edu.ucar.opensky::articles:12603 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-26T03:50:25.233504 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7mp543h Changes in the frequency and return level of high ozone pollution events over the eastern United States following emission controls 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7mp543h https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014012 Rieder, H. author Fiore, A. author Polvani, L. author Lamarque, Jean-François author Fang, Y. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher In order to quantify the impact of recent efforts to abate surface ozone (O₃) pollution, we analyze changes in the frequency and return level of summertime (JJA) high surface O₃ events over the eastern United States (US) from 1988-1998 to 1999-2009. We apply methods from extreme value theory (EVT) to maximum daily 8-hour average ozone (MDA8 O₃) observed by the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) and define O₃ extremes as days on which MDA8 O₃ exceeds a threshold of 75 ppb (MDA8 O₃>75). Over the eastern US, we find that the number of summer days with MDA8 O₃>75 declined on average by about a factor of two from 1988-1998 to 1999-2009. The applied generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) fits the high tail of MDA8 O₃ much better than a Gaussian distribution and enables the derivation of probabilistic return levels (describing the probability of exceeding a value x within a time window T) for high O₃ pollution events. This new approach confirms the significant decline in both frequency and magnitude of high O₃ pollution events over the eastern US during recent years reported in prior studies. Our analysis of 1-yr and 5-yr return levels at each station demonstrates the strong impact of changes in air quality regulations and subsequent control measures (e.g., the 'NOx SIP Call'), as the 5-yr return levels of the period 1999-2009 correspond roughly to the 1-yr return levels of the earlier time period (1988-1998). Regionally, the return levels dropped between 1988-1998 and 1999-2009 by about 8 ppb in the Mid-Atlantic (MA) and Great Lakes (GL) regions, while the strongest decline, about 13 ppb, is observed in the Northeast (NE) region. Nearly all stations (21 out of 23) have 1-yr return levels well below 100 ppb and 5-yr return levels well below 110 ppb in 1999-2009. Decreases in eastern US O₃ pollution are largest after full implementation of the nitrogen oxide (NOx) reductions under the 'NOx SIP Call'. We conclude that the application of EVT methods provides a useful approach for quantifying return levels of high O₃ pollution in probabilistic terms, which may help to guide long-term air quality planning. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd. None eng geoscientificInformation