Characterizing the Vertical Processes of Ozone in Colorado’s Front Range Using the GSFC Ozone DIAL

¹ Department of Physics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
² Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
³ Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Laboratory, NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
⁴ Science Systems and Applications Inc., Lanham, MD 20706, USA

^* Email: johnsullivan@umbc.edu

Published online: 7 June 2016

Abstract

Although characterizing the interactions of ozone throughout the entire troposphere are important for health and climate processes, there is a lack of routine measurements of vertical profiles within the United States. In order to monitor this lower ozone more effectively, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Space Flight Center TROPospheric OZone DIfferential Absorption Lidar (GSFC TROPOZ DIAL) has been developed and validated within the Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet). Two scientifically interesting ozone episodes are presented that were observed during the 2014 Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER AQ) campaign at Ft. Collins, Colorado.

The first case study, occurring between 22-23 July 2014, indicates enhanced concentrations of ozone at Ft. Collins during nighttime hours, which was due to the complex recirculation of ozone within the foothills of the Rocky Mountain region. Although quantifying the ozone increase aloft during recirculation episodes has been historically difficult, results indicate that an increase of 20 - 30 ppbv of ozone at the Ft. Collins site has been attributed to this recirculation. The second case, occurring between Aug 4-8th 2014, characterizes a dynamical exchange of ozone between the stratosphere and the troposphere. This case, along with seasonal model parameters from previous years, is used to estimate the stratospheric contribution to the Rocky Mountain region. Results suggest that a large amount of stratospheric air is residing in the troposphere in the summertime near Ft. Collins, CO. The results also indicate that warmer tropopauses are correlated with an increase in stratospheric air below the tropopause in the Rocky Mountain Region.