Articles | Volume 22, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12985-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12985-2022
Research article
 | 
10 Oct 2022
Research article |  | 10 Oct 2022

Changing ozone sensitivity in the South Coast Air Basin during the COVID-19 period

Jason R. Schroeder, Chenxia Cai, Jin Xu, David Ridley, Jin Lu, Nancy Bui, Fang Yan, and Jeremy Avise

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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Cited articles

Appel, K. W., Pouliot, G. A., Simon, H., Sarwar, G., Pye, H. O. T., Napelenok, S. L., Akhtar, F., and Roselle, S. J.: Evaluation of dust and trace metal estimates from the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.0, Geosci. Model Dev., 6, 883–899, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-6-883-2013, 2013. 
AQMD: Final 2016 Air Quality Management Plan, South Coast AQMD, https://www.aqmd.gov/docs/default-source/clean-air-plans/air-quality-management-plans/2016-air-quality-management-plan/final-2016-aqmp/final2016aqmp.pdf?sfvrsn=15 (last access: 15 March 2021), 2016. 
Barletta, B., Meinardi, S., Kenseth, C. M., Schulze, B., Parker, H., Crounse, J. D., Wennberg, P. O., Barsanti, K., Seinfeld, J., and Blake, D. R.: VOC levels in the Los Angeles basin: impact of COVID-19 restrictions, AGU Fall Meeting 2020, Abstract #A034-0004, 2020. 
Cai, C., Avise, J., Kaduwela, A., DaMassa, J., Warneke, C., Gilman, J. B., Kuster, W., de Gouw, J., Volkamer, R., and Stevens, P.: Simulating the weekly cycle of NOx-VOC-HOx-O3 photochemical system in the South Coast of California during CalNex-2010 campaign, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 124, 3532–3555, 2019. 
California Air Resources Board (CARB): AQMIS (Air Quality and Meteorological Information System), CARB Air Quality Data Section, https://www.arb.ca.gov/aqmis2/aqdselect.php, last access: 13 September 2022. 
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Short summary
Ozone, a key component of smog, has plagued the Los Angeles (LA) region for decades. Ozone is created by complex chemical reactions that can be greatly impacted by anthropogenic emissions. This study makes use of the COVID-19 period to study the sensitivity of ozone chemistry in LA to certain anthropogenic emissions, notably from vehicles. We find that vehicular emissions of key pollutants dropped by up to 25 % during COVID-19, which caused a fundamental shift in ozone chemistry in the region.
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