Meteorological detrending of primary and secondary pollutant concentrations: Method application and evaluation using long-term (2000–2012) data in Atlanta

• Published in: Atmospheric environment (1994) 2015-10, Vol.119, p.201-210
• Main Authors: Henneman, Lucas R.F., Holmes, Heather A., Mulholland, James A., Russell, Armistead G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accountability; Air pollution trends; KZ filtering; Meteorological detrending
• ISSN: 1352-2310; 1873-2844
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.08.007

The effectiveness of air pollution regulations and controls are evaluated based on measured air pollutant concentrations. Air pollution levels, however, are highly sensitive to both emissions and meteorological fluctuations. Therefore, an assessment of the change in air pollutant levels due to emissions controls must account for these meteorological fluctuations. Two empirical methods to quantify the impact of meteorology on pollutant levels are discussed and applied to the 13-year time period between 2000 and 2012 in Atlanta, GA. The methods employ Kolmogorov–Zurbenko filters and linear regressions to detrended pollutant signals into long-term, seasonal, weekly, short-term, and white-noise components. The methods differ in how changes in weekly and holiday emissions are accounted for. Both can provide meteorological adjustments on a daily basis for future use in acute health analyses. The meteorological impact on daily signals of ozone, NOx, CO, SO2, PM2.5, and PM species are quantified. Analyses show that the substantial decreases in seasonal averages of NOx and SO2 correspond with controls implemented in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Detrending allows for the impacts of some controls to be observed with averaging times of as little as 3 months. Annual average concentrations of NOx, SO2, and CO have all fallen by at least 50% since 2000. Reductions in NOx levels, however, do not lead to uniform reductions in ozone. While average detrended summer average maximum daily average 8 h ozone (MDA8h O3) levels fell by 4% (2.2 ± 2 ppb) between 2000 and 2012, winter averages have increased by 12% (3.8 ± 1.4 ppb), providing further evidence that high ozone levels are NOx-limited and lower ozone concentrations are NOx-inhibited. High ozone days (with MDA8h O3 greater than 60 ppb) decreased both in number and in magnitude over the study period. •Comparison of meteorological detrending methods in measured data in Atlanta, GA.•Quantification of variability in air pollution concentrations linked to meteorology.•Assessment of air pollution reductions linked to specific controls in Atlanta.•Controls linked to reductions in primary pollutants and PM2.5.•Controls linked to a narrowing ozone distribution and little change in the median.