USDA - NASA Workshop Air Quality Focus Area March 4-5, 2003

1. USDA - NASA WorkshopAir Quality Focus AreaMarch 4-5, 2003

2. “AG and AQ” USDA concern for air quality relates to: - Regulatory environment (incl. Clean Air Act & Wilderness Act) - Human, livestock, and ecosystem health - Agricultural yield and production - Forest and rangeland management - Protection of Class I areas - Transboundary & Intercontinental Transport of Pollution Agriculture and Air Quality: Two Views - Agricultural contributions to Air Quality - Air Quality effects on Agricultural productivity

3. “AG and AQ” USDA concern for air quality relates to: - Regulatory environment (incl. Clean Air Act & Wilderness Act) - Human, livestock, and ecosystem health - Agricultural yield and production - Forest and rangeland management - Protection of Class I areas - Transboundary & Intercontinental Transport of Pollution With improved data and models (at scale necessary – down to 1 acre): USDA can improve the recommendations it makes to the farming & resource management community.

4. Policy and Management • Primary USDA AQ management issues: • What is agriculture’s contribution to ambient levels of National Ambient Air Quality Standards • - NAAQS set by EPA • - USDA support to farmers on compliance • How can agriculture quantify the effectiveness of conservation practice standards and other abatement strategies? • How does Air Pollution effect Class I areas?

5. USDA Policy & Program Needs ·Aerosols - PM 10 and 2.5, precursors (NH3), visibility ·Ozone - including VOCs, NOx ·Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) ·Odor ·Impact on agriculture and forestry - secondary immediacy - primary immediacy for Class I areas

6. State of Research - Aerosol USDA: Understands control & management of PM relative to wind transport (research continuing) Modeling of PM10 from fields in tons/1K feet of field boundary Measurement/Modeling of area and select point sources (fires, ginning, ag fields) Emissions factors for smoke & best practices for smoke management; USFS modeling of smoke NASA: Global/regional/local spatial distribution (25-40 km) Vertical distribution w/in 150m More intense the plume, the easier to characterize Fire detection - MODIS products (on going with USFS) Models: Global - to ½ degree (e.g GEOS) Meso/Regional - to 1km (e.g. MM5) Local - <1 km (other agencies - DOE, NOAA) Missions/Sensors: MODIS & MISR

7. Initial Analysis of MODIS AOD data for Air Quality Applications related to PM2.5 in the US June 23 June 24 MODIS Sensor aboard the Terra Satellite Captures a PM Transport Event in June 2002. High Aerosol Optical Depth over upper mid-West moves East, then out to the Atlantic Ocean. June 25 June 26

8. Time Series Analysis of EPA hourly PM2.5 Concentrations (Surface Monitor) and Aerosol Optical Depth in Coincident MODIS pixel PM25 24 hr. average • NASA MODIS AOD can provide the pseudo-synoptic view of aerosol events in near-real-time across North America unlike any other measurement. • NASA and EPA are working together to evaluate and prototype an integrated near-real-time product using MODIS AOD and hourly PM2.5 TEOM measurements Source: LaRC/USEPA Air Quality Applications Group

9. September 13, 2002-plume transported from Great Lakes region results in elevated PM2.5 levels in Houston AQI exceeds 100 for 3 days 2002 - MODIS Satellite Sensor captures formation and transport of PM event Sept. 8 through 13 Aerosol Optical Depth Source: LaRC/USEPA Air Quality Applications Group

10. State of Research - Ozone USDA: Understand plant responses to ozone Emission factors - limited to off-road engines; Understands basic soil biological processes of nitrogen gases Operate UV-B networks – correlate with TOMS ozone Field networks using passive/active ozone monitors Understand interactions between ozone and CO2 fertilization NASA: Observe/model the large scale patterns Satellites can observe soil NOx in agricultural belts - Not to individual agricultural areas/practices Underestimation between measurement and models on NOx Limited information available regarding the boundary layer. Identification/documentation of major/catastrophic events - e.g. long range transport of dust and biomass burning Expected near term capabilities: daily retrievals at 25 km Missions/Sensors: TOMS GOME & Schiamacy (European – support proof of concept) Aura (OMI / TES) – Launch in 2004

11. ENHANCED NO2 OVER MIDWEST DURING JULY INDICATIVE OF SOIL NOX EMISSIONS GOME Tropospheric NO2 Columns

12. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NOxMODELS and OBSERVATIONS Martin et al., 2003

13. DETERMINE NOX AND VOC EMISSIONS AT HIGHER RESOLUTION Higher resolution enables more accurate retrieval

14. Gaps in Knowledge & Research • Aerosols • USDA needs aerosols at <1km resolution. • Need particle size distribution and source speciation • – significant improvements expected 2006/2007) • Develop/maintain consistent observations over same geographic regions to observe trends (multiple obs. over many years) • NH3 emission factors • – with daily and climatic variations at local/regional levels • – NASA can provide ¼ to ½ degree to support modeling regional/local efforts • Improved dispersion models developed or adapted for agricultural purposes • – NASA models down to ground level • – USDA can approach other agencies (NOAA, DOE) to go to ground level • – NASA can contribute better weather data to the models • Emission factors & source strength of ag/forestry activities and their validation • Characterization of speciation/distribution relative to animal feeding operations as sources • Information needed on Class I area impacts

15. Gaps in Knowledge & Research • Ozone • VOC emissions for agriculture not completely understood • Higher resolution of ozone profiles needed • - 3-D spatial and temporal • - Need at least 2 points in and out of boundary layer • Ground-based upward-looking instrument/network • - for CO2, CH4, CO, HCHO, O3 • Ozone environment and UV-B climatology

16. Collaborative Efforts • Aerosols • Boundary conditions to models • - NASA help define boundary conditions • - Initial conditions and transport regimes (e.g. airsheds) • PM potential emissions inventory • - NASA aerosol distributions coupled with • - USDA datasets (soils, land-cover, management practices) • Ground measurement of soil moisture • - USDA - SCAN and others • - NASA - satellite measurement (GWEX) • Earth Science inputs to agricultural air quality models • - evapotranspiration, surface heat flux, weather, etc. • ·       Earth science inputs to smoke management plans & activities • ·       Earth science inputs to regional haze • ·       Above ground biomass (3-D) as input to modeling • Inverse modeling and dispersion modeling

17. Collaborative Efforts • Ozone • Connect Ground and Air/Spaceborne sensors • - USDA UV-B networks & NASA TOMS/Ozone/NOx activities • Emissions inventories & boundary conditions • - NASA help define for models (satellite and airborne) • Field Campaigns • - Add USDA role to NASA’s North American Field Campaign • for Air Quality and greenhouse gases • - NASA technical expertise and instruments • - USDA field personnel • - Instruments and sensors, such as ozone-sondes • Airborne system for small scale process studies • - especially exploiting LIDAR • ·       Ozone impacts to Class I areas • Inverse modeling and dispersion modeling

18. PRESENT AND FUTURE SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS OF TROPOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY Increasing spatial resolution

19. Summary • USDA immediate interest is to help farmers & resource managers respond to air quality regulations and quantify agricultural contribution to air quality/pollution • Gaps in satellite’s ability to observe emissions from individual agricultural activities from space. Potential to observe with airborne assets & improve emissions inventories needed for models • There are significant differences in temporal and spatial resolutions needed and available from observations and model outputs. • By and large, NASA approaches air quality issues from above (air/space) while USDA approaches the issues from the ground • Connection with EPA on Air Quality models is necessary - NASA and EPA already collaborating on data & models • Significant opportunities for collaboration, such as USDA providing ground- truthing to air quality models and airborne/space data