Tropospheric ozonesonde profiles at long-term U.S. monitoring sites: 2. Links between Trinidad Head, CA, profile clusters and inland surface ozone measurements

Abstract

Much attention has been focused on the transport of ozone (O₃) to the western U.S., particularly given the latest revision of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard to 70 parts per billion by volume (ppbv) of O₃. This makes quantifying the contributions of stratosphere-to-troposphere exchange, local pollution, and pollution transport to this region essential. To evaluate free-tropospheric and surface O₃ in the western U.S., we use self-organizing maps to cluster 18 years of ozonesonde profiles from Trinidad Head, CA. Three of nine O₃ mixing ratio profile clusters exhibit thin laminae of high O₃ above Trinidad Head. The high O₃ layers are located between 1 and 6 km above mean sea level and reside above an inversion associated with a northern location of the Pacific subtropical high. Ancillary data (reanalyses, trajectories, and remotely sensed carbon monoxide) help identify the high O₃ sources in one cluster, but distinguishing mixed influences on the elevated O₃ in other clusters is difficult. Correlations between the elevated tropospheric O₃ and surface O₃ at high-altitude monitors at Lassen Volcanic and Yosemite National Parks, and Truckee, CA, are marked and long lasting. The temporal correlations likely result from a combination of transport of baseline O₃ and covarying meteorological parameters. Days corresponding to the high O₃ clusters exhibit hourly surface O₃ anomalies of +5–10 ppbv compared to a climatology; the positive anomalies can last up to 3 days after the ozonesonde profile. The profile and surface O₃ links demonstrate the importance of regular ozonesonde profiling at Trinidad Head.