# Appendix A: Back Trajectory Analysis of Beta ExtinctionTable 1 below presents the b ext summary statistics by year for selected pollutants at the Cape Romain (45-019-0046) monitoring station. Data was accessed via the VIEWS 2.0 Data Wizard ( http://views.cira.colostate.edu/web/DataWizard/ ) utilizing the IMPROVE Aerosol, RHR (New Equation) dataset.

Table 1: Extinction Summary Statistics for Cape Romain

Parameter b ext Year Minimum Maximum Median Arithmetic Mean Standard Deviation 2006 10.92 215.52 46.24 60.30 44.04 2007 5.35 327.53 31.83 46.85 45.05 2008 6.98 132.49 34.92 40.49 25.90 2009 2.53 110.65 29.53 33.00 19.13 AMM. SO 4

2010 6.59 92.86 29.03 33.65 16.63 2006 0.77 14.21 3.05 3.83 2.34 2007 0.64 16.77 3.93 4.52 2.65 2008 0.69 19.12 3.91 4.52 2.90 2009 0.33 12.78 3.23 3.85 2.54 AMM. NO 3

2010 0.80 15.63 3.73 4.31 2.91 2006 0.20 38.01 8.98 10.54 7.45 2007 1.24 69.62 7.50 10.54 9.07 2008 0.88 33.95 7.31 8.88 5.84 2009 0.84 30.70 6.59 7.93 5.45 POM

2010 1.04 149.08 7.02 10.36 15.09 2006 0.00 13.56 3.71 3.99 2.75 2007 0.00 12.22 2.48 3.17 2.49 2008 0.00 12.48 2.28 2.59 2.03 2009 0.02 7.91 2.06 2.26 1.50 EC

2010 0.03 15.07 2.27 2.88 2.41 2006 0.04 6.77 0.36 0.62 0.90 2007 0.04 6.00 0.39 0.58 0.74 2008 0.03 7.56 0.44 0.69 0.92 2009 0.01 6.30 0.39 0.66 0.96 SOIL

2010 0.08 12.71 0.43 0.74 1.34 2006 0.03 9.74 3.07 3.26 1.81 2007 0.28 12.90 3.60 3.83 1.87 2008 0.51 11.99 3.01 3.41 1.84 2009 0.31 9.80 3.14 3.35 1.71 CM

2010 0.34 17.09 3.23 3.56 2.32 2006 0.00 40.31 0.65 3.29 6.81 2007 0.00 31.75 0.95 2.92 4.67 2008 0.00 36.38 0.88 4.06 7.50 2009 0.00 20.98 0.76 2.81 4.27 SEA SALT

2010 0.00 21.01 0.34 2.10 4.07
Percent change in Arithmetic Mean

Table 2 indicates that during the 5-year period examined for the mid-course review, most of the b ext averages decreased. The larg est percent decrease was in b ext values for ammonium sulfate, most likely due to the increase in controls installed on facilities in the region. POM, which canbe used as an indicator of emissions due to fires, remained relatively unchanged through the period.

Table 2: Percent Change in Arithmetic Mea n for Major Haze Components at Cape Romain

Parameter Percent Change (2006 – 2010) AMM. SO 4 -44% AMM. NO 3 13% POM -2% EC -28% SOIL 20% CM 9% SEA SALT -36%

The graphic below contains the 5-year average b ext values for the major components of regional haze at Cape Romain. After ammonium sulfate (64.1%), the next larges t fraction of regional haze at Cape Romain is POM (14.4%) which is one of the indicators of impacts from smoke.Figure 1: Five-Year Beta Extinction for Major Haze Components at Cape Romain

As stated above, b ext values for sulfate have been reduced during the 2006 – 2010 time period. Time series graphs for the major regional haze co mponents are presented below. Spikes seen in the POM time graph suggest impacts from fire s and will be discussed in the next section.High POM (or OMC) concentrations are one of thr ee indicators of fire impacts. In addition to POM, ambient concentrations of EC 1 and non-soil potassium (KNON) 2 should be examined. According to the IMPROVE website:

“ Fine potassium has two major sources, soil and smoke, with the smoke potassium on much smaller particles than the soil potassium. The potassium in coarse particles will be solely produced fr om soil. The soil potassium is estimated from the measured concentration of Fe and the ratio of K/Fe of 0.6 measured on coarse samples (2.5 to 15 μm) colle cted between 1982 and 1986. This ratio depends on the soil composition and varies sli ghtly from site to site. If the ratio were slightly smaller (say 0.5), the KNON values will be negative when there is no smoke influence. The residual potassi um, K - 0.6*Fe, is then assumed to be produced by smoke. The burning of most organic fuels will produce potassium vapor. During transport, th is vapor will transform into fine particles. The KNON parameter is not a quantitative measure of the total smoke mass, since the ratio of nonsoil potassium to total smoke mass will vary widely, depending on the fuel type and the transport time. However, the KNON parameter can be used as an indicator of a nonsoil cont ribution for samples with large KNON. In some situations there may be some fine Fe from industrial sources which could cause occasional smoke episodes to be lost.” 2

The top five POM b ext values were examined in order to determine if there were potential impacts from fires. These dates and time were then cross referenced using the University of Maryland Baltimore County’s (UMBC) US Air Quality Weblog (USAQ) – “Smog Blog.” The USAQ is a daily diary of air quality in the U. S. prepared using information from satellites, ground-based measurements, and mode ls. Interpretation and analysis are provided by the staff of the UMBC, Atmosphere Lidar Group. 3 To conduct this analysis, b ack trajectories, examination of EC, POM and KNON for the two samples prior to immediately proceeding the high bext day and entries from “The Smog Blog” 4 were examined.

Table 3 contains the dates and va lues for the five highest POM b ext sampling events at Cape Romain.

1 Email communication with Dr. James Boylan, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, June 11, 2012.
2 http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/improve/Tools/AerTypeEqs.htm.
3 UMBC, US Air Quality Weblog, http://alg.umbc.edu/usaq/ , last accessed on June 14, 2012.
4 http://alg.umbc.edu/usaq/Table 3: Five Highest POM D ays at Cape Romain (2006-2010)

Date POM b ext value (Mm -1 ) 11/19/2010 149.08 5/3/2007 69.61 4/2/2010 51.47 2/17/2007 46.54 3/9/2010 44.09

Thirty-six hour back trajectories were r un using the HYSPLIT (H ybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model for th e Cape Romain monitori ng site (45-019-0046) located in Charleston County on the five highest POM b ext days from 2006 - 2010.

The back trajectories were run using the NAM (North American Mesoscale Model) Eta Data Assimilation System (EDAS) 40 kilometer grid at four different vertical heights (10 meters, 300 meters, 500 meters, and 1000 meters). Back traj ectory meteorological files are downloaded from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini stration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory website ( ftp://arlftp.arlhq.noaa.gov/pub/archives/edas40 ).

The following section of text provides a more detail ed explanation and review of the five highest POM b ext days from 2006-2010.November 19, 2010 (POM b ext : 149.08 Mm -1 )

The lowest level back trajectory shows air moving slowly from North Carolina southward to the coast then down the coast to the Cape Romain monitor. The mid-level trajectories shows air moving out of the Ohio River Valley to the Mid- Atlantic coast then southward down the coast to the Cape Romain monitor. The upper-level traj ectory shows air moving from eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina to the Atlan tic coast then south to Cape Romain.

An examination of EC, POM and KNON ambient c oncentrations during the high bext day shows an increase in all three parameters as comp ared to prior and subsequent measurements.Smog Blog entry: FIRES AND CODE ORANGE PM 2.5 LEVELS IN GEORGIA
AND FLORIDA; CONTINUING BAD AIR QUALITY IN

CALIFORNIA PM2.5 levels (top left, courtesy AIRNow ) across the country were mostly good wit exception to the southern region of the country and California. In the south, NOAA's Hazard Mapping Sy stem (HMS, top right) reports smoke and fires in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North and South Carolina. Smoke from fires in Georgia and Alabama were observed by the MODIS TERRA true color image (bottom). PM2.5 levels in these states were mostly Code Yellow (Moderate). Code Orange (Unhealthy for sensitive Groups) PM2.5 levels were observed in Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. Code Red (Unhealthy) PM2.5 levels were reported in Georgia,just above the Florida state line. In California, Code Orange and Code Red PM2.5 levels were reported today. Due to cloud coverage across the state, HMS was unable to detect any fires that may be continuing to burn and affect the local air quality, as have been reported on this blog for the past couple of days.

In other parts of the country, smoke from fires was reported off the coast of North Carolina ad in Texas. A pl ume of smoke was reported in western Texas, however there are no fires in the vicinity.

Posted by Jaime Compton at 7:50 PM | Comments (0)May 3, 2007 (POM b ext : 69.61 Mm -1 ) The back trajectory analysis in the lower and mi d-levels show air parc els originating off the southeast coast and northeastern Florida, moving northward up the coast and to Cape Romain. The upper-level trajectory shows air origina ting across southwestern Georgia, moving up through south-central Georgia, across sout h-central South Carolina to Cape Romain.

An examination of EC, POM and KNON ambient c oncentrations during the high bext day shows an increase in all three parameters as comp ared to prior and subsequent measurements.Smog Blog entry: OTHER COVERAGE OF THE FIRES IN GEORGIA

Our colleagues at the Cooperative Inst itute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) at the University of Wisconsin have also been covering the fires in Georgia. Check out the posts on their meteorological blog about
the smoke today and a multi-day analysis a couple days ago

.

Posted by Jill Engel-Cox at 11:37 PM
SMOKE COVERS THE SOUTHEAST U.S. AND GULF OF

MEXICO

The fires continued in Georgia and the smoke intensified to cover the entire U.S. southeast coast, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Aerosol optical depth values exceed 1.0 and PM2.5values finally reached code red (unhealthy) levels , with Jacksonville, Florida at about 80 ug/m3.

Further south and west, there were major (agricultural?) fires in southern Mexico producing considerable smoke. GOES aerosol optical depth levels
were over 1.0 over the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted by Jill Engel-Cox at 10:27 PMApril 2, 2010: (POM b ext : 51.47 Mm -1 ) The back trajectory analysis shows air moving north ward from near the Georgia coast or just off the Georgia coast to Cape Romain.

An examination of EC, POM and KNON ambient concentrations during the high b ext day shows an increase in all three parameters as compared to prior and subsequent measurements.Smog blog entry: MODERATE LEVELS OF PM2.5 IN EAST COAST; FIRES IN

SOUTH

Today, air quality throughout the count ry was mostly good. PM2.5 levels (top left, courtesy AIRNow ) on the eastern coast of the country was mostly reached Code Yellow (Moderat e). Code Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) PM2.5 levels were reported in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas in the mornin g hours. NOAA's Hazard Mapping System (HMS, top right) reports a larg e amount of fires in the southern region of the country. Smoke plumes were reported in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virgina. Several of the smoke plumes in the southern states of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida were observed by the MODIS AQUA truecolor image (top right). The red dots in the image represent the locations of the fires. Smoke can be seen coming from several of these locations. These fires and their smoke plumes could be a possible cause for the elevated PM2.5 levels in the region . There was also high AOD levels reported in the Midwest today. A po ssible cause for the high AOD reading is the clouds in the region. AOD levels in South Carolina were also reported to be moderate to high.

Ozone levels are beginning to rise again as the weather is warming. Ozone levels today were good throughout the cou ntry with some small areas experiencing Code Yellow levels.Posted by Jaime Compton at 4:31 PM | Comments (0)February 17, 2007: (POM b ext : 46.54 Mm -1 )

The mid and low-level back trajectories show air moving southward from south-central North Carolina and north-central South Carolina to the south coast of South Carolina then moving up the coast to Cape Romain. The upper-level tr ajectory shows air m oving southward out of southeastern Tennessee, southeastward across eas tern Georgia to the south coast of South Carolina then northeastward to Cape Romain.

An examination of EC, POM and KNON am bient concentrations during the high b ext day shows an increase in all three parameters as comp ared to prior and subsequent measurements.Smog Blog entry: Note, no mention of fire s on 2/17/2007, but the next blog entry made reference to fires visible on the NOAA Hazard Mapping System.

FIRES IN THE SOUTH
Very good air quality with just one moderate fine particle reading in Maine and a few in the central valley of California. The southeast U.S. was clear in the morning, but there were many small fires visible in the afternoon MODIS image (left), especially Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida. NOAA Hazard Mapping System identified many fires and smoke plumes (right) and GOES had elevated aerosol optical depth values

.Posted by Jill Engel-Cox at 8:59 PMMarch 9, 2010: (POM b ext : 44.09 Mm -1 )

The lower and mid-level back trajectories show air moving up from southeast Georgia, up the South Carolina coast to Cape Romain. The uppe r-level trajectory shows air moving southward from northeast Georgia to southeast Georgia th en back up the South Carolina coast to Cape Romain.

An examination of EC, POM and KNON am bient concentrations during the high b ext day shows an increase in all three parameters as comp ared to prior and subsequent measurements.Smog blog entry: CODE ORANGE PM2.5 AIR QUALITY IN THE MIDWEST

PM2.5 air quality conditions worsened today in the upper Midwest, with Code Orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups) readings widespread across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indi ana, and Ohio. Elsewhere in the nation, including the Northeast and West Coast, air quality was generally Code Green (Good). A ridge of high pressure has been situated over the Great Lakes/Ohio River Valley for the past few days, which has created stagnant conditions that have allowed pollutants to accumulate, including smoke from agricultural fires burning in the Southeast. It is possible to discern the hazy and smoky airmass ov er the Midwest, Ohio River Valley, and Southeast in today's MODIS Terra true color image (below on lower left, overlaid with AQI values and the synoptic analysis). Clouds from anapproaching low pressure system bl ocked AOD measurements over much of the Midwest today, but the MODIS Aqua image (below on lower right, courtesy of IDEA) shows areas of elev ated AOD in Ohio/West Virginia and
North Carolina associated with the haze/smoke. Southwesterly flow ahead of the low pressure system will pushthe polluted airmass into the MidAtlantic on Wednesday, and both Ba ltimore and the Liberty/Clarion area outside of Pittsburgh have issued Ai r Quality Action Days for expected Code Orange PM2.5 air quality. Modera te air quality will likely linger in the Midwest on Wednesday, then im prove with the passage of the low
pressure system.

Posted by Amy Huff at 8:43 PM | Comments (0)

### March 8, 2010

AIR QUALITY WORSENS IN THE US (MIDWEST/CENTRAL/S OUTH/NORTHEAST)

The air quality (AIRNow; top, left) in almost half the country was mostly in the moderate range. In the upper Midwest - Minnesota and Wisconsin - unhealthy levels (for sensitive grou ps) of PM2.5 were recorded in the morning and it persisted throughout the day in Eastern Wisconsin. California enjoyed good air quality to day. 8h ozone levels loop can be
checked here

.
The smoke due to the agricultural fires in the Southeastern US (HMS fires

map here ) could still be observed over the Midwest (MODIS Terra; top, right) as well as higher AOD va lues (MODIS Aqua; bottom, left). Tropospheric NO2 concentrations we re higher today over New York, Cleveland, St Louis and Pittsburgh (OMI; bottom, right).According to AIRNow's website, tomo rrow's highest forecasts (code orange) are for Chicago, Hammond-Gary in Indiana, Liberty/Clairton area in Pennsylvania and Minneapolis-St Paul area and Rochester both in Minnesota. Action Days were issued for all those areas.Posted by Patricia Sawamura at 11:56 PM | Comments (0)