SOS logo

Southern Oxidant Study (SOS)

Nashville / Middle Tennessee, July 1995

The Southern Oxidant Study (SOS) is a strategic alliance of research scientists, engineers, and air quality managers from universities, federal and state governments, industry, and public interest groups formed in 1989 to address the unresolved technical and scientific issues surrounding ozone pollution and ozone pollution management.

"Photochemical oxidants are a class of highly reactive chemicals produced in the earth's atmosphere. In the stratosphere, O3 [Ozone], the most abundant of the photochemical oxidants, protects human, plant, and animal life from the harmful effects of ultraviolet light from the sun. In the lower atmosphere, paradoxically, O3 and other photochemical oxidants can have adverse effects on plants, animals, and human health. [...] Even though these chemical compounds are normally present only in very low concentrations, their health, economic, and ecological impact can be substantial." -The State of the Southern Oxidants Study (SOS)

The CSD Atmospheric Remote Sensing research group contributed to this study through precision measurement and mapping of ozone over the study area with airborne differential-absorbption lidar (DIAL). The participating lidar instrument was the Airborne Excimer Ozone DIAL (ABDIAL) installed aboard a Casa-212 aircraft.

Findings

References

Alvarez II, R.J., C.J. Senff, R.M. Hardesty, D.D. Parrish, W.T. Luke, T.B. Watson, P.H. Daum, and N. Gillani, 1998: Comparisons of airborne lidar measurements of ozone with airborne in situ measurements during the 1995 Southern Oxidants Study, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/98JD02745.

Banta, R.M., C.J. Senff, A.B. White, M. Trainer, R.T. McNider, R.J. Valente, S.D. Mayor, R.J. Alvarez, R.M. Hardesty, D. Parrish, and F.C. Fehsenfeld, 1998: Daytime buildup and nighttime transport of urban ozone in the boundary layer during a stagnation episode, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/98JD01020.

Senff, C.J., R.M. Hardesty, R.J. Alvarez II, and S.D. Mayor, 1998: Airborne lidar characterization of power plant plumes during the 1995 Southern Oxidants Study, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/98JD02625.