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| CalNex | |
|---|---|
| Name | CalNex |
| Caption | California Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Change |
| Date | May–June 2010 |
| Location | California |
| Type | Field study |
| Organizers | California Air Resources Board; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
| Participants | Multiple universities and agencies |
CalNex
CalNex was a large-scale atmospheric science field study conducted in California in 2010 that investigated interactions between air quality, atmospheric chemistry, and climate processes. The project brought together observational platforms, modelers, and policy analysts from agencies and universities to address ozone precursors, particulate matter, and trace gases over urban, coastal, and free-tropospheric environments.
CalNex aimed to quantify chemical and physical processes controlling air pollutants and climate-relevant species by integrating measurements and models from multiple institutions such as the California Air Resources Board, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Objectives included resolving photochemical production of ozone linked to emissions inventories used by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, assessing secondary organic aerosol formation relevant to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments, and evaluating transport processes tied to El Niño–Southern Oscillation and regional meteorology. The campaign sought to inform regulatory decisions by state agencies including the South Coast Air Quality Management District and national science priorities from bodies like the National Research Council.
The study combined airborne campaigns, ground sites, and modeling intercomparisons guided by frameworks from programs such as the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme and World Meteorological Organization. Sampling strategies targeted the Los Angeles Basin, the San Joaquin Valley, and coastal receptor sites including Point Reyes to constrain vertical mixing and sea-breeze dynamics documented in studies by Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of California, Los Angeles. Flight plans were coordinated among platforms operated by NASA Ames Research Center, NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, and university teams from University of California, Irvine and California Institute of Technology. Models used included regional chemical transport models developed at National Center for Atmospheric Research, chemical mechanisms from Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, and inverse-emission approaches influenced by techniques from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
Airborne instruments aboard research aircraft included cavity ring-down spectrometers influenced by designs at Harvard University, aerosol mass spectrometers developed at Aerodyne Research, and remote sensors such as lidars with heritage from Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Ground sites hosted gas chromatography systems from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography network, denuders and filter samplers operated by University of California, Berkeley, and photochemical titration systems adapted from techniques at California Institute of Technology. Coastal monitoring used shipboard inlets influenced by methods at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and tethered balloon sondes similar to deployments by University of Washington. Vertical profiling utilized ozonesondes from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and radiosondes provided by National Weather Service stations.
CalNex results demonstrated strong photochemical ozone production driven by volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides consistent with prior observational syntheses by Environmental Defense Fund-linked studies and modeling studies from Stanford University. Measurements revealed secondary organic aerosol formation pathways influenced by biogenic emissions from regions monitored by U.S. Forest Service and anthropogenic emissions characterized by inventories from California Air Resources Board. Observations identified long-range transport of pollutants linked to subtropical jets studied by National Aeronautics and Space Administration researchers and enhanced particulate matter episodes associated with wildfire plumes consistent with analyses by U.S. Geological Survey. Data constrained model biases highlighted by intercomparisons with simulations from NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and assimilation approaches used by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.
Findings supported revisions to emissions control strategies considered by California Air Resources Board and informed ambient standards deliberated at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Improved source attribution aided local planning by metropolitan entities such as the South Coast Air Quality Management District and statewide air quality forecasting managed through collaborations with California Governor's Office of Planning and Research. The campaign provided evidence relevant to climate mitigation dialogues involving stakeholders like the California Air Pollution Control Officers Association and regional transportation agencies including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
CalNex involved federal agencies including NASA, NOAA, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; state institutions such as California Air Resources Board; academic partners including California Institute of Technology, University of California, Irvine, University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Washington; nonprofit collaborators and national labs including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. International collaborators and model groups from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, and National Center for Atmospheric Research contributed to synthesis and intercomparison efforts.
CalNex generated observational datasets archived with data centers and distributed through portals maintained by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information that have supported subsequent analyses by researchers at Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University, and Yale University. The campaign legacy influenced follow-on projects, measurement strategies in programs such as AIRS and ARCTAS, and policy assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and state regulatory reviews, leaving a lasting resource for studies of atmospheric chemistry, transport, and policy evaluation.
Category:Field experiments in atmospheric chemistry