Ozone pollution in the United States is typically a summertime phenomenon that is acute within and downwind of urban areas.  In many regions, it has decreased substantially in recent years due to controls on emissions of its nitrogen oxide (NO--x) and volatile organic compound (VOC) precursors.  An important exception has been oil and gas producing regions of the western U.S., which have experienced recent and large ozone pollution events that occur during winter, rather than summer.  The Uintah Basin Winter Ozone Studies (UBWOS) took place in January and February of three consecutive winters (2012 � 2014) at a remote location in northeast Utah.  Meteorology and ozone varied considerably across these studies.  We have developed a detailed photochemical model, informed by detailed measurements of NO-x, VOCs and radical precursors, to better understand the cause of these unusual ozone events.  The analysis further provides new insights into the more general response of ozone to VOC and NO-x emissions during the winter season.  This presentation will describe the current state of understanding of winter ozone based on recent results from these studies.

Winter ozone photochemistry in an oil and gas producing mountain basin

248th National Meeting (2014)

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