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Enhanced Ozone Over the North American Arctic from Biomass Burning in Eurasia During April 2008 as Seen in Surface and Profile Observations

Enhanced Ozone Over the North American Arctic from Biomass Burning in Eurasia During April 2008 as Seen in Surface and Profile Observations
Type: 
Poster
Samuel J. Oltmans1, Allen S. Lefohn2, Joyce M. Harris3, David W. Tarasick4, Anne M. Thompson5, Heini Wernli6
1NOAA Earth System Research Labboratory, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO, 80305, USA, Phone 303-497-6676, Fax 303-497-5590, samuel [dot] j [dot] oltmans [at] noaa [dot] gov
2A.S.L. & Associates, Helena, MT, USA, alefohn [at] asl-associates [dot] com
3NOAA Earth System Research Labboratory, Boulder, CO, USA, oyce [dot] M [dot] Harris [at] noaa [dot] gov
4Environment Canada, Downsview, ON, Canada, david [dot] tarasick [at] ec [dot] gc [dot] ca
5Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA, anne [at] met [dot] psu [dot] edu
6Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, heini [dot] wernli [at] env [dot] ethz [dot] ch

During April 2008 as part of the International Polar Year, a number of ground-based and aircraft campaigns were carried out in the North American arctic region. The ubiquitous presence during this period of biomass burning effluent, both gaseous and particulate, has been reported. Unusually high ozone readings for this time of year were recorded at surface ozone monitoring sites from northern Alaska to northern California. At Barrow, Alaska the highest April ozone readings recorded at the surface (hourly average values >55 ppbv) in 36 years of observation were measured on April 19, 2008. At Denali National Park in central Alaska an hourly average of 79 ppbv was recorded during an 8 hour period in which the average was over 75 ppb, exceeding the ozone ambient air standard threshold value in the U.S.. Elevated ozone (>60 ppbv) persisted almost continuously from April 19–23 at the monitoring site as part of this event. During the first three weeks of April 2008, near daily ozone soundings were performed at several sites in western North America as part of the Arctic Intensive Ozonesonde Network Study (ARCIONS) in conjunction with ARCTAS. These soundings showed lower tropospheric features at ~1-6 km with enhanced ozone during the times of elevated ozone amounts at the surface sites noted above. Ancillary information, such as aerosol optical thickness and back trajectories, are employed to diagnose the potential air masses that may have contributed to these elevated ozone readings. The back trajectories appear to be matched with known burning source regions in the Eurasian region during April 2008. At a few surface sites, atmospheric trace constituents in addition to ozone were measured that help identify biomass burning as a likely source of the enhanced ozone readings.

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National Science Foundation | Division of Arctic Sciences
National Science Foundation
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Study of Environmental Arctic Change
Arctic System Science Program
Arctic System Science Program
US Arctic Research Commission
US Arctic Research Commission
North Slope Science Initiative
North Slope Science Initiative
International Arctic Science Committee
International Arctic Science Committee
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Arctic Ocean Sciences Board
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Alaska Ocean Observing System
Department of Energy
Department of Energy
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
World Wildlife Fund
WWF
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Association of Polar Early Career Scientists
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
International Study of Arctic Change
International Study of Arctic Change
ArcticNet
ArcticNet
DAMOCLES
Developing Arctic Modeling and Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies

This work is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the ARCUS Cooperative Agreement ARC-0618885. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.