Abstract View
The Impact of Sea Breeze and Precipitation on Particulate Matter Concentrations in Houston
CHUN-YING CHAO, Marina Karki, Wei Li, Yuxuan Wang, Robert Griffin, Rice University
Abstract Number: 196
Working Group: Urban Aerosols
Abstract
Along with emissions and atmospheric chemistry, meteorological parameters such as recirculation (i.e., a land-sea breeze pattern) and precipitation determine concentrations of air pollutants. In coastal areas, the land-sea breeze circulation has been found to play an important role in determining air quality because the pattern recirculates polluted air back and forth across the urban coastal boundary. Precipitation impacts air quality predominantly through enhancing wet deposition processes. To understand how these weather patterns affect particulate matter (PM) levels, historical monitoring data are used for Houston, which is the fourth most populous city in the United States, is home to many industrial activities, and is located near the Gulf of Mexico. This study uses fine PM concentration and precipitation data from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) monitors during summers from 2010 to 2019. Land-sea breeze patterns were quantified using a recirculation pattern metric. First, hourly meteorological data and calculated recirculation metrics from coastal TCEQ monitors were used to categorize sea breeze and other weather patterns. Second, fine PM concentrations at two TCEQ monitors near the Houston area – Clinton and Deer Park– were quantified and compared for the identified weather patterns. Third, the importance of inland distance on the strength of the sea breeze was considered. The statistical relationships between fine PM concentrations, summer precipitation, and land-sea breeze circulation metrics determined in this work will be discussed.