Observation and modeling of the evolution of Texas power plant plumes

Abstract. During the second Texas Air Quality Study 2006 (TexAQS II), a full range of pollutants was measured by aircraft in eastern Texas during successive transects of power plant plumes (PPPs). A regional photochemical model is applied to simulate the physical and chemical evolution of the plumes. The observations reveal that SO₂ and NO_y were rapidly removed from PPPs on a cloudy day but not on the cloud-free days, indicating efficient aqueous processing of these compounds in clouds. The model reasonably represents observed NO_x oxidation and PAN formation in the plumes, but fails to capture the rapid loss of SO₂ (0.37 h⁻¹) and NO_y (0.24 h⁻¹) in some plumes on the cloudy day. Adjustments to the cloud liquid water content (QC) and the default metal concentrations in the cloud module could explain some of the SO₂ loss. However, NO_y in the model was insensitive to QC. These findings highlight cloud processing as a major challenge to atmospheric models. Model-based estimates of ozone production efficiency (OPE) in PPPs are 20–50 % lower than observation-based estimates for the cloudy day.