Influence of Oil and Gas Emissions on Summertime Ozone in the Colorado Northern Front Range

Erin E. McDuffie; Peter Edwards; Jessica B. Gilman; B. M. Lerner; William P. Dubé; Michael Trainer; Daniel E. Wolfe; J. deGouw; Eric J. Williams; Alex G. Tevlin; Jennifer G. Murphy; Emily V. Fischer; Stuart McKeen; Thomas B. Ryerson; J. Peischl; John S. Holloway; Kenneth Aikin; A. O. Langford; C. J. Senff; Alvarez II Raul J.; Samuel R. Hall; Kirk Ullmann; Kathy O. Lantz; Steven S. Brown

doi:10.1002/2016JD025265

Influence of Oil and Gas Emissions on Summertime Ozone in the Colorado Northern Front Range

Erin E. McDuffie, Peter Edwards, Jessica B. Gilman, B. M. Lerner, William P. Dubé, Michael Trainer, Daniel E. Wolfe, J. deGouw, Eric J. Williams, Alex G. Tevlin, Jennifer G. Murphy, Emily V. Fischer, Stuart McKeen, Thomas B. Ryerson, J. Peischl, John S. Holloway, Kenneth Aikin, A. O. Langford, C. J. Senff, Alvarez II Raul J.Samuel R. Hall, Kirk Ullmann, Kathy O. Lantz, Steven S. Brown

Chemistry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Tropospheric O ₃ has been decreasing across much of the eastern U.S. but has remained steady or even increased in some western regions. Recent increases in VOC and NO _x emissions associated with the production of oil and natural gas (O&NG) may contribute to this trend in some areas. The Northern Front Range of Colorado has regularly exceeded O ₃ air quality standards during summertime in recent years. This region has VOC emissions from a rapidly developing O&NG basin and low concentrations of biogenic VOC in close proximity to urban-Denver NO _x emissions. Here VOC OH reactivity (OHR), O ₃ production efficiency (OPE), and an observationally constrained box model are used to quantify the influence of O&NG emissions on regional summertime O ₃ production. Analyses are based on measurements acquired over two summers at a central location within the Northern Front Range that lies between major regional O&NG and urban emission sectors. Observational analyses suggest that mixing obscures any OPE differences in air primarily influenced by O&NG or urban emission sector. The box model confirms relatively modest OPE differences that are within the uncertainties of the field observations. Box model results also indicate that maximum O ₃ at the measurement location is sensitive to changes in NO _x mixing ratio but also responsive to O&NGVOC reductions. Combined, these analyses show that O&tp://esrl. noaa.gov/csd, FRAPPNG alkanes contribute over 80% to the observed carbon mixing ratio, roughly 50% to the regional VOC OHR, and approximately 20% to regional photochemical O ₃ production.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	8712-8729
Number of pages	18
Journal	Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Volume	121
Issue number	14
Early online date	9 Jul 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025265
Publication status	Published - 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by NOAA’s Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate Program. We thank Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Eric C. Apel, and Alan J. Hills for TOGA data from FRAPPÉ 2014 and comments during the manu script preparation process. We thank Betsy Weatherhead for her contribution to the statistical analysis. We also thank Patrick Reddy for insightful comments and discussion during preparation and Frank Flocke and Gabriele Pfister for FRAPPÉ campaign organization. Emily V. Fischer acknowledges support from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE). Meteorological data from the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (2012 and 2014) are available at http://www.esrl. noaa.gov/psd/technology/bao/ and http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/ data/?category = Ozone&site = BAO, SONNE data available at http://esrl. noaa.gov/csd, FRAPPÉ data are available at http://www-air.larc.nasa.gov, NASA OMI total O3 column available at http:// mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov, and CalNEX CO and VOCs are available at http://esrl. noaa.gov/csd. All referenced supplemental text, figures, and tables can be found in the supporting information.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Access to Document

10.1002/2016JD025265

jgrd53135
©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details
Final published version, 1.35 MB

Cite this

McDuffie, E. E., Edwards, P., Gilman, J. B., Lerner, B. M., Dubé, W. P., Trainer, M., Wolfe, D. E., deGouw, J., Williams, E. J., Tevlin, A. G., Murphy, J. G., Fischer, E. V., McKeen, S., Ryerson, T. B., Peischl, J., Holloway, J. S., Aikin, K., Langford, A. O., Senff, C. J., ... Brown, S. S. (2016). Influence of Oil and Gas Emissions on Summertime Ozone in the Colorado Northern Front Range. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 121(14), 8712-8729. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025265

@article{6d0ec2e4c86642998a6e93fb4e122aab,

title = "Influence of Oil and Gas Emissions on Summertime Ozone in the Colorado Northern Front Range",

abstract = "Tropospheric O 3 has been decreasing across much of the eastern U.S. but has remained steady or even increased in some western regions. Recent increases in VOC and NO x emissions associated with the production of oil and natural gas (O&NG) may contribute to this trend in some areas. The Northern Front Range of Colorado has regularly exceeded O 3 air quality standards during summertime in recent years. This region has VOC emissions from a rapidly developing O&NG basin and low concentrations of biogenic VOC in close proximity to urban-Denver NO x emissions. Here VOC OH reactivity (OHR), O 3 production efficiency (OPE), and an observationally constrained box model are used to quantify the influence of O&NG emissions on regional summertime O 3 production. Analyses are based on measurements acquired over two summers at a central location within the Northern Front Range that lies between major regional O&NG and urban emission sectors. Observational analyses suggest that mixing obscures any OPE differences in air primarily influenced by O&NG or urban emission sector. The box model confirms relatively modest OPE differences that are within the uncertainties of the field observations. Box model results also indicate that maximum O 3 at the measurement location is sensitive to changes in NO x mixing ratio but also responsive to O&NGVOC reductions. Combined, these analyses show that O&tp://esrl. noaa.gov/csd, FRAPPNG alkanes contribute over 80% to the observed carbon mixing ratio, roughly 50% to the regional VOC OHR, and approximately 20% to regional photochemical O 3 production. ",

author = "McDuffie, {Erin E.} and Peter Edwards and Gilman, {Jessica B.} and Lerner, {B. M.} and Dub{\'e}, {William P.} and Michael Trainer and Wolfe, {Daniel E.} and J. deGouw and Williams, {Eric J.} and Tevlin, {Alex G.} and Murphy, {Jennifer G.} and Fischer, {Emily V.} and Stuart McKeen and Ryerson, {Thomas B.} and J. Peischl and Holloway, {John S.} and Kenneth Aikin and Langford, {A. O.} and Senff, {C. J.} and {Raul J.}, {Alvarez II} and Hall, {Samuel R.} and Kirk Ullmann and Lantz, {Kathy O.} and Brown, {Steven S.}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by NOAA{\textquoteright}s Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate Program. We thank Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Eric C. Apel, and Alan J. Hills for TOGA data from FRAPP{\'E} 2014 and comments during the manu script preparation process. We thank Betsy Weatherhead for her contribution to the statistical analysis. We also thank Patrick Reddy for insightful comments and discussion during preparation and Frank Flocke and Gabriele Pfister for FRAPP{\'E} campaign organization. Emily V. Fischer acknowledges support from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE). Meteorological data from the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (2012 and 2014) are available at http://www.esrl. noaa.gov/psd/technology/bao/ and http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/ data/?category = Ozone&site = BAO, SONNE data available at http://esrl. noaa.gov/csd, FRAPP{\'E} data are available at http://www-air.larc.nasa.gov, NASA OMI total O3 column available at http:// mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov, and CalNEX CO and VOCs are available at http://esrl. noaa.gov/csd. All referenced supplemental text, figures, and tables can be found in the supporting information. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.",

year = "2016",

doi = "10.1002/2016JD025265",

language = "English",

volume = "121",

pages = "8712--8729",

journal = "Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres",

issn = "2169-897X",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "14",

}

McDuffie, EE, Edwards, P, Gilman, JB, Lerner, BM, Dubé, WP, Trainer, M, Wolfe, DE, deGouw, J, Williams, EJ, Tevlin, AG, Murphy, JG, Fischer, EV, McKeen, S, Ryerson, TB, Peischl, J, Holloway, JS, Aikin, K, Langford, AO, Senff, CJ, Raul J., AII, Hall, SR, Ullmann, K, Lantz, KO & Brown, SS 2016, 'Influence of Oil and Gas Emissions on Summertime Ozone in the Colorado Northern Front Range', Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 121, no. 14, pp. 8712-8729. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025265

TY - JOUR

T1 - Influence of Oil and Gas Emissions on Summertime Ozone in the Colorado Northern Front Range

AU - McDuffie, Erin E.

AU - Edwards, Peter

AU - Gilman, Jessica B.

AU - Lerner, B. M.

AU - Dubé, William P.

AU - Trainer, Michael

AU - Wolfe, Daniel E.

AU - deGouw, J.

AU - Williams, Eric J.

AU - Tevlin, Alex G.

AU - Murphy, Jennifer G.

AU - Fischer, Emily V.

AU - McKeen, Stuart

AU - Ryerson, Thomas B.

AU - Peischl, J.

AU - Holloway, John S.

AU - Aikin, Kenneth

AU - Langford, A. O.

AU - Senff, C. J.

AU - Raul J., Alvarez II

AU - Hall, Samuel R.

AU - Ullmann, Kirk

AU - Lantz, Kathy O.

AU - Brown, Steven S.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by NOAA’s Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate Program. We thank Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Eric C. Apel, and Alan J. Hills for TOGA data from FRAPPÉ 2014 and comments during the manu script preparation process. We thank Betsy Weatherhead for her contribution to the statistical analysis. We also thank Patrick Reddy for insightful comments and discussion during preparation and Frank Flocke and Gabriele Pfister for FRAPPÉ campaign organization. Emily V. Fischer acknowledges support from the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE). Meteorological data from the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (2012 and 2014) are available at http://www.esrl. noaa.gov/psd/technology/bao/ and http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/dv/ data/?category = Ozone&site = BAO, SONNE data available at http://esrl. noaa.gov/csd, FRAPPÉ data are available at http://www-air.larc.nasa.gov, NASA OMI total O3 column available at http:// mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov, and CalNEX CO and VOCs are available at http://esrl. noaa.gov/csd. All referenced supplemental text, figures, and tables can be found in the supporting information. Publisher Copyright: © 2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - Tropospheric O 3 has been decreasing across much of the eastern U.S. but has remained steady or even increased in some western regions. Recent increases in VOC and NO x emissions associated with the production of oil and natural gas (O&NG) may contribute to this trend in some areas. The Northern Front Range of Colorado has regularly exceeded O 3 air quality standards during summertime in recent years. This region has VOC emissions from a rapidly developing O&NG basin and low concentrations of biogenic VOC in close proximity to urban-Denver NO x emissions. Here VOC OH reactivity (OHR), O 3 production efficiency (OPE), and an observationally constrained box model are used to quantify the influence of O&NG emissions on regional summertime O 3 production. Analyses are based on measurements acquired over two summers at a central location within the Northern Front Range that lies between major regional O&NG and urban emission sectors. Observational analyses suggest that mixing obscures any OPE differences in air primarily influenced by O&NG or urban emission sector. The box model confirms relatively modest OPE differences that are within the uncertainties of the field observations. Box model results also indicate that maximum O 3 at the measurement location is sensitive to changes in NO x mixing ratio but also responsive to O&NGVOC reductions. Combined, these analyses show that O&tp://esrl. noaa.gov/csd, FRAPPNG alkanes contribute over 80% to the observed carbon mixing ratio, roughly 50% to the regional VOC OHR, and approximately 20% to regional photochemical O 3 production.

AB - Tropospheric O 3 has been decreasing across much of the eastern U.S. but has remained steady or even increased in some western regions. Recent increases in VOC and NO x emissions associated with the production of oil and natural gas (O&NG) may contribute to this trend in some areas. The Northern Front Range of Colorado has regularly exceeded O 3 air quality standards during summertime in recent years. This region has VOC emissions from a rapidly developing O&NG basin and low concentrations of biogenic VOC in close proximity to urban-Denver NO x emissions. Here VOC OH reactivity (OHR), O 3 production efficiency (OPE), and an observationally constrained box model are used to quantify the influence of O&NG emissions on regional summertime O 3 production. Analyses are based on measurements acquired over two summers at a central location within the Northern Front Range that lies between major regional O&NG and urban emission sectors. Observational analyses suggest that mixing obscures any OPE differences in air primarily influenced by O&NG or urban emission sector. The box model confirms relatively modest OPE differences that are within the uncertainties of the field observations. Box model results also indicate that maximum O 3 at the measurement location is sensitive to changes in NO x mixing ratio but also responsive to O&NGVOC reductions. Combined, these analyses show that O&tp://esrl. noaa.gov/csd, FRAPPNG alkanes contribute over 80% to the observed carbon mixing ratio, roughly 50% to the regional VOC OHR, and approximately 20% to regional photochemical O 3 production.

U2 - 10.1002/2016JD025265

DO - 10.1002/2016JD025265

M3 - Article

SN - 2169-897X

VL - 121

SP - 8712

EP - 8729

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

IS - 14

ER -