Investigations into lake breeze influence on ozone measurements at the Lake Michigan shoreline using an Unmanned Aerial System and LIDAR at Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area, Wisconsin

Abstract:

The air quality at the Lake Michigan shoreline in southeastern Wisconsin is heavily influenced by the combination of Chicago area urban emissions and the meteorology over the lake. In June 2020, a multi-rotor DJI M600 Pro unmanned aerial system (UAS) equipped with a small ozone monitor (2B POM) and a meteorological sensor (iMET-XF) was flown on forecasted ozone exceedance days in the morning and evening to measure ozone, temperature, pressure and humidity profiles from 5-120 m AGL at the Chiwaukee Prairie State Natural Area in Southeastern Wisconsin. The Wisconsin DNR lakeshore air quality monitor at Chiwaukee Prairie in Kenosha, WI (AIRS ID 55-059-0019) sits 0.16 km from the shoreline and at the Wisconsin-Illinois boarder, near to where the UAS flights took place. The Chiwaukee Priaire monitoring station was equipped for an enhanced monitoring season, with a LIDAR Wind Profiler instrument. The combination of UAS measurements with the LIDAR meteorological measurements provide an understanding of the vertical structure in the meteorology of lake breeze and ozone during exceedance days. Temperature measurements aloft from the UAS show an atmospheric inversion at this site all sampling days (June 8, 9, 15-19). The ozone measurements trend with the temperature data, typically with higher ozone aloft than at the surface with a regular feature at 50-80 m AGL. We will discuss the results from the UAS with the LIDAR measurements to help understand the lake breeze influence on the local ozone measurements.