Project Funding: 2010 - 2013

NRA: 2009 NASA: New Investigator Program   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) plays a key role in tropospheric chemistry. Determining the sources, transport and spatio-temporal variability of NO2 in coastal areas is critical not only for improving modeling and prediction of coastal tropospheric air quality, but also for accurate atmospheric correction of satellite coastal ocean color observations. It is also essential for better understanding and modeling NOx-pollution and related nitrogen deposition in coastal ecosystems. Current satellite observations provide a powerful tool for studying NO2 emissions, distribution and transport over land and the ocean. To enhance the scientific return of satellite remote sensing, obtain a more complete picture of the atmosphere and increase our understanding of the effects of air pollution on coastal ecosystem dynamics, satellite observations must be used in combination with model simulations of nitrogen chemistry, transport and deposition, and detailed ground-based measurements. This becomes extremely challenging in coastal regions, since ground-based stations that monitor tropospheric air quality come to an abrupt end at the coastlines. By using a comprehensive ground-based measurement network, NASA Aura-OMI satellite observations, aircraft measurements and regional photochemical modeling (CMAQ and WRF-Chem), the proposed work will provide new and currently missing information on the amount, vertical distribution, transport, spatial patterns and temporal (seasonal and diel) variability of NO2 and other trace gases near pollution sources and over estuarine and coastal waters in the Chesapeake Bay (CB)/Mid Atlantic Bight (MAB) region. To extend measurements of the spatial and temporal patterns in NO2 (total column and vertical profiles) over coastal areas, we will use a ground-based network of new, accurate, portable, automated and validated NASA spectrometer systems (i.e. Pandora) that can operate both over land and onboard ships. In addition to NO2, the Pandora instruments provide simultaneous measurements of aerosols, O3, SO2 and HCHO that are needed for accurate modeling of tropospheric photochemistry. The spectrometers will be deployed at key locations, including sites monitoring atmospheric deposition (CASTNet/NADP) in the CB watershed, an autonomous surface vessel in the CB estuary, and a ship conducting cruises in the N. Atlantic coastal waters. Measurements will be applied to compare with satellite-observed variability in coastal regions, evaluate assumptions in satellite tropospheric NO2 retrievals, and determine the effect of observed NO2 pollution on top-of-atmosphere reflectances and atmospheric correction for coastal ocean color. Ground-based, aircraft and satellite observations will be used to evaluate air-quality model performance and new emission schemes, and improve model predictions of tropospheric NO2 amounts, distribution, transport and deposition over coastal regions. Our E/PO plan targets several audiences and includes three main components: i) Support for Higher Education and involvement of undergraduate and graduate students (with a focus on minorities) in individual and teamwork research projects so that they develop new skills and gain new knowledge on remote sensing applications and NASAs EOS satellite observations; ii) Outreach for teachers in K-12 education (including minority teachers) and integration of our research project into Teacher Development Workshops, to help teachers incorporate the latest information related to NASA research into their curriculum and at the same time inspire and attract K-12 students in STEM programs through direct interaction in classrooms; iii) Integration of our research with the Coastal Training Program, offered by the MD CB National Estuarine Research Reserve System, to provide up-to-date scientific information related to coastal air pollution, water-quality and space-based remote sensing applications to individuals in coastal resource management, policy and decision making.

Publications:

Fishman, J., Iraci, L. T., Al-Saadi, J., Chance, K., Chavez, F., Chin, M., Coble, P., Davis, C., DiGiacomo, P. M., Edwards, D., Eldering, A., Goes, J., Herman, J., Hu, C., Jacob, D. J., Jordan, C., Kawa, S. R., Key, R., Liu, X., Lohrenz, S., Mannino, A., Natraj, V., Neil, D., Neu, J., Newchurch, M., Pickering, K., Salisbury, J., Sosik, H., Subramaniam, A., Tzortziou, M., Wang, J., Wang, M. 2012. The United States' Next Generation of Atmospheric Composition and Coastal Ecosystem Measurements: NASA's Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) Mission. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 93(10), 1547-1566. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00201.1

Goldberg, D. L., Loughner, C. P., Tzortziou, M., Stehr, J. W., Pickering, K. E., Marufu, L. T., Dickerson, R. R. 2014. Higher surface ozone concentrations over the Chesapeake Bay than over the adjacent land: Observations and models from the DISCOVER-AQ and CBODAQ campaigns. Atmospheric Environment. 84, 9-19. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2013.11.008

He, H., Loughner, C. P., Stehr, J. W., Arkinson, H. L., Brent, L. C., Follette-Cook, M. B., Tzortziou, M. A., Pickering, K. E., Thompson, A. M., Martins, D. K., Diskin, G. S., Anderson, B. E., Crawford, J. H., Weinheimer, A. J., Lee, P., Hains, J. C., Dickerson, R. R. 2014. An elevated reservoir of air pollutants over the Mid-Atlantic States during the 2011 DISCOVER-AQ campaign: Airborne measurements and numerical simulations. Atmospheric Environment. 85, 18-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2013.11.039

Herman, J., Abuhassan, N., Kim, J., Kim, J., Dubey, M., Raponi, M., Tzortziou, M. Underestimation of Column NO<sub>2</sub> Amounts from the OMI Satellite Compared to Diurnally Varying Ground-Based Retrievals from Multiple Pandora Spectrometer Instruments DOI: 10.5194/amt-2019-123

Jordan, C. E., Stauffer, R. M., Lamb, B. T., Hudgins, C. H., Thornhill, K. L., Schuster, G. L., Moore, R. H., Crosbie, E. C., Winstead, E. L., Anderson, B. E., Martin, R. F., Shook, M. A., Ziemba, L. D., Beyersdorf, A. J., Robinson, C. E., Corr, C. A., Tzortziou, M. A. 2021. New in situ aerosol hyperspectral optical measurements over 300-700 nm - Part 1: Spectral Aerosol Extinction (SpEx) instrument field validation during the KORUS-OC cruise. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 14(1), 695-713. DOI: 10.5194/amt-14-695-2021

Jordan, C. E., Stauffer, R. M., Lamb, B. T., Novak, M., Mannino, A., Crosbie, E. C., Schuster, G. L., Moore, R. H., Hudgins, C. H., Thornhill, K. L., Winstead, E. L., Anderson, B. E., Martin, R. F., Shook, M. A., Ziemba, L. D., Beyersdorf, A. J., Robinson, C. E., Corr, C. A., Tzortziou, M. A. 2021. New in situ aerosol hyperspectral optical measurements over 300-700 nm - Part 2: Extinction, total absorption, water- and methanol-soluble absorption observed during the KORUS-OC cruise. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 14(1), 715-736. DOI: 10.5194/amt-14-715-2021

Kollonige, D. E., Thompson, A. M., Josipovic, M., Tzortziou, M., Beukes, J. P., Burger, R., Martins, D. K., van Zyl, P. G., Vakkari, V., Laakso, L. 2018. OMI Satellite and Ground-Based Pandora Observations and Their Application to Surface NO2 Estimations at Terrestrial and Marine Sites. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 123(2), 1441-1459. DOI: 10.1002/2017JD026518

Loughner, C. P., Follette-Cook, M. B., Duncan, B. N., Hains, J., Pickering, K. E., Moy, J., Tzortziou, M. 2020. The benefits of lower ozone due to air pollution emission reductions (2002-2011) in the Eastern United States during extreme heat. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association. 70(2), 193-205. DOI: 10.1080/10962247.2019.1694089

Loughner, C. P., Tzortziou, M., Follette-Cook, M., Pickering, K. E., Goldberg, D., Satam, C., Weinheimer, A., Crawford, J. H., Knapp, D. J., Montzka, D. D., Diskin, G. S., Dickerson, R. R. 2014. Impact of Bay-Breeze Circulations on Surface Air Quality and Boundary Layer Export. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology. 53(7), 1697-1713. DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-13-0323.1

Loughner, C. P., Tzortziou, M., Shroder, S., Pickering, K. E. 2016. Enhanced dry deposition of nitrogen pollution near coastlines: A case study covering the Chesapeake Bay estuary and Atlantic Ocean coastline. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 121(23), 14,221-14,238. DOI: 10.1002/2016JD025571

Reed, A. J., Thompson, A. M., Kollonige, D. E., Martins, D. K., Tzortziou, M. A., Herman, J. R., Berkoff, T. A., Abuhassan, N. K., Cede, A. 2013. Effects of local meteorology and aerosols on ozone and nitrogen dioxide retrievals from OMI and pandora spectrometers in Maryland, USA during DISCOVER-AQ 2011. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry. 72(3-4), 455-482. DOI: 10.1007/s10874-013-9254-9

Robinson, J., Kotsakis, A., Santos, F., Swap, R., Knowland, K. E., Labow, G., Connors, V., Tzortziou, M., Abuhassan, N., Tiefengraber, M., Cede, A. 2020. Using networked Pandora observations to capture spatiotemporal changes in total column ozone associated with stratosphere-to-troposphere transport. Atmospheric Research. 238, 104872. DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.104872

Stauffer, R. M., Thompson, A. M., Martins, D. K., Clark, R. D., Goldberg, D. L., Loughner, C. P., Delgado, R., Dickerson, R. R., Stehr, J. W., Tzortziou, M. A. 2012. Bay breeze influence on surface ozone at Edgewood, MD during July 2011. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry. 72(3-4), 335-353. DOI: 10.1007/s10874-012-9241-6

Sullivan, J. T., Berkoff, T., Gronoff, G., Knepp, T., Pippin, M., Allen, D., Twigg, L., Swap, R., Tzortziou, M., Thompson, A. M., Stauffer, R. M., Wolfe, G. M., Flynn, J., Pusede, S. E., Judd, L. M., Moore, W., Baker, B. D., Al-Saadi, J., McGee, T. J. 2019. The Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study: An Innovative Strategy for Understanding Chesapeake Bay Pollution Events. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 100(2), 291-306. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0025.1

Thompson, A. M., Stauffer, R. M., Boyle, T. P., Kollonige, D. E., Miyazaki, K., Tzortziou, M., Herman, J. R., Abuhassan, N., Jordan, C. E., Lamb, B. T. 2019. Comparison of Near-Surface NO 2 Pollution With Pandora Total Column NO 2 During the Korea-United States Ocean Color (KORUS OC) Campaign. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 124(23), 13560-13575. DOI: 10.1029/2019JD030765

Tzortziou, M., Herman, J. R., Ahmad, Z., Loughner, C. P., Abuhassan, N., Cede, A. 2014. Atmospheric NO2dynamics and impact on ocean color retrievals in urban nearshore regions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 119(6), 3834-3854. DOI: 10.1002/2014JC009803

Tzortziou, M., Herman, J. R., Cede, A., Abuhassan, N. 2012. High precision, absolute total column ozone measurements from the Pandora spectrometer system: Comparisons with data from a Brewer double monochromator and Aura OMI. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 117(D16). DOI: 10.1029/2012JD017814

Tzortziou, M., Herman, J. R., Cede, A., Loughner, C. P., Abuhassan, N., Naik, S. 2013. Spatial and temporal variability of ozone and nitrogen dioxide over a major urban estuarine ecosystem. Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry. 72(3-4), 287-309. DOI: 10.1007/s10874-013-9255-8

Tzortziou, M., Parker, O., Lamb, B., Herman, J., Lamsal, L., Stauffer, R., Abuhassan, N. 2018. Atmospheric Trace Gas (NO2 and O3) Variability in South Korean Coastal Waters, and Implications for Remote Sensing of Coastal Ocean Color Dynamics. Remote Sensing. 10(10), 1587. DOI: 10.3390/rs10101587

2011 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Poster(s)

• Tidal Marsh Outwelling of Dissolved Carbon and Influences on Optical Properties and Biogeochemical Processes at the Land-Ocean Interface.   --   (Maria Tzortziou, Patrick J Neale, J Patrick Megonigal)   [abstract]