The San Joaquin Valley is home to four of the top ten most ozone polluted cities in the United States. Despite years of air quality controls and regulations, the San Joaquin Valley frequently violates California's 8-hour ozone standard of 70 ppb. Tropospheric ozone production results from nonlinear and complex chemistry involving a number of key precursors: odd hydrogen radicals (HOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This study examines relationships between ozone production, organic reactivity, and NOx concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley based on measurements taken from the June 18th, 2016 SARP mission. The organic reactivity is defined as the abundance of VOCs weighted by reaction rates with the hydroxyl radical, which is a member of the HOx family. We utilize an analytical model to simulate ozone production and identify regions of interest in the San Joaquin Valley and test two potential controls over local ozone production: additional reductions in anthropogenic emissions in the region and the suppression of VOC emissions due to drought stress.

Presentation Slides: https://www.scribd.com/document/321271585/Investigating-O3-Production-in-the-San-Joaquin-Valley#fullscreen&from_embed