The 2017 El Paso Ozone Transport Field Study

Ozonesondes are small, compact balloon borne and commonly-used instruments which provide vertical profile of ozone concentration throughout both troposphere and stratosphere. New Mexico State University in cooperation with the University of Texas at El Paso and St Edwards University launched over 50 ozonesondes from five different sites located in El Paso, TX during summer, 2017 with a focus on Ozone Action Days. In this study, trends and variability in vertical ozone profile measurements have been investigated. Local trends in ozone concentration may vary by meteorological conditions, precursor emissions as well as topographical and temporal influences. Other local variables are included in the analysis such as barometric pressure, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and solar radiation. To evaluate the impacts of ozone from areas outside of El Paso, we use HYSPLIT back trajectories to identify meteorological patterns and airmass pathways associated with high ozone.