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Research Project: Developing Safe, Efficient and Environmentally Sound Management Practices for the Use of Animal Manure

Location: Food Animal Environmental Systems Research

Title: Coupled air quality and boundary-layer meteorology in Western U.S. basins during winter: Design and rationale for a comprehensive study

Author
item HALLAR, GANNET - University Of Utah
item BROWN, STEVE - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item CROSMAN, ERIK - West Texas A & M University
item BARSANTI, KELLEY - University Of California
item CAPPA, CHRIS - Uc Davis Medical Center
item FALOONA, IAN - Uc Davis Medical Center
item FAST, JEROME - Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
item HOLMES, HEATHER - University Of Nevada
item HOREL, JOHN - University Of Utah
item LIN, JOHN - University Of Utah
item MIDDLEBROOK, ANN - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item MITCHELL, LOGAN - University Of Utah
item MURPHY, JENNIFER - University Of Toronto
item WOMACK, CAROLINE - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item ANEJA, VINEY - North Carolina State University
item BAASANDORJ, MUNKHBAYAR - University Of Utah
item BAHREINI, ROYA - University Of California
item BANTA, ROBERT - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item BRAY, CASEY - North Carolina State University
item BREWER, ALAN - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item CAULTON, DANA - University Of Wyoming
item DE GOUW, JOOST - University Of Colorado
item DE WEKKER, STEPHAN - University Of Virginia
item FARMER, DELPHINE - Colorado State University
item GASTON, CASSANDRA - University Of Miami
item HOCH, SEBASTIAN - University Of Utah
item HOPKINS, FRANCESCA - University Of California
item KARLE, NAKUL - University Of Texas - El Paso
item KELLY, JAMES - Us Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
item KELLY, KERRY - University Of Utah
item LAREAU, NEIL - University Of Nevada
item LU, KEDING - Peking University
item MAULDIN III, ROY - National Center For Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
item MALLIA, DEREK - University Of Utah
item MARTIN, RANDAL - University Of Utah
item MENDOZA, DANIEL - University Of Utah
item OLDROYD, HOLLY - Uc Davis Medical Center
item PICHUGINA, YELENA - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
item PRATT, KERRI - University Of Michigan
item SAIDE, PABLO - University Of California (UCLA)
item Silva, Philip - Phil
item SIMPSON, WILLIAM - University Of Alaska
item STEPHENS, BRITTON - National Center For Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
item STUTZ, JOCHEN - University Of California (UCLA)
item SULLIVAN, AMY - Colorado State University

Submitted to: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/9/2021
Publication Date: 10/1/2021
Citation: Hallar, G.A., Brown, S., Crosman, E., Barsanti, K., Cappa, C., Faloona, I., Fast, J., Holmes, H., Horel, J., Lin, J., Middlebrook, A., Mitchell, L., Murphy, J., Womack, C.C., Aneja, V., Baasandorj, M., Bahreini, R., Banta, R., Bray, C., Brewer, A., Caulton, D., de Gouw, J., De Wekker, S., Farmer, D.K., Gaston, C.J., Hoch, S., Hopkins, F., Karle, N., Kelly, J., Kelly, K., Lareau, N., Lu, K., Mauldin III, R.L., Mallia, D., Martin, R., Mendoza, D., Oldroyd, H., Pichugina, Y., Pratt, K.A., Saide, P., Silva, P.J., Simpson, W., Stephens, B., Stutz, J., Sullivan, A. 2021. Coupled air quality and boundary-layer meteorology in Western U.S. basins during winter: Design and rationale for a comprehensive study. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. E2012-E2033. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0017.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0017.1

Interpretive Summary: Poor air quality episodes during wintertime in air basins often result in elevated particulate matter concentrations. These episodes are dependent on the emissions in a particular basin (urban/agricultural) and wintertime meteorology that causes stagnation events. The impact of and interplay of chemistry and meteorology creates major uncertainties in how best to address these air quality episodes. A strategy session of scientists took place to discuss important features of a future field research campaign to address these issues. The session concluded that a comprehensive airborne and ground based field campaign should be conducted in western U.S. air basins, focused on the San Joaquin Valley of California and the valleys of Utah (Cache, Salt Lake, and Utah) and with significant focus on both meteorology and chemistry.

Technical Abstract: Winter episodes of high aerosol concentrations occur frequently in urban and agricultural basins and valleys across the globe. These episodes often arise due to the development of persistent cold-air pools (PCAPs). Current regulatory actions are not effectively targeting the appropriate precursor emissions in winter basins due to a gap in understanding of coupled chemical-meteorological interactions to produce highly polluted conditions. With this challenge at the forefront, a workshop was organized in September 2019 with the goal of planning a future research campaign in the winter of 2022/2023 to investigate mountain basins of the western U.S. Approximately 120 people participated in the workshop at the University of Utah, representing 50 institutions and 5 countries. As summarized in this article, the workshop outlined the rationale and design for a comprehensive study coupling atmospheric chemistry and boundary-layer meteorology within western U.S. wintertime basins. It was concluded that a comprehensive study should focus on two regions with contrasting aerosol chemistry: the three populated valleys within Utah (Salt Lake Valley, Utah, and Cache) and the San Joaquin Valley (SJV). This paper highlights the need to acquire chemically comprehensive datasets using airborne platforms with extensive range coupled to extensive surface measurements, focusing on the ability to sample the surface layer with high vertical resolution. No prior field campaign has provided the breadth and depth of contemporaneous observations at the surface and aloft necessary to analyze the meteorological-chemical linkages outlined here nor serve as input to or validation for atmosphere-chemistry models.