AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
DISCOVER-AQ Investigation of Aerosol Impacts on Air Quality over Houston
RICHARD FERRARE, James Crawford, Robert Griffin, Chris Hostetler, Bruce Anderson, Sharon P. Burton, Brent Holben, Andreas Beyersdorf, Luke Ziemba, NASA Langley Research Center
Abstract Number: 207 Working Group: Air Quality and Climate in the Southeast US: Insights from Recent Measurement Campaigns
Abstract The NASA Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and VERtically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) mission is focused on improving the interpretation of satellite observations related to air quality. DISCOVER-AQ provides systematic and concurrent observations of column-integrated, surface, and vertically-resolved distributions of aerosols and trace gases relevant to air quality using two NASA airborne platforms (LaRC King Air and Wallops P-3B) as well as re-locatable and fixed surface networks and a mobile van. During September 2013, DISCOVER-AQ deployed these assets and investigated the air quality over Houston. The P-3B conducted extensive in situ profiling of trace gases and aerosols, and the King Air conducted passive and active remote sensing of the atmospheric column below the aircraft. Ground-based instruments included lidar measurements of aerosol distributions as well as an extensive network of AERONET Sun photometers. The DISCOVER-AQ measurements are used to examine the relationships between surface concentrations of PM2.5, aerosol extinction values near the surface and within the boundary layer, and column aerosol optical thickness (AOT). These measurements revealed the presence of elevated smoke layers produced by agricultural fires over the southeastern U.S. These elevated layers complicate efforts to deduce surface PM2.5 concentrations from column measurements. Airborne in situ measurements indicated significant differences in aerosol optical and microphysical properties between the surface and these elevated smoke layers. Both remote sensing and in situ measurements show evidence of periodic higher concentrations of localized dust near the Houston ship channel. Mobile surface measurements indicate enhancement of organic aerosol during pollution episodes, particularly overnight, likely due to in situ formation. These mobile surface measurements also show the importance of isolated, yet very high impact, primary aerosol sources distributed throughout Houston.