Sulfate accumulation in a sea breeze/land breeze circulation system

Abstract

An atmospheric tracer study using SF_6 was conducted on July 22, 1977, to examine the origin of the high particulate sulfate concentrations observed in coastal Los Angeles County. It was found that the sea breeze/land breeze circulation system in the Los Angeles Basin both increases the retention time for sulfate formation in the marine environment and causes individual air parcels to make multiple passes over large coastal emissions sources. Day-old sulfur oxides emissions advected out to sea by the land breeze at night were estimated to be the largest single contributor to 24-hour average sulfate air quality over land the next day. In contrast, 24-hour average SO_2 concentrations were dominated by fresh emissions from nearby sources. The overall rate of SO_2 transformation to form particulate sulfur oxides along some trajectories that spent a considerable time over the ocean at night probably exceeds the rate that can be explained by known photochemical processes acting during the daylight portion of these trajectories. This suggests that appreciable aerosol formation may occur in a polluted marine environment at night.