7 August 2006
A major field mission is underway in the Galveston/Houston area to study the factors that influence air quality in East Texas, as well as the climate-related effects of the atmospheric chemistry there. The two NOAA-led joint research experiments are known as the Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS) and the Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS). The NOAA research vessel Ronald H. Brown and the NOAA Twin Otter research aircraft arrived last week, and researchers are already gathering data. The NOAA WP-3D research aircraft is being readied for deployment to the region in 2-3 weeks.
Scientists in the Chemical Sciences Division (Earth System Research Laboratory) and the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory are helping to lead the mission, along with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the University of Texas. Many labs in OAR are participating, including the Physical Sciences Division (ESRL), Global Systems Division (ESRL), Global Monitoring Division (ESRL), ARL, and AOML. Other federal agencies, including NASA, state agencies, private sector partners, and several academic institutions are collaborating in the studies. All told, the mission will involve five aircraft, the NOAA ship, NASA and NOAA satellites, and a network of sensors on land and in the Gulf to observe ozone and tiny airborne particles, and their precursors.
Background: TexAQS and GoMACCS are the NOAA components of a major multi-institutional intensive field program that will focus on investigating important scientific questions that are common to both climate and air quality. This intensive field study, taking place in August and September and centered in the Houston/Galveston area, will focus on providing a better understanding of the sources and atmospheric processes responsible for the formation and distribution of ozone and aerosols in the atmosphere and the influence that these species have on the radiative forcing of climate regionally and globally, as well as their impact on air quality, human health, and regional haze. The study area will be Texas and the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The intensive work in August/September is superimposed on a longer study period that commenced in May 2005, in which state and university scientists in Texas are gathering data from ground stations to characterize atmospheric composition in a broad region of southeastern Texas.
Significance: The TexAQS/GoMACCS research will make a strong contribution to two NOAA Goals/Programs: (i) Climate/Climate Forcing and (ii) Weather & Water/Air Quality. GoMACCS, the NOAA climate change component of this field program, will characterize marine/continental chemical and meteorological processes over Texas and the Gulf of Mexico in order to improve the simulation of the radiative forcing of climate change by lower-atmosphere ozone and aerosols. In addition to clear-sky radiative effects, GoMACCS will investigate the influence of aerosols on cloud properties and the role of clouds in chemical transformation. TexAQS 2006, the NOAA air quality component of this field experiment, will investigate the sources and processes that are responsible for photochemical pollution (ozone) and regional haze during the summertime in Texas. Several counties in Texas are experiencing air quality problems associated with this ozone. In addition, there is growing concern that additional counties in the state may be facing similar issues in the near future. The 2006 study will provide information on the sources of the ozone and aerosols precursors and processes responsible for the formation and distribution of ozone and aerosols in the state. By addressing both Climate and Air Quality objectives, the 2006 TexAQS/GoMACCS studies will be especially effective in leveraging resources and personnel in support of NOAA's mission.