Collaborative Research: Greater New York (NY) Oxidant, Trace gas, Halogen, and Aerosol Airborne Mission (GOTHAAM)

纽约市（NYC）地区是美国除加州外臭氧（O3）污染水平最高的地区，对2000多万人造成了不利影响。在这次合作的实地活动中，来自9个机构的14名调查人员打算使用NSF的C-130研究飞机装载最先进的仪器来研究大纽约地区的空气质量。气体和颗粒物将在夏季收集，当时空气质量受到附近森林，海洋表面和人类活动排放的影响。这些新信息将有助于增加对O3和颗粒物（PM）污染形成的理解。通过共享和传播结果，该地区和其他类似大城市的空气质量机构可以采取行动，以减轻有害污染。建议从四个方面研究产生O3和PM的过程，重点关注挥发性有机化合物（VOC）的形态，二次有机气溶胶（SOA）的演变，氧化剂浓度和夜间化学。特别令人感兴趣的是挥发性化学产品（VCPs）的排放，最近受到关注，作为城市环境中VOC的潜在主要来源，它们有助于气溶胶的形成。分别在海洋上空和指定机场进行飞机下降和误着陆的组合，旨在提供所测量物种的垂直分布图，其中许多物种是表面排放的，寿命很短。天气和化学预报模型将为飞行计划提供信息。结果将与2015年2月至3月在美国东北部举行的冬季活动期间研究团队的一部分收集的结果直接可比。夏季有机污染物的生物输入量和光化学活性的增加将是显著的差异。观测结果将与区域和化学建模相结合，以提高对沿海大城市O3和SOA形成的理解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The New York City (NYC) region has the highest level of ozone (O3) pollution in the United States outside of California, adversely affecting more than 20 million people. In this collaborative field campaign, 14 investigators from 9 institutions intend to study air quality in the greater NYC region using NSF’s C-130 research aircraft loaded with state-of-the-art instrumentation. Gases and particles will be collected during summer when air masses are influenced by emissions from nearby forests, ocean surfaces, and human activities. This new information will help increase understanding of formation of O3 and particulate matter (PM) pollution. By sharing and disseminating results, air quality agencies in the region and other similar mega cities can take action to mitigate harmful pollution.A 4-pronged scientific approach is suggested to study processes that produce O3 and PM, and that focus on volatile organic compound (VOC) speciation, secondary organic aerosol (SOA) evolution, oxidant concentrations, and nighttime chemistry. Of particular interest is the emission of volatile chemical products (VCPs) that have received recent attention as potentially dominant sources of VOCs in urban environments where they contribute to aerosol formation. A combination of aircraft descents and missed approaches over the ocean and at designated airports, respectively, are designed to provide vertical profiles of measured species, many of which are surface-emitted and have short lifetimes. Weather and chemistry forecasting models will inform flight plans. Results will be directly comparable to those gathered by a subset of the research team during the WINTER campaign that took place over the NE US in February-March 2015. Of significant difference will be the higher biological input of VOCs and increased photochemical activity during summer. Observations will be combined with regional and chemical modeling to improve understanding of O3 and SOA formation in a coastal mega city.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.