The Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) field study.

The Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) field study was conducted during May-June 2016. The effort was jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Research of South Korea and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. KORUS-AQ offered an unprecedented, multi-perspective view of air quality conditions in South Korea by employing observations from three aircraft, an extensive ground-based network, and three ships along with an array of air quality forecast models. Information gathered during the study is contributing to an improved understanding of the factors controlling air quality in South Korea. The study also provided a valuable test bed for future air quality-observing strategies involving geostationary satellite instruments being launched by both countries to examine air quality throughout the day over Asia and North America. This article presents details on the KORUS-AQ observational assets, study execution, data products, and air quality conditions observed during the study. High-level findings from companion papers in this special issue are also summarized and discussed in relation to the factors controlling fine particle and ozone pollution, current emissions and source apportionment, and expectations for the role of satellite observations in the future. Resulting policy recommendations and advice regarding plans going forward are summarized. These results provide an important update to early feedback previously provided in a Rapid Science Synthesis Report produced for South Korean policy makers in 2017 and form the basis for the Final Science Synthesis Report delivered in 2020.

Apportioned primary and secondary organic aerosol during pollution events of DISCOVER-AQ Houston.

Understanding the drivers for high ozone (O3) and atmospheric particulate matter (PM) concentrations is a pressing issue in urban air quality, as this understanding informs decisions for control and mitigation of these key pollutants. The Houston, TX metropolitan area is an ideal location for studying the intersection between O3 and atmospheric secondary organic carbon (SOC) production due to the diversity of source types (urban, industrial, and biogenic) and the on- and off-shore cycling of air masses over Galveston Bay, TX. Detailed characterization of filter-based samples collected during Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and VERtically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) Houston field experiment in September 2013 were used to investigate sources and composition of organic carbon (OC) and potential relationships between daily maximum 8 h average O3 and PM. The current study employed a novel combination of chemical mass balance modeling defining primary (i.e. POC) versus secondary (i.e. SOC) organic carbon and radiocarbon (14C) for apportionment of contemporary and fossil carbon. The apportioned sources include contemporary POC (biomass burning [BB], vegetative detritus), fossil POC (motor vehicle exhaust), biogenic SOC and fossil SOC. The filter-based results were then compared with real-time measurements by aerosol mass spectrometry. With these methods, a consistent urban background of contemporary carbon and motor vehicle exhaust was observed in the Houston metropolitan area. Real-time and filter-based characterization both showed that carbonaceous aerosols in Houston was highly impacted by SOC or oxidized OC, with much higher contributions from biogenic than fossil sources. However, fossil SOC concentration and fractional contribution had a stronger correlation with daily maximum 8 h average O3, peaking during high PM and O3 events. The results indicate that point source emissions processed by on- and off-shore wind cycles likely contribute to peak events for both PM and O3 in the greater Houston metropolitan area.

Formaldehyde column density measurements as a suitable pathway to estimate near-surface ozone tendencies from space.

In support of future satellite missions that aim to address the current shortcomings in measuring air quality from space, NASA's Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) field campaign was designed to enable exploration of relationships between column measurements of trace species relevant to air quality at high spatial and temporal resolution. In the DISCOVER-AQ data set, a modest correlation (r 2 = 0.45) between ozone (O3) and formaldehyde (CH2O) column densities was observed. Further analysis revealed regional variability in the O3-CH2O relationship, with Maryland having a strong relationship when data were viewed temporally and Houston having a strong relationship when data were viewed spatially. These differences in regional behavior are attributed to differences in volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. In Maryland, biogenic VOCs were responsible for ~28% of CH2O formation within the boundary layer column, causing CH2O to, in general, increase monotonically throughout the day. In Houston, persistent anthropogenic emissions dominated the local hydrocarbon environment, and no discernable diurnal trend in CH2O was observed. Box model simulations suggested that ambient CH2O mixing ratios have a weak diurnal trend (±20% throughout the day) due to photochemical effects, and that larger diurnal trends are associated with changes in hydrocarbon precursors. Finally, mathematical relationships were developed from first principles and were able to replicate the different behaviors seen in Maryland and Houston. While studies would be necessary to validate these results and determine the regional applicability of the O3-CH2O relationship, the results presented here provide compelling insight into the ability of future satellite missions to aid in monitoring near-surface air quality.

An Atmospheric Constraint on the NO2 Dependence of Daytime Near-Surface Nitrous Acid (HONO).

Recent observations suggest a large and unknown daytime source of nitrous acid (HONO) to the atmosphere. Multiple mechanisms have been proposed, many of which involve chemistry that reduces nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on some time scale. To examine the NO2 dependence of the daytime HONO source, we compare weekday and weekend measurements of NO2 and HONO in two U.S. cities. We find that daytime HONO does not increase proportionally to increases in same-day NO2, i.e., the local NO2 concentration at that time and several hours earlier. We discuss various published HONO formation pathways in the context of this constraint.

High winter ozone pollution from carbonyl photolysis in an oil and gas basin.

The United States is now experiencing the most rapid expansion in oil and gas production in four decades, owing in large part to implementation of new extraction technologies such as horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing. The environmental impacts of this development, from its effect on water quality to the influence of increased methane leakage on climate, have been a matter of intense debate. Air quality impacts are associated with emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx = NO + NO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), whose photochemistry leads to production of ozone, a secondary pollutant with negative health effects. Recent observations in oil- and gas-producing basins in the western United States have identified ozone mixing ratios well in excess of present air quality standards, but only during winter. Understanding winter ozone production in these regions is scientifically challenging. It occurs during cold periods of snow cover when meteorological inversions concentrate air pollutants from oil and gas activities, but when solar irradiance and absolute humidity, which are both required to initiate conventional photochemistry essential for ozone production, are at a minimum. Here, using data from a remote location in the oil and gas basin of northeastern Utah and a box model, we provide a quantitative assessment of the photochemistry that leads to these extreme winter ozone pollution events, and identify key factors that control ozone production in this unique environment. We find that ozone production occurs at lower NOx and much larger VOC concentrations than does its summertime urban counterpart, leading to carbonyl (oxygenated VOCs with a C = O moiety) photolysis as a dominant oxidant source. Extreme VOC concentrations optimize the ozone production efficiency of NOx. There is considerable potential for global growth in oil and gas extraction from shale. This analysis could help inform strategies to monitor and mitigate air quality impacts and provide broader insight into the response of winter ozone to primary pollutants.