Objectives

1. Assess emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in the Baltimore - Washington, DC region.
2. Investigate chemical and meteorological mechanism that leads to summertime air pollution in the Baltimore - Washington, DC region.
3. Quantify methane emissions from oil & gas operations in the Marcellus Shale.

Science Questions

The study aims to characterize air pollutant emissions and transport within and around the Baltimore - Washington area and methane emissions from the Marcellus oil and gas operations with acquiring a high resolution observational dataset.

• What is the spatial distribution of ozone and its precursors and what are the mechanisms that produce high ozone levels in and around the Baltimore - Washington area?
• How much of the ozone and its precursors are a result of local sources and/or pollutant transport into the Baltimore - Washington area?
• How do methane emissions from oil and gas operations in the southwest Marcellus Shale compared to existing inventories?
• Is there a discernible trend in methane emissions from the Marcellus oil and gas operations compared to previous observations?
• How can measurements of greenhouse gases and air pollutants in the Baltimore - Washington area and Marcellus be better utilized to connect ground-level observations of greenhouse gases and air pollutants to observations by satellite instruments such as TEMPO and other civilian and commercial greenhouse gas instruments?