About AEROMMA

Overview

Atmospheric Emissions and Reactions Observed from Megacities to Marine Areas (AEROMMA) is a comprehensive study led by NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory to address emerging research needs in urban air quality, marine emissions, climate feedbacks, and atmospheric interactions at the marine-urban interface and future satellite capabilities of monitoring atmospheric composition over North America.

VCPs — VOCs = volatile organic compounds
GHGs = greenhouse gases

NOAA research has identified an emerging source of volatile organic compounds to the urban atmosphere that contributes to ozone and aerosol

More than 100 million Americans live in non-attainment areas for ground-level ozone.

Tropospheric ozone is a toxic air pollutant formed through reactions involving VOCs and NOx.

Volatile chemical products (VCPs) are emerging as a major urban source of petrochemical organics [McDonald et al., Science, 2018].

DMS chemistry — MSA = methane sulfonic acid
HPMTF = hydroperoxymethyl thioformate

A recent NOAA discovery has redefined the marine sulfur cycle, prompting a renewed look at air-sea exchange

Oxidation of ocean-emitted dimethyl sulfide (DMS) produces sulfate aerosol, which in turn impacts albedo, cloud formation, and climate.

CSL's discovery of an additional DMS oxidation product (HPMTF) shows that the marine sulfur cycle in current models is incomplete [Veres et al., PNAS, 2020].

Geostationary remote sensing of atmospheric composition - validation and new scientific capability

The NASA Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument launches in January 2023

Opportunity for new science in emissions, air quality, climate with high spatial resolution, hourly satellite data

Validation mission for NOAA in preparation for the 2030's Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) atmospheric composition instruments

AEROMMA will expand upon these new findings to assess their impacts on air quality and climate and improve our understanding of air pollution in a changing environment

Anticipated outcomes:

Timely information to environmental managers and stakeholder groups on emissions that impact climate and air quality.
Improvement in the representation of emissions and chemical and physical processes in the next generation NOAA weather-chemistry models.
Reductions in global climate model uncertainties through provisions of improved observational constraints.
Quantification of the emissions of VCPs (Volatile Chemical Products), cooking, mobile and other trace gas sources in urban areas.
Accurate representation of chemistry and aerosol microphysics in the marine atmosphere.
First comprehensive aircraft observations of atmospheric composition when TEMPO (Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring Pollution) is operational.
Value assessment and risk reduction for future satellite missions such as NOAA GeoXO (Geostationary Extended Observations).