Carlsbad Caverns National Park Air Quality Study 2019

This data set includes fine particle and gas precursor measurements from Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The study was designed to examine the influence of regional sources, including urban emissions, oil and gas development, wildfires, and soil dust on air quality in the park. Field measurements of aerosols, trace gases and deposition were conducted from 25 July through 5 September 2019.Carlsbad Caverns National Park in southeastern New Mexico is adjacent to the Permian Basin, one of the most productive oil and gas regions in the country. The 2019 Carlsbad Caverns Air Quality Study (CarCavAQS) was designed to examine the influence of regional sources, including urban emissions, oil and gas development, wildfires, and soil dust on air quality in the park. Field measurements of aerosols, trace gases, and deposition were conducted from 25 July through 5 September 2019.This work was supported by the National Park Service Q5 [P20AC00679]

Meteorological and Back Trajectory Modeling for the Rocky Mountain Atmospheric Nitrogen and Sulfur Study II

The Rocky Mountain Atmospheric Nitrogen and Sulfur (RoMANS II) study with field operations during November 2008 through November 2009 was designed to evaluate the composition and sources of reactive nitrogen in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. As part of RoMANS II, a mesoscale meteorological model was utilized to provide input for back trajectory and chemical transport models. Evaluation of the model's ability to capture important transport patterns in this region of complex terrain is discussed. Previous source-receptor studies of nitrogen in this region are also reviewed. Finally, results of several back trajectory analyses for RoMANS II are presented. The trajectory mass balance (TrMB) model, a receptor-based linear regression technique, was used to estimate mean source attributions of airborne ammonia concentrations during RoMANS II. Though ammonia concentrations are usually higher when there is transport from the east, the TrMB model estimates that, on average, areas to the west contribute a larger mean fraction of the ammonia. Possible reasons for this are discussed and include the greater frequency of westerly versus easterly winds, the possibility that ammonia is transported long distances as ammonium nitrate, and the difficulty of correctly modeling the transport winds in this area

UNCERTAINTY ASSOCIATED WITH ESTIMATING A SHORT-TERM (1–3 HR) PARTICULATE MATTER CONCENTRATION FROM A HUMAN-SIGHTED VISUAL RANGE

Several state air quality agencies have developed policies to issue air quality health index (AQI) warnings based on low values of visual range (Vr). Vr has been defined in the context of how far away a black object has to be such that it is just noticeable or visible. This distance at which a landscape feature can just be detected is referred to as the Vr. AQI warnings are based on the levels of particulates (PM2.5) resulting from fire smoke, often with less than 24-hr average concentrations. Because monitoring data are not available in all places where an AQI warning might potentially be given, human-observed visual conditions (i.e., sighting distant targets to determine Vr) have been used to estimate ambient fine particulate (PM2.5) concentrations. This procedure, originally developed in the arid West, may be particularly questionable when applied where higher humidity (especially in the humid Southeast) interacts with background sulfate and nitrate particulates and other aerosols from non-fire sources to reduce visibility. Human errors estimating Vr can be large. One result may be that the public is given an incorrect impression of air quality risks to their health and well-being; either the AQI or other indices are overestimates, causing undue public alarm, or underestimates from which the public, or at least sensitive sections of the public, undergo avoidable risks

Anomalous elevated radiocarbon measurements of PM2.5

Two-component models are often used to determine the contributions made by fossil fuel and natural sources of carbon in airborne particulate matter (PM). The models reduce thousands of actual sources to two end members based on isotopic signature. Combustion of fossil fuels produces PM free of carbon-14 (14C). Wood or charcoal smoke, restaurant fryer emissions, and natural emissions from plants produce PM with the contemporary concentration of 14C approximately 1.2 × 10-1214C/C. Such data can be used to estimate the relative contributions of fossil fuels and biogenic aerosols to the total aerosol loading and radiocarbon analysis is becoming a popular source apportionment method. Emissions from incinerators combusting medical or biological wastes containing tracer 14C can skew the 14C/C ratio of PM, however, so critical analysis of sampling sites for possible sources of elevated PM needs to be completed prior to embarking on sampling campaigns. Results are presented for two ambient monitoring sites in different areas of the United States where 14C contamination is apparent. Our experience suggests that such contamination is uncommon but is also not rare (∼10%) for PM sampling sites

A critical review of filter transmittance measurements for aerosol light absorption, and <i>de novo</i> calibration for a decade of monitoring on PTFE membranes

<p>The IMPROVE (Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments) network monitors the attenuation of light by PM_2.5 samples (fine particulate matter, D_aero = 2.5 μm) routinely collected on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filters throughout the United States. The results of this measurement have long been reported as an indicator of absorption, with no rigorous calibration as such. Filter-based absorption measurements more conventionally employ optically thick quartz- or glass-fiber collection media, for which a substantial calibration literature offers algorithms to correct for particle scattering and filter loading effects. PTFE membranes are optically thinner and less homogeneous than the fiber media, but they avoid interference from adsorbed organic gases that is associated with quartz and glass fiber media. IMPROVE's measurement system is a hybrid of integrating sphere and integrating plate that records the light backscattered as well as transmitted by each filter. This article introduces and validates a theory-based model for calibration and data reduction that accounts for particle scattering effects as well as variations in filter optics. Tests based on historical analyses of field blanks and recent reanalyses of archived samples establish that the current system has operated with a stable calibration since 2003.</p> <p>The newly calibrated IMPROVE absorption values correlate strongly with the refractory carbon fraction reported by thermal-optical analysis as “elemental” (EC). EC is sometimes treated as the only significant light absorber in PM_2.5, but the general decline observed between 2005 and 2014 in IMPROVE EC was not accompanied by a comparable decline in IMPROVE absorption. Absorption also exhibits a distinct association with Fe concentrations, which at IMPROVE sites are attributable mainly to mineral dusts and have generally held steady or risen since 2003. An increased relative contribution by mineral dusts can explain some, but not all, of the observed difference between recent absorption and EC trends.</p

Transport, biomass burning, and in-situ formation contribute to fine particle concentrations at a remote site near Grand Teton National Park

Ecosystem health and visibility degradation due to fine-mode atmospheric particles have been documented in remote areas and motivate particle characterization that can inform mitigation strategies. This study explores submicron (PM1) particle size, composition, and source apportionment at Grand Teton National Park using High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer data with Positive Matrix Factorization and MODIS fire information. Particulate mass averages 2.08 mu g/m(3) (max = 21.91 mu g/m(3)) of which 75.0% is organic; PMF-derived Low-Volatility Oxygenated Organic Aerosol (LV-OOA) averages 61.1% of PM1 (or 1.05 mu g/m(3)), with sporadic but higher-concentration biomass burning (BBOA) events contributing another 13.9%. Sulfate (12.5%), ammonium (8.7%), and nitrate (3.8%) are generally low in mass. Ammonium and sulfate have correlated time-series and association with transport from northern Utah and the Snake River Valley. A regionally disperse and/or in situ photochemical LV-OOA source is suggested by 1) afternoon concentration enhancement not correlated with upslope winds, anthropogenic NOx, or ammonium sulfate, 2) smaller particle size, higher polydispersity, and lower levels of oxidation during the day and in comparison to a biomass burning plume inferred to have traveled similar to 480 km, and 3) lower degree of oxidation than is usually observed in transported urban plumes and alpine sites with transported anthropogenic OA. CHN fragment spectra suggest organic nitrogen in the form of nitriles and/or pyridines during the day, with the addition of amine fragments at night. Fires near Boise, ID may be the source of a high-concentration biomass-burning event on August 15-16, 2011 associated with SW winds (upslope from the Snake River Valley) and increased sulfate, ammonium, nitrate, and CHN and CHON fragments (nominally, amines and organonitrates). Comparison to limited historical data suggests that the amounts and sources of organics and inorganics presented here typify summer conditions in this area. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Regional Comparison and Assimilation of GOCART and MODIS Aerosol Optical Depth across the Eastern U.S.

This study compares aerosol optical depths (AOD) products from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model and their integrated products with ground measurements across the eastern U.S. from March 1, 2000 to December 31, 2001. The Terra MODIS Level-3 (collection 4) AOD at 0.55 pm has better correlation, but consistently overestimates the values of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measurements. GOCART has small biases for a 22-month integration, and slight positive biases are appeared for the cold season. These results are also supported by the comparison with the IMPROVE (Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments) light extinction index. The optimal interpolation improves the daily-scale RMSE from either MODIS or GOCART alone. However, the regional biases in the aerosol products constitute a major constraint to the optimal estimate of AOD

Manuscript supporting data for The increasing importance of reduced nitrogen deposition in the United States

Rapid development of agriculture and fossil fuel combustion greatly increased US reactive nitrogen emissions to the atmosphere in the second half of the 20th century, resulting in excess nitrogen deposition to natural ecosystems. Recent efforts to lower nitrogen oxides emissions have substantially decreased nitrate wet deposition. Levels of wet ammonium deposition, by contrast, have increased in many regions. Together these changes have altered the balance between oxidized and reduced nitrogen deposition. Across most of the United States, wet deposition has transitioned from being nitrate-dominated in the 1980s to ammonium-dominated in recent years. Ammonia has historically not been routinely measured because there are no specific regulatory requirements for its measurement. Recent expansion in ammonia observations, however, along with ongoing measurements of nitric acid and fine particle ammonium and nitrate, permit new insight into the balance of oxidized and reduced nitrogen in the total (wet + dry) US nitrogen deposition budget. Observations from 37 sites reveal that reduced nitrogen contributes, on average, ∼65% of the total inorganic nitrogen deposition budget. Dry deposition of ammonia plays an especially key role in nitrogen deposition, contributing from 19% to 65% in different regions. Future progress toward reducing US nitrogen deposition will be increasingly difficult without a reduction in ammonia emissions

Dataset associated with "Volatile organic compounds and ozone at four national parks in the southwestern United States"

Whole air canister samples were collected at four national parks in the southwestern United States. The parks are Carlsbad Caverns National Park (CAVE) in New Mexico, Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA) in Arizona, Great Basin National Park (GRBA) in Nevada, and Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR) in California. Sampling took place at each site from 4 April 2017 to 14 September 2017. In addition to these measurements, a short intensive study was conducted in and around CAVE in September 2017. This intensive included measurements from nearby Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GUMO) and Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Whole air samples were analyzed for 56 individual volatile organic compounds using a five-channel, three-GC (gas chromatograph) analytical system, which employed three flame ionization detectors (FIDs), one electron capture detector (ECD) and one mass spectrometer.This file contains the sample information and concentrations of data collected during a study to characterize volatile organic compounds at four national parks in the southwestern US. These data are associated with the manuscript: Benedict, K.B., Prenni, A.J. El-Sayed, M.M.H., Hecobian, A., Zhou, Y., Gebhart, K.A., Sive, B.C., Schichtel, B.A., Collett Jr, J.L., submitted. Volatile organic compounds and ozone at four national parks in the southwestern United States. Atmospheric Environment. The abstract from the submitted manuscript is as follows: The National Park Service is tasked with protecting the lands it oversees, including from impacts from air pollutants. While ozone is regularly monitored in many parks across the United States, precursors to ozone formation are not routinely measured. In this work we characterize volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at four national parks in the southwestern United States: Carlsbad Caverns (CAVE), Great Basin (GRBA), Grand Canyon (GRCA), and Joshua Tree (JOTR). Whole air samples were collected for VOC analysis for five months (mid-April through mid-September) in 2017. Samples were collected from 3 PM to 5 PM local time, corresponding approximately to the time of expected peak ozone concentrations, and were analyzed using gas chromatography for a variety of compounds including alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, biogenics, and alkyl nitrates. Among the four parks, the total measured VOC mixing ratio was greatest at CAVE, mostly due to an abundance of light alkanes (on average 94% of all VOCs measured) from oil and gas sources. VOC concentrations at the other three parks were similar to each other and approximately 7-10 times lower than at CAVE. While VOC sources varied across sites, VOC-OH reactivity was dominated by biogenic compounds at all sites except CAVE, which had similar contributions from biogenics and from light alkanes. To better characterize source influences, intensive measurements were conducted in and around CAVE for one week in September 2017. These measurements showed an oil and gas influence throughout the region and indicated that the whole air samples collected over the five-month study did not capture the full range of VOC mixing ratios present at other times of the day.This work was funded by the National Park Service. The CSU portion of the work was funded by Cooperative Agreement H2370094000, Task Agreement P13AC01187