LISTOS 2018: How Land-Water Interactions Affect Ozone Transport in the Long Island Sound Area

Air quality is a persistent issue for many states in the northeast United States during the summer months, causing respiratory health issues for many residents. One of the most significant pollutants contributing to poor air quality is tropospheric ozone (O3). Ozone is considered an oxidizer which can be created rapidly in the atmosphere given sufficient levels of precursors; including NOx, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and sunlight. This process can be exacerbated by land-water interactions, making Long Island, NY and coastal Connecticut ideal locations for poor air quality to persist due to their close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS) was launched by Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) with the goal of better understanding the temporal and spatial evolution of tropospheric ozone in the New York City area as well as down-wind from this region. Meteorological balloons were deployed from the Flax Pond Marine Laboratory in Old Field, NY, located on the northern shore of Long Island. Eighteen EN-SI electrochemical cell (ECC) ozonesondes couple with Vaisala RS 41 radiosondes were deployed between June and August of 2018, in order to capture vertical profiles of ozone, temperature, pressure and relative humidity throughout the troposphere. These ozone profiles, along with meteorological data from the New York State Mesonet and other sources, will be used to investigate the complex system of the sea breeze, sound breeze and the background flow to describe the transport of ozone in the Long Island Sound area. The resulting analysis will contribute to better understanding the mechanisms by which high surface pressure coupled with westerly winds throughout the profile transport ozone and its precursors from New York City and the I-95 corridor eastward towards the Long Island Sound, causing unsafe levels of ozone at the surface for single or multiday events on Long Island and coastal Connecticut.