EPA STAR Grants Contribution to the SOAS Campaign SHERRI HUNT Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; OVERVIEW The Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) is a community-led field campaign that was part of the Southeast Atmosphere Study (SAS), a major collaborative project involving the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and dozens of additional research institutions. These partners combined resources to support the scientific community’s vision to understand and characterize air quality and climate in the Southeast US, allowing for significant leveraging of measurements, minds, and infrastructure. In 2013, the EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants program funded fourteen projects, including six early career scientists, to participate in SOAS-related research. In addition to the coordinated summer 2013 field measurements, laboratory experiments and modeling studies with strong linkages to the field campaign work are also planned. This poster provides an overview of the STAR grants program’s contribution to SOAS within the larger SAS campaign. SOAS CAMPAIGN Motivation: Planning for the SOAS campaign began over two years ago as the scientific community identified the need for a rich data set in order to understand how organic aerosol is formed, its impact on regional air quality and climate, and the anthropogenic influence on organic aerosol formation. The Southeast US was an ideal location for the study since it is hot, sunny, forested, and impacted by pollution from cities. Significance: In summer 2013, more than 100 university and federal scientists deployed ground-based and airborne instruments in multiple locations. These detailed measurements over multiple spatial and temporal scales will enable scientists and modelers to better understand the complex chemistry that occurs as an air mass ages and is transported across a region. Communications: Public open houses were held at the Alabama and Tennessee sites in June 2013 to give surrounding communities an opportunity to see the state-of-the-art measurement instruments while engaging with the researchers on the ground. Dozens of media outlets across the country covered the field study through videos, blogs, newspaper articles, and interviews. EPA STAR PROJECTS OVERVIEW The STAR projects relate to each part of the organic aerosol system (see Figure), addressing three main Research Questions: 1. How do anthropogenic emissions influence the oxidation of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and the subsequent formation of secondary organic aerosol, ozone, stable organic intermediates or reactive nitrogen compounds? 2. How can the linkages between gas phase chemistry and secondary organic aerosol formation be improved in air quality models using observations of gas and aerosol concentration and properties? 3. How are the climatically relevant properties of biogenic secondary organic aerosols (either optical properties or cloud interactions) impacted by anthropogenic emissions? FUTURE ACTIVITIES/GOALS A joint meeting is planned for Spring 2014, including both a grantee progress review for the EPA STAR projects and a workshop involving many of the scientists who participated in the SOAS campaign. The goal of this meeting is to promote early results from these projects to ensure that this work will be used and can achieve the following goals: Integration into the CMAQ model. This model allows scientists and air quality managers to simulate different air quality scenarios and quantify the environmental, human health, and climate-related benefits of reducing emissions from different sources. Improve the accuracy of air quality plans. This will improve the accuracy of the air models that are used by states to develop plans to reduce air pollution and meet air quality standards. Models that are more reflective of the real air pollution mixture and its behavior support the development of more effective plans to improve air quality across the country. Improve the accuracy of climate models. This will allow scientists to understand, anticipate, and prepare for potential future climate changes. Improve air pollution measurement technologies. These technologies are used to address emerging air pollution issues and improve the spatial and temporal coverage of air pollution measurement data. The field campaign has already resulted in extensive datasets that will greatly improve our understanding of the role that man-made pollution plays in the formation of organic aerosol and the role that this aerosol has in impacting regional climate. As the data is shared and analyzed and complementary lab and modeling studies are completed, scientists will achieve a better understanding of these processes and help the EPA continue its work of protecting people's health and the environment. WEB RESOURCES SOAS Overview Summary: STAR Grantee Projects: The main site for SOAS is in Centreville, AL, with satellite sites located in Look Rock, TN, and Research Triangle Park, NC. SAS research aircraft were based in Smyrna, TN. SMYRNA LOOK ROCK RTP CENTREVILLE SOAS MEASUREMENTS AIR GROUND TOWER NOAA’s P-3 aircraft and the NSF/ NCAR C-130 participated in Smyrna, TN. EPA supported two instruments on the P-3. A highly instrumented site was located in Centreville, AL, which has a long term measurement record. Instruments in Look Rock, TN, will provide comparison data. A tower was built at the Centreville, AL site to make measurements 100 feet above the ground. Biogenic Emissions (BVOCs) Anthropogenic Emissions (VOCs, NO x, SO 2 ) Semi-volatile Oxidation Products Aqueous Phase Chemistry SOA O 3, OH, h ν (day) NO 3 (night) Gas-Particle Equilibruim Climate Impacts Mak, Stonybrook Univ.: Whole Air Sample Profiler (WASP) to measure biogenic VOC flux via a research aircraft Fry, Reed College: Gas and aerosol phase reactive nitrogen species Kim, Univ. of California at Irvine: Hydroxyl and peroxy radicals, sulfuric acid, and OH reactivity at high-time resolution Ng, Georgia Tech: Chamber experiments on nitrate chemistry in a range of conditions Stone, Univ. of Iowa: Organosulfate species behavior under acidic conditions Bertman, Western Michigan Univ.: Role of nitrate species in day vs. night SOA production Williams, Washington Univ.: Composition and hygroscopicity; future St. Louis field study Surratt, Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Isoprene- derived epoxides at Look Rock, TN Russell, Univ. of California at San Diego: Organic functional groups of PM 2.5 at Look Rock, TN Pandis, Carnegie Mellon: Lab experiments and modeling on SOA formation and aging Ng, Georgia Tech: Lab experiments on multiday processing, RH, acidity Turpin, Rutgers Univ.: Aqueous phase chemistry of gaseous species; evaluation using CMAQ Keutsch, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison: Formaldehyde on-board the NOAA P-3 Nenes, Georgia Tech: CCN on-board the NOAA P-3; cloud droplet formation to improve climate-air quality models Stone, Univ. of Iowa: Radiative properties and CCN activity of organosulfate species Khlystov, Research Triangle Institute: Optical properties of biogenic SOA influenced by anthropogenic activities bSOA /aSOA #A13A-0180 Be on the lookout for this logo on other posters, which indicates it is an EPA STAR-funded project. EPA SCIENTIST INVOLVEMENT As part of this collaborative effort, EPA scientists are developing advanced computational models and conducting novel field measurements in Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee to better understand the processes that control the formation of regulated pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter. An important and novel contribution of EPA scientists is the use of a SOA tracer method that allows them to determine the sources of SOA, by measuring for specific chemical “marker” compounds. This allows them to differentiate man-made SOA sources from natural sources. EPA scientists are also conducting a variety of laboratory and modeling research efforts in support of SOAS, including identifying the climate forcing influences of airborne particles, and using CMAQ to simulate the concentrations of the chemical compounds that form SOA. EPA scientists will later compare modeled results with those measured in the field. Study results will be used to further understanding of SOA chemistry and sources and will also provide important information about SOA formation for CMAQ. EPA scientists made measurements in Research Triangle Park, NC, and will continue to analyze data collected to produce improved air quality models. Disclaimer: This poster’s contents are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of the US EPA. Further, US EPA does not endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in the poster. Aerosol 2-methyltetrols from isoprene