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Characterization of pollution transport into Texas using OMI and TES satellite, GIS and in situ data, and HYSPLIT back trajectory analyses: implications for TCEQ State Implementation Plans

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Abstract

Transport of pollution from remote sources into the state of Texas has been shown by modeling techniques, satellite, and in situ data. Attaining a better understanding of the impact (i.e., temporally) of remote pollution sources will provide a more robust/quantifiable basis for State Implementation Plans (SIPs) that govern air quality. Utilizing Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and in situ data for ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT), we assess whether high-pollution events in Texas are primarily sourced locally (i.e., within Texas) or remotely. We focus on TES and OMI dates that exemplify high O3 and NO2, over Texas’s lower troposphere from August 5, 2006, to June 21, 2009. For all dates and altitudes, 4-day back trajectory analyses, exemplified by high TES O3, show that remotely sourced from the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast USA, Midwest USA, Northeast USA, the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Mexico to Texas. The only exception is air at 1 km on July 22, 2006, which shows that air at this altitude is sourced within Texas. Throughout half of the eastern portion of Texas, TES shows O3 enhancements in the boundary layer and OMI shows O3 and NO2 enhancements via tropospheric column profiles (O3 between 75 and 90 ppbv; NO2 ≥5.5 molecules cm−2). These enhancements complement the HYSPLIT 4-day trajectory analyses, which gives further indication that they are influenced by transport from remote sources. Dates with co-located satellite and in situ data (e.g., August 2, 2005) further exemplify the need to consider satellite and in situ data and modeling data/forecasts when creating SIPs for compliance with Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality air quality standards. Despite the fact that quantifying local versus remote sources is in its early stages, Texas has become increasingly compliant with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. Environmental Systems Research Institute’s ArcGIS exemplifies the noticeable decrease in the number of days that locales in Texas exceed EPA’s limit for O3. From 2005 to 2009, population standard deviation and standard error of the mean, and true sample deviation of the sample mean for O3 and NO2, at all 16 monitoring sites distributed throughout Texas, are temporally consistent and small—reinforcing the reliability of in situ data as they are consistent throughout. This investigation has global implications for regions within countries that enforce air quality mandates. Such governing bodies should consider utilizing data assimilation (of in situ data) for air quality prediction as a part of the governmental process that produces such laws. This could potentially keep regions more accountable for emissions both locally and far from high source points.

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Abbreviations

AQ:

Air quality

AIRS:

Atmospheric Infrared Sounder

EPA:

Environmental Protection Agency

GIS:

Geographical information systems

HGBR:

Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Region

HYSPLIT:

Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model

HC:

Hydrocarbon

MODIS:

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

NO2 :

Nitrogen dioxide

OMI:

Ozone Monitoring Instrument

O3 :

Ozone

RAQMS:

Real-time Air Modeling System

SIPs:

State Implementation Plans

TES:

Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer

TCEQ:

Texas Commission for Environmental Quality

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful for the support, which funded the investigation described herein, via Con-Edison (Grant # 1054322).

Conflict of interest

None (or N/A).

STEM impact

(i) Delisha Bella was an NSF-Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) research mentee with me during her junior and senior year at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York (MEC-CUNY); she completed two research internships while at MEC-CUNY: one at University of Maine and another at the Medgar Evers College Environmental Analysis Center; she received a B.S. in Environmental Science (and a Chemistry Minor) and is now a Ph.D. candidate at University at Albany’s School of Public Health. (ii) Jessica Khaimova is an undergraduate Geology and Planetary Science B.S. major at Brooklyn College-CUNY. Jessica completed two summer internship: one during summer 2013 as a CUNY Summer Research Fellow and another as an NSF-REU research mentee at Pennsylvania State University’s Meteorology Department and continues do research with my numerical and planetary modeling. (iii) Johnathan Culpepper received his B.S. in Environmental Science from MEC-CUNY and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at University of Iowa’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. (iv) Zayna King is a Biology major at MEC-CUNY and is scheduled to complete an NSF-REU research internship at Michigan State University’s Chemistry Department. (v) Shamika Gentle was a high school researcher with me within ACS’s Project Summer Research Internship Program for Economically Disadvantaged (SEED) High School Students. Shamika Gentle is currently a Freshman Chemistry major at SUNY at Albany, NY. (vi). Nabib Ahmed/Adam Belkalai (Brooklyn Technical High School), Isabella Arroyo/Maxine Lahmouh/Oren Jenkins (Khalil Gibran International High School), Samori Emmanuel (Valley Stream South High School), and Julien Andrews (Medgar Evers Preparatory High School) are rising juniors and seniors whom participated in research for the first time. (vii) Jan Gruszczynski is a freshman in high school in Lublin, Poland; all parties continue to participate in STEM-related research projects encompassing earth and planetary science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical, Environmental and Computer Science, Medgar Evers College-City University of New York, 1638 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11225, USA

    D. Bella, J. Culpepper, J. Ealy, Zayna King, D. Skeete & C. S. Blaszczak-Boxe

  2. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    J. Khaimova

  3. Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn, NY, 11217, USA

    N. Ahmed & Adam Belkalai

  4. Khalil Gibran International Academy, Brooklyn, New York, 11217, USA

    I. Arroyo, M. Lahmouh & O. Jenkins

  5. Medgar Evers College Preparatory School, Brooklyn, NY, 11225, USA

    J. Andrews

  6. Brooklyn Academy of Science and Environment (BASE) High School, Brooklyn, NY, 11225, USA

    S. Gentle

  7. Valley Stream South High School, Long Island, NY, 11581, USA

    S. Emmanuel & C. S. Blaszczak-Boxe

  8. Earth and Space Science Division, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91109, USA

    D. Fu & G. Osterman

  9. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77004, USA

    Y. Choi

  10. I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Stanisława Staszica, Lublinie, Aleje Racławickie 26, 20-043, Lublin, Poland

    J. Gruszczynski

  11. Chemistry Division, Earth and Environmental Science Division, CUNY Graduate Center, Manhattan, NY, 10016, USA

    C. S. Blaszczak-Boxe

Authors
  1. D. Bella
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  2. J. Culpepper
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  3. J. Khaimova
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  4. N. Ahmed
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  5. Adam Belkalai
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  6. I. Arroyo
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  7. J. Andrews
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  8. S. Gentle
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  9. S. Emmanuel
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  10. M. Lahmouh
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  11. J. Ealy
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  12. Zayna King
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  13. O. Jenkins
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  14. D. Fu
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  15. Y. Choi
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  16. G. Osterman
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  17. J. Gruszczynski
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  18. D. Skeete
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  19. C. S. Blaszczak-Boxe
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to C. S. Blaszczak-Boxe.

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Bella, D., Culpepper, J., Khaimova, J. et al. Characterization of pollution transport into Texas using OMI and TES satellite, GIS and in situ data, and HYSPLIT back trajectory analyses: implications for TCEQ State Implementation Plans. Air Qual Atmos Health 9, 569–588 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-015-0363-2

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