PhD Proposal: Joshua Richards
Location
Physics : 401
Date & Time
May 15, 2025, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Description
ADVISOR: Dr. Belay Demoz
TITLE: Trends, Extreme Events, and Controlling Influences on Mid-Atlantic Tropospheric Ozone (2004-2024): A Synthesis of Sonde and Satellite Perspectives
ABSTRACT: Although emissions control have improved and surface ozone levels have declined, monitoring tropospheric ozone trends remains essential for assessing and understanding air quality, identifying dominant sources of ozone production, and evaluating controlling dynamics. Careful analysis helps to motivate the creation of policies to protect human and agricultural health against ozone’s harmful effects. This research aims to analyze the evolution of atmospheric ozone in the Mid-Atlantic region from 2004 to 2024 by synthesizing data from ozonesondes, ground remote sensors, and satellites. The study will ) develop a homogenized dataset of ozonesonde profiles from Howard University Beltsville Campus (HUBC), ensuring a consist quality over the last two decades, 2) Investigate the sources of ozone variability, including but not limited to meteorological influences, impacts from wildfire, and long-range pollution transport and 3) determine long-term ozone trends across different atmospheric layers to assess the impact of regulatory and environmental changes. The study involves three key research tasks: a) The homogenization of HUBC ozonesonde data; Ensuring data consistency by correcting measurement biases and calibrating ozonesonde records with satellite observations. b) Ozone Source Attribution & Classification; Utilizing the Laminar Identification Method (LID) to distinguish ozone sources (e.g., stratospheric intrusions, pollution transport) and employing Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) to classify ozone profiles based on meteorological conditions. c) Long-term Trend Analysis; Applying statistical models like quantile regression and multiple linear regression to assess ozone trends across different atmospheric layers and compare HUBC data with another Mid-Atlantic station, NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). This work will be critical for understanding the complexities of ozone variability, controlling dynamics, and how ozone influences have changed over time in this region. Additionally, this work will help to evaluate the reliability of regional and seasonal variability of satellite-based products and numerical forecasting model outputs and predictions of ozone changes in the near future.
TITLE: Trends, Extreme Events, and Controlling Influences on Mid-Atlantic Tropospheric Ozone (2004-2024): A Synthesis of Sonde and Satellite Perspectives
ABSTRACT: Although emissions control have improved and surface ozone levels have declined, monitoring tropospheric ozone trends remains essential for assessing and understanding air quality, identifying dominant sources of ozone production, and evaluating controlling dynamics. Careful analysis helps to motivate the creation of policies to protect human and agricultural health against ozone’s harmful effects. This research aims to analyze the evolution of atmospheric ozone in the Mid-Atlantic region from 2004 to 2024 by synthesizing data from ozonesondes, ground remote sensors, and satellites. The study will ) develop a homogenized dataset of ozonesonde profiles from Howard University Beltsville Campus (HUBC), ensuring a consist quality over the last two decades, 2) Investigate the sources of ozone variability, including but not limited to meteorological influences, impacts from wildfire, and long-range pollution transport and 3) determine long-term ozone trends across different atmospheric layers to assess the impact of regulatory and environmental changes. The study involves three key research tasks: a) The homogenization of HUBC ozonesonde data; Ensuring data consistency by correcting measurement biases and calibrating ozonesonde records with satellite observations. b) Ozone Source Attribution & Classification; Utilizing the Laminar Identification Method (LID) to distinguish ozone sources (e.g., stratospheric intrusions, pollution transport) and employing Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) to classify ozone profiles based on meteorological conditions. c) Long-term Trend Analysis; Applying statistical models like quantile regression and multiple linear regression to assess ozone trends across different atmospheric layers and compare HUBC data with another Mid-Atlantic station, NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF). This work will be critical for understanding the complexities of ozone variability, controlling dynamics, and how ozone influences have changed over time in this region. Additionally, this work will help to evaluate the reliability of regional and seasonal variability of satellite-based products and numerical forecasting model outputs and predictions of ozone changes in the near future.
