The sensitivity of ozone to nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons in regional ozone episodes

TLDR

Ozone formation in rural areas differs from urban air, where both NOx and hydrocarbons drive ozone levels. The study examines how rural ozone responds to NOx and hydrocarbon emissions with a regional photochemical model. The authors employ a regional photochemical model to assess ozone sensitivity to NOx and hydrocarbon emissions. In rural regions, ozone production is limited by NOx and largely independent of hydrocarbons, with low NOx (<2 ppb) increases raising OH and oxidation rates that boost ozone, whereas urban plumes involve additional regional production.

Abstract

We examine the sensitivity of ozone concentrations in rural areas of the United States to emissions of NO x and hydrocarbons using a regional photochemical model. Ozone production in rural areas appears to be limited by the availability of NO x . Rural ozone is strongly dependent on emission rates for NO x but is almost independent of hydrocarbons. This relationship is quite different from that in urban air, where ozone levels depend on both NO x and hydrocarbons. The predicted relationship between ozone and nitrogen oxides appears to be consistent with observations in rural air. For the low NO x regime (&lt; 2 ppb) in rural areas, increases in NO x lead to increases in OH and to corresponding increases in the oxidation rate of hydrocarbons and in levels of ozone. Ozone concentrations in urban plumes appear to be related to regional scale production in addition to production within the plume.