Urban-Scale Boundary Layer and Lower Free Tropospheric Ozone Variability in Houston During DISCOVER-AQ (September 2013)

Houston is the 4th largest city in the U.S. and home to one of the world's largest petrochemical sectors. These factors, in combination with the Gulf coastal meteorology, combine to result in some of the highest levels of ozone pollution in the U.S. annually. Numerous observational campaigns have provided insights into the unique chemistry in the atmosphere above Houston. In this presentation, we leverage the DISCOVER-AQ flight plan design that included three circuits each flight day with 8 spiral locations on each circuit to examine the temporal and spatial variability of ozone around Houston. In addition, three sites released ozonesondes around Houston: the University of Houston, Smith Point, and Ellington Field. The first two sites coordinated launches with the P-3 flight circuits. We compare the ozonesonde profiles with the profiles from the P-3 to validate the ozone measurements and observed gradients.