Analysis of summer ozone concentration in the salt lake valley

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Title Analysis of summer ozone concentration in the salt lake valley
Publication Type thesis
School or College College of Mines & Earth Sciences
Department Atmospheric Sciences
Author Long, Katherine Ansley
Date 2017
Description Observations and analyses of ozone concentrations and near-surface wind are examined during the latter half of June 2015 when the highest ozone levels of the 2015 summer were observed in the urban areas of northern Utah referred to locally as the Wasatch Front. A novel mix of ozone observations from sensors at fixed sites as well as mobile platforms (vehicles, light rail car, and news helicopter) help to define the spatiotemporal distribution of ozone along the Wasatch Front and the nearby Great Salt Lake. The ozone and wind observations are assimilated separately using a two-dimensional variational analysis system to obtain ozone and 10-m wind analyses at 1-km horizontal resolution every hour to determine the best representation of ozone distribution throughout the region. Two case studies are used to illustrate the diurnal evolution and transportation of ozone concentrations relative to local wind circulations driven primarily by lake-land and mountain-valley thermal contrasts. Ozone pollution roses at the fixed sensor locations for day and night periods and composites of the 1-km resolution analyses during the 15-day period as a function of time of day help to define common diurnal patterns. This study provides information on how ozone is distributed throughout the region and indicates that areas of high ozone concentrations are a function of the complex interaction of thermal flows in urban, rural, and lake boundary layers.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Earth sciences
Dissertation Name Master of Science
Language eng
Rights Management © Katherine Ansley Long
Format application/pdf
Format Medium application/pdf
ARK ark:/87278/s6z36405
Setname ir_etd
ID 1347652
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6z36405
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