References

ACP

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

ACP

1680-7324

Copernicus GmbH

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/acp-10-3723-2010

Winter- and summertime continental influences on tropospheric O3 and CO observed by TES over the western North Atlantic Ocean

Hegarty

¹ Mao

¹ Talbot

Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space Climate Change Research Center University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA

21 04 2010

10 8 3723 3741

This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/3723/2010/acp-10-3723-2010.html

The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/3723/2010/acp-10-3723-2010.pdf

The distributions of tropospheric ozone (O3) and carbon monoxide (CO), and the synoptic factors regulating these distributions over the western North Atlantic Ocean during winter and summer were investigated using profile retrievals from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) for 2004–2006. Seasonal composites of TES retrievals, reprocessed to remove the influence of the a priori on geographical and seasonal structure, exhibited strong seasonal differences. At the 681 hPa level during winter months of December, January and February (DJF) the composite O3 mixing ratios were uniformly low (~45 ppbv), but continental export was evident in a channel of enhanced CO (100–110 ppbv) flowing eastward from the US coast. In summer months June, July, and August (JJA) O3 mixing ratios were variable (45–65 ppbv) and generally higher due to increased photochemical production. The summer distribution also featured a channel of enhanced CO (95–105 ppbv) flowing northeastward around an anticyclone and exiting the continent over the Canadian Maritimes around 50° N. Offshore O3-CO slopes were generally 0.15–0.20 mol mol−1 in JJA, indicative of photochemical O3 production. Composites for 4 predominant synoptic patterns or map types in DJF suggested that export to the lower free troposphere (681 hPa level) was enhanced by the warm conveyor belt airstream of mid-latitude cyclones while stratospheric intrusions increased TES O3 levels at 316 hPa. A major finding in the DJF data was that offshore 681 hPa CO mixing ratios behind cold fronts could be enhanced up to >150 ppbv likely by lofting from the surface via shallow convection resulting from rapid destabilization of cold air flowing over much warmer ocean waters. In JJA composites for 3 map types showed that the general export pattern of the seasonal composites was associated with a synoptic pattern featuring the Bermuda High. However, weak cyclones and frontal troughs could enhance offshore 681 hPa CO mixing ratios to >110 ppbv with O3-CO slopes >0.50 mol mol−1 south of 45° N. Intense cyclones, which were not as common in the summer, enhanced export by lofting of boundary layer pollutants from over the US and also provided a possible mechanism for transporting pollutants from boreal fire outflow southward to the US east coast. Overall, for winter and summer the TES retrievals showed substantial evidence of air pollution export to the western North Atlantic Ocean with the most distinct differences in distribution patterns related to strong influences of mid-latitude cyclones in winter and the Bermuda High anticyclone in summer.

References 1

Angevine, W. M., Senff, C., J., White, A. B., et al.: Coastal boundary layer influence on pollutant transport in New England, J. Appl. Meteorol., 43, 1425–1437, 2004.

Banic, C. M., Leaitch, W. R., Isaac, G. A., Couture, M. D., Kleinman, L. I., Springston, S. R., and MacPherson, J. I.: Transport of ozone and sulfur to the North Atlantic atmosphere during the North Atlantic Regional Experiment, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 29091–29104, 1996.

Bell, G. D. and Bosart, L. F.: A 15-year climatology of Northern hemisphere closed cyclone and anticyclone centers, Mon. Weather Rev., 117, 2142–2163, 1989.

Beer, R., Glavich, T. A., and Rider, D. M.: Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer for the Earth Observing System's Aura satellite, Appl. Opt. 40, 2356–2367, 2001.

Beer, R.: TES on the Aura Mission: Scientific objectives, measurements an analysis overview, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 44(5), 1102–1105, 2006.

Berkowitz, C. M., Daum, P. H., Spicer, C. W., and Busness, K. M.: Synoptic patterns associated with the flux of excess ozone to the western North Atlantic, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 28923–28933, 1996.

Bowman K. W., Worden, J., Steck, T., Worden, H. M., Clough, S., and Rodgers, C. D.: Capturing time and vertical variability of tropospheric ozone: A study using TES nadir retrievals, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D23), 4723, doi:10.1029/2002JD002150, 2002.

Bowman, K. W., Rodgers, C. D. Kulawik, S. S., et al.: Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer Retrieval method and error analysis, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote Sens., 44(5), 1297–1307, 2006.

Brasseur, G. P., Hauglustaine, D. A., Walters, S., et al.: MOZART: A global chemical transport model for ozone and related chemical tracers: 1. Model description, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 28265–28289, 1998.

Cammas, J. P., Brioude, J., Chaboureau, J. P., et al.: Injection in the lower stratosphere of biomass fire emissions followed by long-range transport: a MOZAIC case study, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 9, 5829–5846, 2009.

Carlson, T. N.: Midlatitude Weather Systems, Am. Meteorol. Soc., Boston, USA, 507 pp., 1998.

Chin, M., Jacob, D. J., Munger, J. W., Parrish, D. D., and Doddridge, B. G.: Relationship of ozone and carbon monoxide over North America, J. Geophys. Res., 99, 14565–14573, 1994.

Cooper, O. R., Moody, J. L., Parrish, D. D., et al.: Trace gas signatures of the airstreams within North Atlantic cyclones: Case studies from the North Atlantic Regional Experiment (NARE '97) aircraft intensive, J. Geophys. Res., 106, 5437–5456, 2001.

Cooper, O. R., Moody, J. L., Parrish, D. D., et al.: Trace gas composition of midlatitude cyclones over the western North Atlantic Ocean: A conceptual model, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D7), 4057, doi:10l1029/2001JD000902, 2002a.

Cooper, O. R., Moody, J. L., Parrish, D. D., et al.: Trace gas composition of mid-latitude cyclones over the western North Atlantic Ocean: A seasonal comparison of O3 and CO, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D7), 4056, doi:10.1029/2001JD000902, 2002b.

Cooper, O. R., Stohl, A., Eckhardt, S., et al.: A springtime comparison of tropospheric ozone and transport pathways on the east and west coasts of the United States, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D05S90, doi:10.1029/2004JD005183, 2005.

Cooper, O. R., Stohl, A., Trainer, M., et al.: Large upper tropospheric ozone enhancements above midlatitude North America during summer: In situ evidence from the IONS and MOZAIC ozone measurement network, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D24S05, doi:10.1029/2006JD007306, 2006.

Cooper, O. R., M. Trainer, Thompson, A. M., et al.: Evidence for a recurring eastern North America upper tropospheric ozone maximum during summer, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D23304, doi:10.1029/2007JD008710, 2007.

Creilson, J. K., Fishman, J., and Wozniak, A. E.: Intercontinental transport of tropospheric ozone: A study of its seasonal variability across the North Atlantic utilizing tropospheric ozone residuals and its relationship to the North Atlantic Oscillation, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 3, 2053–2066, 2003.

Daum, P. H., Kleinman, L. I., Newman, L., et al.: Chemical and physical properties of plumes of anthropogenic pollutants transported over the North Atlantic during the North Atlantic Regional Experiment, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 29029–29042, 1996.

Derber, J. C., Parrish, D. F., and Lord, S. J.: The new global operational analysis system at the National Meteorological Center, Weather Forecast., 6, 538–547, 1991.

Draxler, R. R. and Rolph, G. D.: HYSPLIT (HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) Model access via NOAA ARL READY, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD, USA, available online at: http://www.arl.noaa.gov/ready/hysplit4.html 2003, .

Eckhardt, S., Stohl, A., James, P., Forster, C., and Spichtinger, N.: A 15-year climatology of warm conveyor belts, J. Climate, 17, 218–236, 2004.

Eldering, A., Kulawik, S. S., Worden, J., Bowman, K., and Osterman, G.: Implementation of cloud retrievals for TES atmospheric retrievals: 2. Characterization of cloud top pressure and effective optical depth retrievals, J. Geophys, Res., 113, D16S37, doi:10.1029/2007JD008858, 2008.

Emmons, L. K., Pfister, G. G., Edwards, D. P., Gille, J. C., et al.: Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) validation exercises during summer 2004 field campaigns over North America, J. Geophys, Res., 112, D12S02, doi:10.1029/2006JD007833, 2007.

Etling, D. and Brown, R. A.: Roll vortices in the planetary boundary layer: A Review, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 65, 215–248, 1993.

Fang, Y., Fiore, A. M., Horowitz, L. W., Gnanadesikan, A., et al.: Estimating the contribution of strong daily export events to total pollutant export from the United States in summer, J. Geophys, Res., 114, D23302, doi:10.1029/2008JD010946, 2009.

Fehsenfeld, F. C., Ancellet, G., Bates, T. S., Goldstein, A. H., Hardesty, R. M., Honrath, R., et al.: International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT): North America to Europe – Overview of the 2004 summer field study, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D23S01, doi:10.1029/2006JD007829, 2006.

Fromm, M., Belavicqua, R., Servranckx, R., Rosen, J., Thayer, J. P., Herman, J., and Larko, D.: Pyro-cumulonimbus injection of smoke to the stratosphere: observations and impact of a super blowup in northwestern Canada on 3–4 August 1998, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D08205, doi:10.1029/2004JD005350, 2005.

Hegarty, J. D., Mao, H., and Talbot, R.: Synoptic controls on summertime surface ozone in the northeastern US, J. Geophys. Res., 112, D14306, doi:10.1029/2006JD008170, 2007.

Hegarty J. D., Mao, H., and Talbot, R.: Synoptic influences on springtime tropospheric O3 and CO over the North American export region observed by TES, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 3755–3776, 2009

Honrath, R. E., Owen, R. C., Val Martin, M., et al.: Regional and hemispheric impacts of anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions on summertime CO and O3 in the North Atlantic lower free troposphere, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D24310, doi:10.1029/2004JD005147, 2004.

Huntrieser, H., Heland, J., Schlager, C., et al.: Intercontinental air pollution transport from North America to Europe: Experimental evidence from airborne measurements and surface observations, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D01305, doi:10.1029/2004JD005045, 2005.

Kalnay, E., Kanamitsu, M., Kistler, W., et al.: The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project, Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77, 437–471, 1996.

Key, J. R. and Chan, A. C. K.: Multidecadal global and regional trends in 1000 mb and 500 mb cyclone frequencies, Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 2053–2056, 1999.

Kiley, C. M., and Fuelberg, H .E.: An examination of summertime cyclone transport during Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-A), J. Geophys. Res., 111, D24S06, doi:10.1029/2006JD007115, 2006.

Kim, S. W., Heckel, A., Mckeen, S. A., Frost, G. J., et al.: Satellite-observed US power plant NOx emission reductions and their impact on air quality, Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L22812, doi:10.1029/2006GL027749, 2006.

Kim, S. Y., Talbot, R., Mao, H., et al.: Continental outflow from the US to the upper troposphere over the North Atlantic during the NASA INTEX-NA Airborne Campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 8, 1989–2005, 2008.

Kulawik, S. S., Worden, J., Eldering, A., et al.: Implementation of cloud retrievals for Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) atmospheric retrievals: 1. Description and characterization of errors on trace gas retrievals, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D24204, doi:10.1029/2005JD006733, 2006.

Kulawik, S. S., K. W. Bowman, Luo, M., et al.: Impact of nonlinearity on changing the a priori of trace gas profile estimates from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), Atmos. Chem. Phys. 8(12), 3081–3092, 2008.

Li, Q., Jacob, D. J., Rokjin, P., et al.: North American pollution outflow and the trapping of convectively lifted pollution by upper-level anticyclone, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D10301, doi:10.1029/2004JD005039, 2005.

Luo, M., Beer, R., Jacob, D. J., et al.: Simulated observation of tropospheric ozone and CO with Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) satellite instrument, J. Geophys. Res., 107(D15), doi:10.1029/2001JD000804, 2002.

Lund, I. A.: Map-pattern classification by statistical methods. J. Appl. Meterorol., 2, 56–65, 1963.

Mao, H. and Talbot, R.: O3 and CO in New England: Temporal variations and relationships, J. Geophys., Res., 109, D21304, doi:10.1029/2004JD004913, 2004.

Mao, H., R. Talbot, R., Troop, D., Johnson, R., Businger, S., and Thompson, A. M.: Smart balloon observations over the North Atlantic: O3 data analysis and modeling, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D23S56, doi:10.1029/2005JD006507, 2006.

Melfi, S. H., Spinhirne, J. D., Chou, S-H., and Palm, S. P.: Lidar observations of vertically organized convection in the planetary boundary layer over ocean, J. Clim. Appl. Meteorol., 24, 806–821, 1985.

Merrill, J. T., Moody, J. L., Oltmans, S. J., and Levy II, H.: Meteorological analysis of tropospheric ozone profiles at Bermuda, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 29201–29211, 1996.

Moody, J. L., Davenport, J. C., Merrill, J. T., et al.: Meteorological mechanisms for transporting O3 over the western North Atlantic Ocean: A case study for August 24-29, 1993, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 29213–29277, 1996.

Monks, P. S.: A review of the observations and origins of the spring ozone maximum, Atmos. Env., 34, 3545–3561, 2000.

Oltmans, S. J., Levy II, H., Harris, J. M., et al.: Summer and spring ozone profiles over the North Atlantic from ozonesonde measurements, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 29179–29200, 1996.

Osterman, G., Bowman, K. W., Eldering, A., Fisher, B., et al.: TES Level 2 (L2) Data User's Guide, Version 3.0, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, 40 pp., available online at:http://tes.jpl.nasa.gov/uploadedfiles/TES_L2_Data_Users_Guide-1.pdf, 2007a.

Osterman, G., Bowman, K., Cady-Pereira, K., et al.: Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES), validation report, JPL D#102, version 2.0, available online at:http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/PRODOCS/tes/validation/TESValidationReport_v2_0.pdf, 2007b.

Owen, R. C., Cooper, O. R., Stohl, A., and Honrath, R. E.: An analysis of the mechanisms of North American pollutant transport to the central North Atlantic lower free troposphere, J. Geophys. Res., 111, D23S58, doi:10.1029/2006JD007062, 2006.

Parrish, D. D., Holloway, J. S., Trainer, M., et al.: Export of North American ozone pollution to the North Atlantic Ocean, Science, 259, 1436–1439, 1993.

Parrish, D. D., Trainer, M., Holloway, J. S., et al.: Relationships between ozone and carbon monoxide at surface sites in the North Atlantic region, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 13357–13376, 1998.

Parrish, D. D., Holloway, J. S., Jakoubek, R., et al.: Mixing of anthropogenic pollution with stratospheric ozone: A case study from the North Atlantic wintertime troposphere, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 24363–24374, 2000.

Parrish, D. D.: Critical Evaluation of US on-road vehicle emission inventories, Atmos. Environ., 40(13), 2288–2300, doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2005.11.033, 2006.

Polvani, L. M., and Esler, J. G.: Transport and mixing of chemical air masses in idealized baroclinic life cycles, J. Geophys., Res. 112, D23102, doi:10.1029/2007JD008555, 2007.

Rodgers, C. D.: Inverse Methods for Atmospheric Sounding: Theory and Practice, World Sci., Hackensack, NJ, USA, 256 pp., 2000.

Rodrigues, S., Torres, C., Guerra, J.-C. and Cuevas, E.: Transport pathways of ozone to marine and free-troposphere sites in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Atmos. Environ., 38, 4733–4747, 2004.

Schoeberl, M. R.: Overview of the EOS Aura mission, IEEE Trans. on Geosci. and Rem. Sens., 44(5), 1066–1074, 2006.

Serreze, M. C., Carse, F., Barry, R. G., and Rogers, J. C.: Icelandic low cyclone activity: Climatological features, linkages with the NAO, and relationships with recent changes in the Northern Hemisphere circulation, J. Climate, 10, 453–464, 1997.

Singh, H. B., Brune, W. H., Crawford, J. H., Jacob, D. J., and Russell, P. B.: Overview of the summer 2004 International Chemical Transport Experiment- North America (INTEX-A), J. Geophys. Res., 111, D23S02, doi:10.1029/2006JD007905, 2006.

Stohl, A., Huntrieser, H., Richter, A., et al.: Rapid intercontinental air pollution transport associated with a meteorological bomb, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 3, 969–985, 2003.

Trickl, T., Cooper, O. R., Holger, E., et al.: Intercontinental transport and its influence on the ozone concentrations over Europe: Three case studies, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D12), 8530, doi:10.1029/2002JD002735, 2003.

Wotawa, G. and Trainer, M.: The influence of Canadian forest fires on pollutant concentrations in the United States, Science, 288, 324–328, 2000.

Worden, J., Kulawik, S. S., Shephard, M. W., et al.: Predicted errors of Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer nadir retrievals from spectral window selection, J. Geophys. Res., 109, D09308, doi:10.1029/2004JD004522, 2004.

Worden, J., Liu, X., Bowman, K., et al.: Improved tropospheric ozone profile retrievals using OMI and TES radiances, Geophys. Res. Let., 34, L01809, doi:10.1029/2006GL027806, 2007.

Zhang, L., Jacob, D. J., Bowman, K., W., et al.: Ozone-CO correlations determined by the TES satellite instrument in continental outflow regions, and prospects in synoptic climatology, Geophys. Res., Let, 33., L18804, doi:10.1029/2006GL026399, 2006.

Zishka, K. M. and Smith, P. J.: The climatology of cyclones and anticyclones over North America and surrounding ocean environs for January and July, 1950–77, Mon. Weather Rev., 108, 387–401, 1980.