Observations of tropospheric trace gases and techniques for assessing the regional transport of air pollutants

Thesis/Dissertation · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6154498

Pickering, K E

Two techniques were used to assess regional transport of gaseous air pollutants. The first involved conducting airborne measurements of vertical profiles of the trace gases CO, O/sub 3/, and reactive nitrogen compounds near convective clouds, followed by analysis and interpretation with detailed meteorological data. The second technique involved applying spectral and cross spectral analyzes to surface-based time series of simultaneous trace gas concentrations and wind data. Airborne measurements were conducted near a line of deep convective clouds in south-central Oklahoma. Trace gas concentrations in the upper tropospheric outflow region of these clouds were near levels found in the surrounding environment. Meteorological analyses showed that these clouds were located above a cold front, which prevented the entry of air from the boundary layer directly below the cloud. These results suggest that the large amount of vertical trace gas transport noted in previous observations and model results cannot simply be extrapolated to all convective cells.

• Research Organization: Maryland Univ., College Park (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6154498
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION MONITORING
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
MASS TRANSFER
METEOROLOGY
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
POLLUTION
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
TRACE AMOUNTS
TROPOSPHERE