Las Vegas Ozone Study (LVOS) 2013 TOPAZ Data

June 10, 2013

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Daily Summary:

June 10. Monday. TOPAZ laser was repaired and TOPAZ data were taken from 1100 - 1820 PDT. Measurement was stopped because replacement part failed yet again. Haze in the valley, high clouds to the east, otherwise clear. Very strong winds from the SSW gusting to 50 mph at Angel Peak. TOPAZ data show uniform O3 in the lowest km AGL with values in the 60s and 70s ppbv and slightly less O3 at higher altitude. After about 1500 PDT TOPAZ detected an elevated O3 layer of 90 - 100 ppbv between 1800 and 2500 m AGL, which appears to be descending in altitude. The Flexpart model forecasted about 20 ppbv of stratospheric ozone enhancement roughly at these altitudes associated with the passage of an upper level low pressure system. The strong SW flow brought air from Los Angeles and the Hathaway Fire near Banning, CA to the Las Vegas area, which caused an increase in surface CO to 150 ppbv and a slight increase in O3 to the mid 60s ppbv. At the same time, TOPAZ observed a strong increase in aerosol backscatter in the lowest km AGL.
Note: These preliminary data are noisy above 2.5 km AGL.