LISTOS (http://www.nescaum.org/documents/listos) is a project designed to study the high ozone events in the northeast, along the Long Island Sound. The southern shoreline of Connecticut, in particular, continues to have multiple days during the summertime when ozone concentrations are in exceedance of EPA’s daily limits. It is thought that much of O3 and its precursors are transported from the urban area to the west (NYC); however it is also possible that substantial amounts of O3 precursors (NOx and VOCs) are emitted in situ. This study will investigate the chemistry and dynamics that impact high ozone events in the NE US. Mak’s group has received some pilot funding from New York State’s NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) to quantify various oxygenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the Flax Pond Laboratory, located on the north shore of Long Island, using the group’s high resolution proton transfer time of flight mass spectrometer (Ionicon 8000). These measurements will be similar to the ones made during the SAS campaign in 2013 in Alabama, however the species of interest will likely be shifted. VOCs oftentimes contribute to the production of ozone.

New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is also establishing an air quality monitoring site at Flax Pond, which will be an EPA PAMS site (photochemical assessment monitoring station).

In summers 2019 and 2020 we flew our research aircraft in support of LISTOS and in conjunction with the University of Maryland’s Cessna RAMMP aircraft. We will also fly our aircraft this summer in 2021 one or two more times. This project is funded by NESCAUM (Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management) and NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority).