Abstract:

Water management policies can have profound impacts on associated emissions of trace gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere, with important implications for air pollution exposure and human health in downwind communities. In this presentation I will share work on two such regions: one in the Salton Sea basin, where ongoing reductions in water inflows are leading to dramatic physical, chemical, and ecological changes, and the other in Imperial Beach, where emissions from the Tijuana River appear to be driving periodic pollution episodes most easily detected through elevated concentrations of hydrogen sulfide. In each of these regions, atmospheric models can be powerful tools in our attempts to better understand the emissions, mechanisms, and atmospheric dynamics most responsible for changes in observed concentrations and related impacts on downwind communities, with the ultimate goal of informing effective policy and intervention strategies.