October 15th CVAAMS Meeting Recap!

On October 15th, weather enthusiasts and meteorologists around the state gathered, including the Blue Ridge and George Mason Chapters, to virtually to listen to Amber Verstynen, and her research on ozone pollution in the Chesapeake Bay.

First, however, Peter gave a budget update and then announced that he will be moving to Boulder, Colorado in two weeks to persue a new job opportunity. Luckily, with the club going virtual for the forseable future, Peter will still be our president until atleast the end of 2020. The chapter also liked Venmo as the best option to submit dues virtually.

The AMS’s Weather Band was announced and all members were encouraged to join when it is officially released later this month. Skywarn classes will be held virtually this fall. The NWS – Wakefield has three more events this year.

Chris White, the director of the Mid- Atlantic Chaser Con then briefed everyone on the time and website to access the Chaser Con, which will consist of four 1 hour presentations, with the first one on October 24th.

Next, Tim Burkoff discussed the research projects at NASA Langley and their collaboration with George Mason; the university Amber attends.

Finally, Amber gave a deeply interesting presentation on pollution in the bay and the effects ships and other sources have on titration events in the area. Her talk was titled “Analysis of Measurement Variability During the 2017 Ozone Water–Land Environmental Transition Study (OWLETS) Campaign Caused by Boat Emissions and a Comparison to the National Air Quality Forecast Model.” As an intern, Amber used the data collected during the OWLETS study to look for “titration events” caused by boats emissions. Amber defined a titration event as an event where Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) react with Ozone in the air to form Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Oxygen. Amber showed how the National Air Quality Forecast Model does not always predict the volatility of Ozone over water. Real measurements show areas of much higher and lower Ozone over water. Amber was able to show that NOx emissions can substantially lower ozone levels in the wake of boats going through the Chesapeake Bay while substantially raise the levels of NO2. Amber plans to continue her research in this field over the next year.

The CVAAMS chapter plans to have one more meeting for the 2020 year sometime in December, with specifics not yet decided. We can't wait to see you at our next meeting!