The adjacent cities of El Paso in Texas, USA, and Juarez in Mexico commonly experience pollution episodes, especially during the summer months. In the summer of 2017, successive high and low ozone episodes were observed. Aerosol backscattered data from a laser ceilometer was used to monitor and continuously measure the aerosol-layer characteristics. Meteorological parameters together with the aerosol layer height were used to determine the reason behind these successive high and low ozone events. In our research, both modelling and experimental data of the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) were obtained and related to atmospheric stability. Aerosol backscatter data was used to investigate the structure, evolution, and influence of the top of the aerosol layer, which is a proxy for PBLHs. A shallow aerosol layer height (1164 ± 59 m) was observed during the high ozone episodes, in contrast to a deep aerosol layer (1990 ± 79 m) during the low ozone episodes. The ozone precursors, the ozone, and the ground-level aerosol concentrations were also examined during these episodes. It was observed that when the ozone was high, the PM2.5 was high, and when the ozone was low, the PM10 concentrations were high. Analysis of the wind patterns and synoptic scale meteorology also contributed to a better explanation of the nature of these events.

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The Paso Del Norte (PdN) region comprises the city of El Paso, TX, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and some neighboring cities in the state of New Mexico. Developing a regional weather model for this specific region has always been challenging due to its complex terrain. To obtain more accurate weather and pollution forecasting for the PdN region, the results of the downscaled WRF (Weather Research and Forecast) model were intercompared with meteorological satellite data, with ground and radiosonde dataset. In addition, it is critical to analyze the distributions of ozone concentrations to better understand atmospheric aerosol concentrations and predict them both more accurately. Hence, in this study the ozone results of CAMx (Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions) were extensively intercompared with ozonesonde data. The radiosonde/ozonesonde data were obtained throughout a campaign conducted during the summer of 2017 in the PdN region. Different meteorological variables such as temperature, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed, and ozone concentrations were used for comparison at several locations in the PdN region. The TCEQ (Texas Commission of Environment Quality) data from different CAMS (Continuous Ambient Monitoring Stations) were used for ground data intercomparison with the WRF results. The meteorological satellite sounding data were retrieved using an in-house satellite antenna receiver. The results of this research paper will not only provide better pollution forecasting capability for the PdN region but also for other regions with similar topography and terrain.

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