these compartments is still a matter of debate, some indication of its importance as a resource can be gauged from the North Sea fishery that has yielded 2-3 Mt per year since the mid-1960s. Calculations for the North Sea of the annual production of phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish and benthos as energy equivalents are contrasted with the annual energy yields of oil and gas. Since 1948 the plankton of the North Sea has been monitored at a depth of 10 m by the Continuous Plankton Recorder ( CPR ) survey. Results for two large areas which encompass the Brent, Beryl and Forties oilfields are presented. Between 1948 and 1982 the plankton of these areas showed similar large changes in population structure in both phytoplankton and zooplankton with almost tenfold changes in levels of biomass during this 35 year period. The development of oil-related activities is discussed in relation to the plankton time-series with comment on possible causes of the changes which are believed to be the result of natural variability.

scholarly journals Mechanisms controlling surface ozone over East Asia: a multiscale study coupling regional and global chemical transport models

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 20239-20281 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Lin ◽  
T. Holloway ◽  
T. Oki ◽  
D. G. Streets ◽  
A. Richter
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
East China ◽  
Monsoon Circulation ◽  
Sharp Drop ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Photochemical Production ◽  
Surface O3

Abstract. Mechanisms controlling surface ozone (O3) over East Asia are examined using the regional Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model at two horizontal scales: 81 km and 27 km. Through sensitivity studies and comparison with recently available satellite data and surface measurements in China and Japan, we find that the O3 budget over East Asia shows complex interactions among photochemical production, regional transport, meteorological conditions, burning of agricultural residues, and global inflows. For example, wintertime surface O3 over northern domain is sensitive to boundary conditions derived from the MOZART (Model for Ozone and Related Tracers) global model, whereas summertime O3 budget is controlled by the competitive processes between photochemical production and monsoonal intrusion of low-O3 marine air masses from tropical Pacific. We find that simulated surface O3 for 2001 does not exhibit the same sharp drop in July and August concentrations that is observed at two mountaintop sites (Tai and Hua) for 2004 and Beijing for 1995–2005. CMAQ sensitivity tests with two widely used photochemical schemes demonstrate that over the industrial areas in East Asia north of 30° N, SAPRC99 produces higher values of mean summertime O3 than CBIV, amounting to a difference of 10 ppb. In addition, analysis of NCEP winds and geopotential heights suggests that southwesterly monsoonal intrusion in central east China is weakened in August 2001 as compared with the climatologically mean for 1980–2005. Further examination of the O3 diurnal cycle at nine Japanese sites shows that boundary layer evolution has an important effect on the vertical mixing of ground-level O3, and error in near surface meteorology might contribute to overprediction of nighttime O3 in urban and rural areas. In conclusion, the uncertainties in simulating cloud activities and convection mixing, Asian monsoon circulation, photochemical production, and nighttime cooling explain why CMAQ with 81 km horizontal scale overpredicts the observed surface O3 in July and August over central east China and central Japan by 5–15 ppb (CBIV) and 15–25 ppb (SAPRC99). The results suggest clear benefits in evaluating atmospheric chemistry over Asia with high resolution regional model.

scholarly journals Colorado

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph A. Cantafio
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Front Range ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Residential Housing ◽  
Oil And Gas Development ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Exclusive Jurisdiction ◽  
First Time

When Colorado Democratic Governor Jared Polis approved Senate Bill 181, this new law significantly redirected the historical focus of Colorado oil and gas regulation. This provided a significant delegation of land use related authority to local government for the first time since the passage of this Act in 1951. This new law moved away from the traditional notion of statewide regulation based upon exclusive jurisdiction by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”). While this change of legislative focus is significant, this latest direction is probably a natural continuation of a general trend that has been emerging in Colorado since certain Supreme Court Opinions were announced in 1992, as explained later in this Article. As the State of Colorado has, among other things, grown in population, residential housing now significantly finds itself competing with oil and gas development in the same geographical areas, especially the suburbs of the “Front Range.” Simultaneously, the political sentiment of Colorado has trended into a more significantly Democratic direction from a historically Republican majority. The law as to the governance of the oil and gas industry has now changed as a result of the passing of SB 181—from fostering the development of oil and gas industry to a new paradigm requiring the weighing of interests, including environmental concerns. This Article provides a historic explanation to allow the reader to better understand how this transition has come about. That which is observed in Colorado might also be seen as a potential harbinger of future change that could be noted in other oil and gas states.

scholarly journals Ozone and NO<sub><i>x</i></sub> chemistry in the eastern US: evaluation of CMAQ/CB05 with satellite (OMI) data

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (19) ◽  
pp. 10965-10982 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. P. Canty ◽  
L. Hembeck ◽  
T. P. Vinciguerra ◽  
D. C. Anderson ◽  
D. L. Goldberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Air Quality Model ◽  
Air Quality Standards ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Northeast

Abstract. Regulatory air quality models, such as the Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ), are used by federal and state agencies to guide policy decisions that determine how to best achieve adherence with National Ambient Air Quality Standards for surface ozone. We use observations of ozone and its important precursor NO2 to test the representation of the photochemistry and emission of ozone precursors within CMAQ. Observations of tropospheric column NO2 from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), retrieved by two independent groups, show that the model overestimates urban NO2 and underestimates rural NO2 under all conditions examined for July and August 2011 in the US Northeast. The overestimate of the urban to rural ratio of tropospheric column NO2 for this baseline run of CMAQ (CB05 mechanism, mobile NOx emissions from the National Emissions Inventory; isoprene emissions from MEGAN v2.04) suggests this model may underestimate the importance of interstate transport of NOx. This CMAQ simulation leads to a considerable overestimate of the 2-month average of 8 h daily maximum surface ozone in the US Northeast, as well as an overestimate of 8 h ozone at AQS sites during days when the state of Maryland experienced NAAQS exceedances. We have implemented three changes within CMAQ motivated by OMI NO2 as well as aircraft observations obtained in July 2011 during the NASA DISCOVER-AQ campaign: (a) the modeled lifetime of organic nitrates within CB05 has been reduced by a factor of 10, (b) emissions of NOx from mobile sources has been reduced by a factor of 2, and (c) isoprene emissions have been reduced by using MEGAN v2.10 rather than v2.04. Compared to the baseline simulation, the CMAQ run using all three of these changes leads to considerably better simulation of column NO2 in both urban and rural areas, better agreement with the 2-month average of daily 8 h maximum ozone in the US Northeast, fewer number of false positives of an ozone exceedance throughout the domain, as well as an unbiased simulation of surface ozone at ground-based AQS sites in Maryland that experienced an ozone exceedance during July and August 2007. These modifications to CMAQ may provide a framework for use in studies focused on achieving future adherence to specific air quality standards for surface ozone by reducing emission of NOx from various anthropogenic sectors.

scholarly journals The relative importance of various source regions on East Asian surface ozone

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 11305-11322 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Nagashima ◽  
T. Ohara ◽  
K. Sudo ◽  
H. Akimoto
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Large Contribution ◽  
Chemical Production ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
Surface O3

Abstract. We estimated the source-receptor relationship for surface O3 in East Asia during the early 2000s using a method that tags O3 tracers according to their region of chemical production (tagged tracer method) with a global chemical transport model. The estimation demonstrated the importance of intracontinental transport of O3 inside East Asia as well as of the transport of O3 from distant source regions. The model well simulated the absolute concentration and seasonal variation of surface O3 in East Asia and demonstrated significant seasonal differences in the origin of surface O3. In the cold season (October to March), more than half of surface O3 in East Asia is attributable to the O3 transported from distant sources outside of East Asia. In the warm season (April to September), most of the surface O3 is attributable to O3 created within East Asia in most areas of East Asia. In spring the contribution of domestically created O3 accounted for 20% of the surface O3 in Japan and the Korean Peninsula, 40% in the North China Plain, and around 50% in the southern part of China, and the domestic contribution increased greatly in summer. The contributions of O3 created in China and the Korean Peninsula to O3 in Japan were estimated at about 10% and 5%, respectively. We also demonstrated a large contribution (20%) from China to the Korean Peninsula. In the northern and southern parts of China, large contributions of over 10% from East Siberia and the Indochina Peninsula, respectively, were identified. The contribution from intercontinental transport increased with latitude; it was 21% in Northeast China and 13% in Japan and the Korean Peninsula in spring. As for the hourly mean of surface O3, domestically created O3 was the main contributor in most areas of East Asia, except for the low O3 class (<30 ppbv), and accounted for more than 50% in the very high O3 class (>90 ppbv). The mean relative contribution of O3 created in China to O3 in central Japan was about 10% in every class, but that created in the Korean Peninsula was significant in all except the low O3 class. We identified the substantial impact of foreign sources on Japan's ambient air quality standard in the high O3 class (60–90 ppbv) in spring.

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