A study of Taipei ozone problem

Abstract

A high level of ozone has been a serious problem in Taipei. At one station there were concentrations of hourly O₃ 127 and 60 time > 120 ppbv in 1986 and 1987, respectively. The diurnal O₃ variation is mainly governed by a single-peaked (SP) pattern with a major peak near noontime, and a double-peaked (DP) pattern with a primary peak near noontime and a secondary peak in the early morning. The analyses of observed NO_x, NO₂ and NMHC distributions suggest that the photochemical production of ozone is responsible for the primary peak but not the secondary peak. In January, DP occurs more frequently than SP, while in June the SP pattern dominates. Analyses of the surface meteorological data suggest that a unique localized circulation may be responsible for the occurrence of the secondary peak of the DP pattern. A simplified quasi-three-dimensional model is developed to analyze the effect of land-sea breeze on the temporal and spatial variation of O₃.