THE EFFECT OF SURFACE EMISSIONS ON THE SEASONAL VARIATION IN NITROGEN DEPOSITION WITHIN THE LONG ISLAND SOUND AIRSHED

摘要

Air quality and pollutant deposition in Connecticut and the New England region is influenced by both local, regional and more distant emission sources. In order to better understand this relationship, the Atmospheric Resources Laboratory at the University of Connecticut has been conducting a series of studies on the modeling and measurement of atmospheric nitrogen and mercury. Yang et al. (Yang, Miller et al. 1996) and Xu et al. (Xu, Yang et al. 1997) measured deposition in Connecticut. These and similar studies elsewhere have found that deposition trends at any given geographical location result from an interaction between upwind emissions, prevailing winds and other meteorological and surface conditions using CAQM, the Connecticut Air Quality Model. CAQM is a RADM-based model being developed at the University of Connecticut to quantify the atmospheric cycling of mercury and nitrogen in the Connecticut region and to estimate the amounts and sources of atmospheric nitrogen and mercury deposition to the watershed of Long Island Sound through simulation studies. This paper will focus on some recent modeling work on seasonal variations in nitrogen deposition. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of surface emissions on the seasonal variation in nitrogen deposition.