A few posts ago, I looked into the findings from the “Texas Air Quality Study” of 2000 (TexAQS), which incorporated ground-breaking methods (by air) of measuring the air quality of Houston and its surrounding areas. The second “Texas Air Quality Study” (TexAQS II) took place in 2005 and 2006, in conjunction with the “Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study” (GoMACCS).
More of Texas was examined the second time around–measurement sites were posted throughout east Texas and into the Gulf of Mexico. According to NOAA’s Web site, researchers continued using four NOAA planes to sample the air, but they also utilized ground points, weather balloons, a research ship, and satellite technology.
The Lockheed WP-3D Orion, a four engine turbo-prop aircraft originally used as a weather plane, flew out of Ellington Field in Houston to sample air at different altitudes and in different atmospheric conditions. According to NOAA, the choice to convert a weather plane into a research base was logical and innovative:
From the perspective of climate research, an aircraft can undertake a systematic study of the formation and evolution of the chemical and optical properties of aerosols from urban and industrial sources. The aim of such research is to address one of the more important open questions in climate research: how the various types of emissions and the subsequent atmospheric chemistry determine the optical properties of aerosols, and hence, the impact of these aerosols on radiative forcing in the atmosphere.
This NOAA aircraft was converted from a weather plane to a chemical research facility in 1994. c. noaa.gov.
Scientists learned from the TexAQS 2000 that Houston’s pollution problem affected more than just Houstonians, so the TexAQS II sought to further investigate this by placing sites farther from Houston’s ship channel. The following maps show the difference in the amount of area covered by each study:
The TexAQS 2000 focused on measuring air quality in and around Houston. c. utexas.edu.
The TexAQS II sampled air all over Texas, including spots in the Gulf. c. noaa.org.
Researchers found from the TexAQS II that Houston air quality had only slightly improved since the TexAQS 2000, and most emissions were still well above the reported inventory estimates. An article about the study was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, and the abstract explains the two most important finds:
- “First, despite decreases in actual emissions of highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOC) and some improvements in inventory estimates since the TexAQS 2000 study, the current Houston area emission inventories still underestimate HRVOC emissions by approximately 1 order of magnitude.”
- “Second, the background ozone in eastern Texas, which represents the minimum ozone concentration that is likely achievable through only local controls, can approach or exceed the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75 ppbv for an 8-h average. These findings have broad implications for air quality control strategies in eastern Texas.”
Another article from the Journal of Geophysical Research discovered that levels of NO2 emissions from the Houston Ship Channel area were 70 percent [2542 kg h(-1)] and 43 percent [452 kg h(-1)] above the reported inventory values. SO2 emissions were found to be 34 percent above the reported inventory values, as well.
The TexAQS II was necessary to track changes in air quality over a 5-6 year period, and it offered additional insight into the way pollution travels. The findings from both studies contradict the TCEQ’s claim of significantly improving the air quality in Texas, and it proves that the TCEQ needs to hold itself responsible for honest estimates. The TexAQS II used actual calculations and samples to prove that emission estimations are not accurate, and the researchers did this by spearheading a more precise method of gathering information.
