Application of the Tracer-Aerosol Gradient Interpretive Technique to Sulfur Attribution for the Big Bend Regional Aerosol and Visibility Observational Study |
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| Authors: | Mark Green Hampden Kuhns Marc Pitchford Russell Dietz Lowell Ashbaugh Tom Watson |
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| Institution: | 1. Division of Atmospheric Science , Desert Research Institute , Las Vegas , Nevada , USA green@dri.edu;3. Division of Atmospheric Science , Desert Research Institute , Las Vegas , Nevada , USA;4. Special Operations and Research Division Air Resources Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , Las Vegas , Nevada , USA;5. Atmospheric Science Division Department of Environmental Sciences , Brookhaven National Laboratory , Upton , New York , USA;6. Crocker Nuclear Laboratory , University of California , Davis , California , USA;7. Field Research Division Air Resources Laboratory National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , Idaho Falls , Idaho , USA |
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| Abstract: | Abstract A simple data analysis method called the Tracer-Aerosol Gradient Interpretive Technique (TAGIT) is used to attribute particulate S and SO2 at Big Bend National Park in Texas and nearby areas to local and regional sources. Particulate S at Big Bend is of concern because of its effects on atmospheric visibility. The analysis used particulate S, SO2 , and perfluorocarbon tracer data from six 6-hr sampling sites in and near Big Bend National Park. The data were collected in support of the Big Bend Regional Aerosol and Visibility Observational (BRAVO) Study; the field portion was conducted from July through October 1999. Perfluorocarbon tracer was released continuously from a tower at Eagle Pass, TX, approximately 25 km northeast of two large coal-fired power plants (Carbon I and II) in Coahuila, Mexico, and approximately 270 km east-southeast of Big Bend National Park. The perfluorocarbon tracer did not properly represent the location of the emissions from the Carbon power plants for individual 6-hr sampling periods and attributed only 3% of the particulate S and 27% of the SO2 at the 6-hr sites in and near Big Bend to sources represented by the tracer. An alternative approach using SO2 to tag “local” sources such as the Carbon plants attributed 10% of the particulate S and 75% of the SO2 at the 6-hr sites to local sources. Based on these two approaches, most of the regional (65–86%) and a small fraction (19–31%) of the local SO2 was converted to particulate S. The analysis implies that substantial reductions in particulate S at Big Bend National Park cannot be achieved by only reducing emissions from the Carbon power plants; reduction of emissions from many sources over a regional area would be necessary. |
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