What is it about?
Ozone pollution can be harmful to human respiratory health. During a 2015 field study, we observed high levels of ozone pollution near the surface over the Great Salt Lake. The lake breeze blew that pollution into the Salt Lake Valley. We used a weather model to simulate the winds and pollution levels.
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Why is it important?
This work demonstrates how air pollution is influenced by winds near the Great Salt Lake. Even though pollution levels may be low, conditions can get much worse in a short amount a time based on the direction the wind is blowing.
Perspectives
This work was my first experience running the WRF weather model. One of the most import changes I had to make to the model was the size and temperature of the Great Salt Lake. The changes in the lake's size I made were included in the 2018 upgrade of the HRRR weather model.
Brian K Blaylock
University of Utah
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Impact of Lake Breezes on Summer Ozone Concentrations in the Salt Lake Valley, Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, February 2017, American Meteorological Society,
DOI: 10.1175/jamc-d-16-0216.1.
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