Determination and Evaluation of Greenhouse Gas and Pollutant Flux Estimates for the Baltimore/Washington Area

We present results from a combined surface-based, aircraft, and satellite measurement with numerical models, to quantify the flux of pollutants, both short and long lived, from the Baltimore/Washington area. Urban areas are a dominant and growing source of emissions leading to photochemical smog and climate forcing, but the rate of release of species such as CO, NOx, SO₂, CO₂, and CH₄ remains uncertain. WRF modeling and data assimilation techniques help provide reliable meteorological fields with quantified uncertainties.  This presentation will summarize recent results that estimate the flux of these species, the relative importance of various sources, and the trends. NOx, CO, VOC’s and SO₂ have demonstrably improved in recent years, but such trends are not clear for greenhouse gases. New understanding of relative contribution from oil and gas operations, electricity generation, and mobile sources is presented.