South Central Coast Cooperative Aerometric Monitoring Program
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Walter F. Dabberdt1 and South Central Coast Cooperative William Viezee2 Aerometric Monitoring Program (SCCCAMP) Abstract The SCCCAMP field measurement program, conducted 3 September to 7 October 1985, is the most comprehensive mesoscale photochemical study of its type ever undertaken. The study area encompasses 2 X 104 km2 of coastal and interior south-central California including the Santa Barbara Channel. A review of earlier experimental and analytical studies in the area is followed by the organizational framework and planning for this cooperative program. The experimental design and measurement systems are described. Existing ground-based meteoro- logical and air pollution networks were supplemented by additional surface aerometric stations, dual Doppler radars, rawinsondes, and a network of Doppler acoustic profilers. Airborne measurement platforms included one dual-channel lidar, three aerometric sampling aircraft,3 and a meteorological research aircraft. Gas tracer tests included 4-h releases of three perfluorocarbon gas tracers. Tracer measurements were FIG. 1. Topographic map of SCCCAMP region. made over two-day periods at 50 surface locations and aloft by aircraft with a near-realtime two-trap chromatographic system. Four multi-day The SCCCAMP area has been the focus of intensive at- intensive operational periods (IOP) are described, and illustrative re- mospheric research studies for more than two decades during sults from one IOP are presented when extremely high ozone concen- trations were observed at ground level (230 ppb) and aloft (290 ppb). which numerous meteorological, air pollution, and gas-tracer The availability of the composite data base is indicated. measurement and analysis programs have been conducted. Edinger (1963) used aircraft soundings to investigate the mod- ification of the marine boundary layer (MBL) as it is advected through the Santa Clara River Valley. Baynton et al. (1965) 1. Introduction and background studied the association of low-level inversions at Point Arguello (about 20 km NW of Point Conception) with surface wind and The South Central Coast Cooperative Aerometric Monitoring temperature using 4-1/2 years of rawinsonde data. Lea (1968) Program (SCCCAMP) is a comprehensive experimental study analyzed lower tropospheric ozone profiles from 69 balloon- of boundary-layer dynamics and photochemistry on the meso- borne chemiluminescent sondes launched from Pt. Mugu over 0 scale in the coastal and interior portions of south-central a two-year period; these frequently showed a maximum above California encompassing the Santa Barbara Channel (Fig. 1). the base of the low-level subsidence inversion. Edinger and Intensive surface and bondary-layer measurements were made Wurtele (1971) again used aircraft observations in studying 4 2 over an area of approximately 2 x 10 km during the period MBL structure in the offshore region between Palos Verdes- 3 September to 7 October 1985. The objectives were to in- Catalina Island in the Los Angeles basin and Pt. Conception. vestigate the physical mechanisms that infrequently create ex- Giroux et al. (1974) and Lamb et al. (1978) undertook separate cessive concentrations of photochemical oxidant at ground gas tracer studies using sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) released from level, and to provide a comprehensive data base for develop- the stack of the Ormand Beach Generating Station on the coast ment and evaluation of a mesoscale photochemical simulation near Port Hueneme. Kauper and Niemann (1975) obtained ver- model. Measurements were made continually by surface and tical profiles of ozone and temperature by aircraft in Ventura upper-air networks, while supplemental aircraft, radar, rawin- and Los Angeles Counties in an investigation of ozone trans- sonde, chemical, and gas tracer measurements were made dur- port. Dispersion characteristics of plumes from oil seeps off- ing four intensive operational periods (IOP). shore of Santa Barbara were studied by Maas and Harrison (1977). The structure of coastal stratus was addressed by Lee (1979) who used satellite observations to document terrain ef- fects of the Santa Ynez Mountains. 1 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307 (The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the Smith et al. (1983) analyzed meteorological, tracer, and air National Science Foundation). pollution data obtained by Lehrman et al. (1981), Hayden et 2 SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025. al. (1981), Schacher et al. (1982) and Zannetti et al. (1981) in 3 The western aerometric aircraft did not return from the evening joint studies conducted during September and October 1980 in flight of October 3, and is presumed to have been lost at sea in the vicinity of San Miguel Island. This review of the SCCCAMP field the offshore and coastal portions of the SCCCAMP region. The measurement program is dedicated to the memory of Joe Detweiler 1980 program consisted of six sets of tracer releases with sup- and Sandy McDonald, pilot and scientist aboard N6726Y. Their porting surface measurements of wind and ozone, pibal ob- warmth, friendship and contributions will not be forgotten. servations, and aircraft aerometric measurements. Smith et al. © 1987 American Meteorological Society suggested the existence of two significant atmospheric circu- 1098 Vol. 68, No. 9, September 1987 Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/04/21 05:12 AM UTC Bulletin American Meteorological Society 1099 lations in the Santa Barbara MBL: a large nocturnal closed cyclonic mid-channel eddy extending east-west from Ventura to Gaviota and north-south from the Santa Barbara coastline to the Channel Islands; and a daytime cyclonic Gaviota eddy in the lee of Pt. Conception. Figure 2 illustrates surface stream- lines for these two circulations constructed by Smith et al. from most frequent wind directions observed at 2-h intervals during the period 6 September-5 October 1980, at about 10 onshore stations and 3 offshore stations. The general flow pattern as- sociated with the mid-channel eddy (Fig. 2a) was observed to persist from 0100 to 0900 PDT; the Gaviota eddy (Fig. 2b) is clearly distinguishable on the 1100 and 1300 PDT maps. Be- tween 1500 and 1900 PDT the flow is primarily zonal, while the period from 2100 to 2300 PDT marks the development of the mid-channel eddy. The analyses of Smith et al. were limited by the lack of extensive observations offshore and through the boundary layer. However, the work is significant because it provided a preliminary conceptual model for understanding the importance of pollution sources and atmospheric transport within the SCCCAMP basin relative to advection of precursors and oxidants from adjacent regions. Bosart (1983) did an analysis of a four-day Catalina eddy event from May 1968, and established that the shallow low- level cyclonic circulation formed offshore of the Santa Barbara FIG. 2. Streamlines of most frequent September wind directions, coast and is due in part to topographic effects of the coastal after Smith et al. (1983). mountains. Once formed, the eddy was observed to expand seaward and southeastward beyond Los Angeles. Caldwell et radar), and a two-week period of intensive measurements that al. (1986) found considerable spatial and temporal mesoscale included hydrocarbon speciation, airborne remote sensing by wind variability during springtime (1983) in the western portion lidar, tetroon tracking, aerometric data from two aircraft, and of the Santa Barbara channel and coastal interior; two regions pilot-balloon-derived wind profiles at three locations. existed: an offshore region dominated by synoptic forcing, and The final design of the 1985 SCCCAMP continuous-moni- a coastal region influenced by the topography. And most re- toring network and intermittent-measurement facilities is doc- cently (prior to SCCCAMP), Blumenthal et al. (1986) described umented by Dabberdt et al. (1985), while the sampling criteria results of a limited experimental program of September 1983, and strategies for the intensive measurements are given by to document atmospheric transport from Los Angeles to Ventura Dabberdt and Viezee (1985). Detailed documentation of the County. Four transport mechanisms were observed, and in- operational aspects and meteorological conditions of the field cluded both coastal and interior and surface and elevated 4 measurements program is provided by Viezee and Dabberdt 'routes." (1987). In this review, we present descriptions of the mea- The organizational framework for SCCCAMP was estab- surement systems and the meteorological and chemical features lished in 1983 when a number of diverse groups formed an ad of the IOPs, and indicate the availability of the data base. hoc organization committed to a better understanding of the atmospheric physics and chemistry of the region for the explicit purpose of quantifying the impact of offshore petroleum activ- ities on photochemical oxidant levels. A formal memorandum 2. Experimental design and of agreement was subsequently adopted in 1985 by six gov- measurement systems ernmental agencies and one private organization: the regional office of the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Cali- The field measurement program was designed to provide me- fornia Air Resources Board, the Minerals Management Service teorological and air-chemistry data to initialize and evaluate of the US Department of Interior, the Air Pollution Control mesoscale models of boundary-layer dynamics and photochem- Districts of the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo,