2013: A Year In Review

Transcription

1 2013: A Year In Review Laura Warren, Senior Meteorologist MARAMA Monitoring Committee Meeting December 11, 2013 Martin O Malley, Governor Anthony G. Brown, Lt. Governor Robert M. Summers, Ph.D., Secretary

2 2013: A Year In Review 2013 Ozone Season Why so clean in the Mid-Atlantic? Studying Ozone in the Chesapeake Bay Utilizing the EPA CASTNET Monitors Progress with PM 2.5 Page 2

3 2013 Ozone Season 9 Maryland exceedance days, > 75 ppb 8-hour daily max 9 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG), or Orange, days 0 Unhealthy, or Red, days Well below the 5-year average of 29 Maryland exceedance days 6 out of 9 days were ppb for the 8-hour daily max 7 out of 9 days were only measured by 1 monitor July 19, 2013, Maryland s worst (and last) day of the season 83 ppb at the Fairhill monitor was the highest 8-hour daily max Total of 3 monitors observed this exceedance day MD Daily Max 8-Hour Ozone (ppb) /16/13 4/30/13 5/14/13 5/28/13 6/11/13 6/25/13 7/9/13 7/23/13 8/6/13 8/20/13 9/3/ data are preliminary. Information above is based on Maryland only monitors.

4 2013 Ozone Season How did 2013 compare to recent years in other states? Mid-Atlantic: Below Average Northeast: Mostly Average Connecticut measured the most ozone days 18 exceedance days in 2013 compared with a 5-year average of 18.6 days Page data are preliminary. Data: CTDEEP, EPA Region 1, AirNow-Tech

5 2013 Ozone Season Why was the Mid-Atlantic so clean? Meteorological factors? Location of westward extension of the Bermuda High Temperature Predominant wind direction Cloud cover Also potentially due to continued progress of emission controls programs Let s examine meteorological variability in 2013 Page 5

6 Surface Temperature 2013 Anomaly Warmer in Northeast, cooler in the central U.S. Sea Level Pressure 2013 Mean Stronger surface high pressure, centered slightly N H Temperature Average conditions in the Mid-Atlantic Slightly above average in the Northeast Pressure Patterns Close to average conditions The center of the Bermuda High shifted slightly to the north

7 925mb Winds 2013 Mean Surface Outgoing Longwave Radiation 2013 Anomaly Strong winds closer to the coast and more southerly wind component Cloudier in eastern U.S. Less Clouds Predominant Winds South to southeasterly flow occurred more frequently H Stronger winds closer to the coast Cloud Cover Negative outgoing longwave radiation (surrogate for cloud cover) means more cloud cover Cloudier conditions over the Mid-Atlantic More Clouds

8 Contribution of Emission Controls Programs Maryland 8-hour Ozone Exceedances and 90 F Days at BWI Ozone Exceedances 90 Degree Days Number of Days Ozone exceedance days are now always lower than the number of 90 days since 2009 in Maryland Very Unhealthy (Purple) and Unhealthy (Red) days are much less common in recent years 2013 data are preliminary.

9 Studying Ozone in the Chesapeake Bay 10 mi Temporary monitor located at Worton, MD along the Chesapeake Bay ¼ mile from the bay 2B Technology portable ozone monitor (POM) with meteorology Solar powered Goal of examining how much ozone may become trapped in the bay Real-time data sent to AirNow-Tech to benefit air quality forecasters Page 9 Photo Credit: Chris Smith, MDE

10 Studying Ozone in the Chesapeake Bay Daily Max 8-Hr Ave. Ozone (ppb) Worton & Millington Worton Ozone and Nearby Monitors Worton Edgewood Millington 0 5/31/2013 6/12/2013 6/24/2013 7/6/2013 7/18/2013 7/30/2013 8/11/2013 8/23/2013 Worton observed 1 exceedance day, on the same day as Millington Worton did not show unique ozone measurements as anticipated However, it is difficult to determine if this was due to the low ozone season or its site characteristics Page 10

11 Utilizing EPA CASTNET Monitors EPA CASTNET updated its QA/QC procedures since 2011 Daily Max 8-Hr Ave. Ozone (ppb) CASTNET Beltsville & MDE HU-Beltsville Beltsville HU-Beltsville CASTNET design values will be ready for regulatory use Maryland s two CASTNETs are located near MDE sites MDE now uses CASTNET sites to trigger real-time air quality notifications to the public Daily Max 8-Hr Ave. Ozone (ppb) CASTNET Blackwater NWR & MDE Horn Point Blackwater NWR Horn Point CASTNET and MDE sites are well correlated CASTNET ozone often measures slightly higher than MDE sites 0 Page 11

12 Utilizing EPA CASTNET Monitors EPA CASTNET Ozone 2012 Design Values CASTNET sites in MD Maryland Nonattainment Areas (NAA) Design values at CASTNET Beltsville are a little higher than HU-Beltsville, but still 84 ppb in 2012 and 2013 Will the Eastern Shore require a new nonattainment area? Blackwater NWR design values Unofficial 2012: 78 ppb Preliminary 2013: 79 ppb MDE monitor, Horn Point, operational in 2012 Ozone at Horn Point and Blackwater NWR are generally similar making it safe to assume their design values will also be similar Credit: EPA CASTNET

13 Progress with PM 2.5 In December 2012, EPA revised the annual PM 2.5 NAAQS to 12.0 ug/m 3 Retained the 24-hour NAAQS of 35 ug/m 3 Most areas already meet the new annual NAAQS A few areas in the East continue to struggle with one or both of the 24-hour PM 2.5 NAAQS of 1997 and 2006 Page 13 NAAQS: National Ambient Air Quality Standard, Credit: EPA

14 Progress with PM 2.5 Annual PM 2.5 (ug/m 3 ) Annual Fine Particles in Maryland Daily Fine Particles in Maryland Daily PM 2.5 (ug/m 3 ) Maryland is below both the annual and the daily PM 2.5 standards Seeking attainment status from EPA for Baltimore and Washington, D.C. nonattainment areas (NAA) Maryland Healthy Air Act and other state, regional, and federal control strategies have played a large role in this progress Maryland experienced only 4 PM 2.5 exceedance days so far in 2013 Page 14

15 Revised PM 2.5 AQI Category Air Quality Index (AQI) O 3 8-hr average concentration (ppb) O 3 Health Effects PM hr average concentration (µg/m 3 ) Good None None PM 2.5 Health Effects Moderate People who are unusually sensitive to pollution People who are unusually sensitive to pollution Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) Children, elderly, active adults, & people with lung disease (including asthma) Unhealthy Everyone especially children, elderly, active adults, & people with lung disease Very Unhealthy Children, elderly, & people with heart or lung disease (including asthma) Everyone especially children, elderly, & people with heart or lung disease See Unhealthy AQI See Unhealthy AQI Hazardous See Unhealthy AQI See Unhealthy AQI Credit: AirNow Page 15 National Ambient Air Quality Standards and AQI are reevaluated by U.S. EPA every 5 years. The next reevaluation is for ozone (O 3 ) pollution. Revised by U.S. EPA EFFECTIVE MARCH 18, 2013

16 Revised PM 2.5 AQI Change in 24-Hour PM 2.5 AQI for Maryland Good Moderate USG Unhealthy 5 days 0.2 days Average No. of Days for 5 Years ( ) Region +70 days No Change in USG, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy AQI Days Previous Moderate AQI Days Previous AQI Revised AQI Revised Moderate AQI Days Average No. of Days for 5 Years ( ) Metro Baltimore Metro Washington Eastern Shore Western Maryland Impacts of the new AQI No change to Code Orange+ Maryland will see about 70 more Code Yellow, or Moderate, days for PM 2.5 Moderate days by region: Baltimore Washington Eastern Shore W. Maryland +64 days +81 days +36 days +49 days More information at: tymonitoring/pages/aqfacts.aspx#2013aqi Page 16 Monitors from surrounding jurisdictions were used in regional AQI calculations. Winchester, VA was included in W. Maryland AQI days statistics.

17 Summary (1 of 2) The 2013 ozone season was below average for the Mid- Atlantic Northeast generally experienced an average ozone season Meteorological factors such as frequent low-level south to southeasterly flow and cloud cover resulted in the low ozone season, although continued effects from emission control programs also contributed Deployed a portable ozone monitor at Worton, MD to study ozone behavior in the Chesapeake Bay Results are inconclusive likely due to the low ozone season Page 17

18 Summary (2 of 2) Expanding role of EPA CASTNET ozone sites Now being utilized to notify Maryland residents of current air quality conditions First year that CASTNET will have official design values for regulatory use Both CASTNET and MDE sites relate well to one another, but CASTNET often measures higher ozone Possible new NAA on Eastern Shore with Blackwater NWR s preliminary 2013 design value of 79 ppb Change in the annual PM 2.5 NAAQS Maryland s PM 2.5 design values are below both NAAQS along with many other Mid-Atlantic states Revised 24-hour PM 2.5 AQI results in 70 additional Moderate AQI days on average in Maryland Page 18

19 Contacts Laura Warren Air Monitoring Program Air and Radiation Management Administration 19 Maryland Department of the Environment 1800 Washington Boulevard Baltimore, MD TTY Users: Martin O Malley, Governor Anthony G. Brown, Lt. Governor Robert M. Summers, Ph.D., Secretary