Regional Chemical Modeling: Projects
IGAC Activities. International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Activities provide the international organization that is necessary to conduct atmospheric chemistry research towards a sustainable world. Members of the group are involved in IGAC Activities, and serve as chairs for the Global Emissions InitiAtive (GEIA) and the Tropospheric Ozone Assessment Report (TOAR).
Fourmile Canyon wildfire west of Boulder, CO Fall 2010
FIREX, Western US. Wildfires have implications for air quality and carbon release, and climate change will sharpen the problems involving widfires in the western U.S. The Fire Influence on Regional and Global Environments Experiment (FIREX) is a comprehensive research effort to understand and predict the impact of North American fires on the atmosphere and ultimately support better land management. Field and laboratory studies are planned for 2016-2019 and coordinated with activities from collaborating agencies. More info...
Oil extraction equipment in Uintah Basin, Utah
SONGNEX 2015, Western US. The goal of the Shale Oil and Natural Gas Nexus (SONGNEX) 2015 program is to quantify the emissions of trace gases and fine particles from several different tight oil and shale gas basins in the western U.S., and to study the chemical transformation of these emissions. The study will be focused on basins which represent a mixture of oil and gas production regions at various stages of development. This airborne study involves the NOAA WP-3D aircraft mobile platform. More info...
Inversion along the Colorado Front Range
FRAPPÉ / DISCOVER-AQ, Colorado. The NSF sponsored Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ) and the NASA sponsored Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) mission take place in Summer 2014. Three aircraft, including the NASA P-3 and King Air and the NSF / NCAR C-130 will make observations characterizing the local to regional chemical environment including photochemistry, oxidant and aerosol formation and fate, flow and recirculation patterns and large-scale inflow. Instruments at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) tower will provide both ground-based measurements and vertical profiles of a suite of compounds that contribute to aerosol and ground level ozone. More info...
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
SENEX 2013, Southeast US. The goal of SENEX 2013 is to study the interactions between natural and anthropogenic emissions in the southeast at the nexus of the air quality and climate change. Scientists will quantify the emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosol, and investigate the roles played by anthropogenic and natural emissions in the formation of ozone and aerosol in the atmosphere. This airborne study involves the NOAA WP-3D aircraft, forecast modeling and surface monitoring networks. More info...
Trailers at ground site near Horsepool, UT.
E&E UBWOS, Horse Pool, Utah. The Energy and Environment - Uintah Basin Winter Ozone Study (E&E UBWOS) was designed to study the causes of high wintertime ozone observed in the Uintah Basin. Scientists constructed a ground site of instruments in the winters of 2012, 2013, and 2014 to study sources of VOCs, NOx and particles, ozone formation chemistry in areas of enhanced UV radiation from snow cover, unique radical sources (HONO, CH2O, ClNO2) and the role of transport. More info...
DC3, Salina, Kansas. The Deep Convective Clouds & Chemistry (DC3) experiment investigates the impact of deep, midlatitude continental convective clouds, including their dynamical, physical, and lightning processes, on upper tropospheric composition and chemistry. Airborne measurements taken from the NASA DC-8 in July 2012 provide in situ observations to characterize the convective storm inflow and provide remote sensing to aid in flight planning and column characterization. More info...
Haze over East Los Angeles.
CalNex 2010, Southern California. The goal of the California Research at the Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change (CalNex) 2010 program is to study the important issues at the nexus of the air quality and climate change problems, and to provide scientific information regarding the trade-offs faced by decision makers when addressing these two inter-related issues. The NOAA WP-3D aircraft, the R/V Atlantis ship, and several ground sites were involved in this project. Comprehensive data analysis followed the completion of this project in July 2010. More info...
NOAA WP-3D aircraft over the Brooks Range, AK
ARCPAC, Fairbanks, Alaska. As part of the International Polar Year of 2008, NOAA engaged in an airborne field measurement campaign targeted at improving understanding climate-relevant processes. The Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC) effort was focused on direct measurements of properties and processes that can be used to reduce uncertainty in radiation and climate models. The measurements were made in the Alaskan Arctic to closely coordinate with remote-sensing and in situ observations planned for aircraft and ground sites in the vicinity of Barrow, Alaska. Field support operations in collaboration with NASA's Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) based out of Fairbanks, Alaska. More info...
NOAA WP-3D at Ellington Field at sunrise with plumes in background.
TexAQS, Houston, Texas. This intensive field study focused on providing a better understanding of the sources and atmospheric processes responsible for the formation and distribution of ozone and aerosols in the atmosphere and the influence that these species have on the radiative forcing of climate regionally and globally, as well as their impact on human health and regional haze. The Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS) area included Texas and the northwestern Gulf of Mexico in the summer of 2006. This project used the NOAA WP-3D and the R/V Ronald H. Brown as research platforms. More info...