High Ozone Days and Weather Patterns in Atlanta, Georgia

Tropospheric ozone pollution is a serious one, based on studies from all parts of the globe, and because of ozone's adverse effects on the health of plants and animals. Numerous studies indicate a relationship between ozone con­cen­tration and weather systems. The Atlanta, Georgia region is one urban area where, to our knowledge, no environment-to-circulation analysis has been conducted. This work attempts to address this research deficiency in order to better understand high ozone levels in Atlanta. Data were collected from radiosonde and air quality monitoring stations in the Atlanta region for the summer months of 2000-2003. The data were subjected to statistical analysis, hypothesis testing, and mapping. The results of these procedures revealed a relationship between days with high ozone levels and both high and low-pressure patterns, and high ozone days and higher temperature and lower dew point temperature. The data indicated two groups of stations dif­fe­ren­tiated by geography, and also suggested transport of precursor chemi­cals as a factor at some locations. This work is addressed to physical geographers, environmental meteoro­lo­gists, and other atmospheric scientists.