Author(s)

Rong Lu & R.P. Turco

Abstract

Numerical investigation of the formation of elevated pollution layers over the Los Angeles air basin Rong Lu, R.P. Turco Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Log Angeles, Ca/z/orm'a gOO&f, (76V1 ABSTRACT Observations of the vertical distribution of pollutants over the Los Angeles basin show that maximum concentrations can occur within the stable layer above the base of the temperature inversion. This inversion-bound pollution may returned to the ground during the daytime by fumigation as the boundary layer deepens, owing to convective thermals generated by surface heating. Hence, surface pollutant concentrations may be enhanced by the fumigation of aged pollutants. A three-dimensional mesoscale boundary layer model is used to study the formation of elevated pollution layers. Detailed spatial and temporal variations in the boundary layer structure and tracer transport are simulated. The land-sea thermal discon

Keywords