Radio signals from Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) satellites suffer delay as they propagate through the atmosphere (neutral and non-neutral) and this delay is partially driven by the water vapour content in the atmosphere. The delay component due to the non-neutral atmosphere (ionosphere) is removed through the use of dual frequency GNSS receivers. The main tropospheric parameter is the zenith tropospheric (or total) delay (ZTD), which is a widely accepted parameter with which to express the total delay in the signal from all satellites due to the neutral atmosphere. The ZTD is a measure of the integrated tropospheric condition over a GNSS receiver station. Accordingly, the integrated water vapour or precipitable water vapour (PWV) can be obtained from a portion of the ZTD, if the atmospheric pressure and temperature at the station are known through a concept often referred to as GNSS meteorology. A number of GNSS receivers have been deployed for mapping and geodetic services in Nigeria under the African reference frame initiative, but unfortunately most of these receivers do not have co-located meteorological sensors for pressure and temperature measurements. The prospect of incorporating GNSS meteorology into weather monitoring and climate analysis in Nigeria was investigated and is reported in this thesis. During the first task of this research, the technical basis for ground-based GNSS meteorology was reviewed and the potentials and challenges of the approach to meteorological activities in Africa (including Nigeria) were identified. Thereafter an in-depth analysis of the spatial and temporal variability of ZTD over Nigeria for the period of 2010-2014 was conducted; results revealed weak spatial dependence among the stations. Tidal oscillations (of the diurnal and semidiurnal components) were observed at the GNSS stations of which the diurnal ZTD cycles exhibited significant seasonal dependence, affirming the prospective relevance of ground-based GNSS data to atmospheric studies. Also in this research, the accuracy and suitability of using reanalysis datasets (ERA-Interim and NCEP/NCAR) and a GPT2 neutral model in retrieving PWV from GNSS observations over Nigeria were investigated; results showed that PWV can be retrieved to within a precision of about 1 mm, provided GNSS-derived ZTD is of high precision. A fundamental issue for GNSS meteorology in the West African region was yet again addressed in this research; this is the development of a weighted tropospheric mean temperature model for use in current and future GNSS meteorology activities in the region. A multitechnique comparison of PWV estimates showed good agreement between GNSS estimates and other techniques (i.e. the atmospheric infrared sounder, and ERAInterim reanalysis). This result is suggestive of the potential of assimilating GNSS atmospheric products into reanalysis and climate models. Diurnal and seasonal variability of GNSS PWV estimates exhibits strong correlation with weather events that influence the region (i.e. solar activity and rainfall events); this further demonstrated the immense contribution of the approach to efficient weather forecasting and climate monitoring for Nigeria. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology / PhD / Unrestricted

No description available.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o impacto da mudança dos fatores de emissão veicular na formação de ozônio troposférico na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP), Brasil, comparando os anos de 2004 e 2011. Essa avaliação foi realizada por meio de modelagem numérica com o modelo de qualidade do ar Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), configurado sobre um domínio com 4 grades aninhadas: 27, 9, 3 e 1 km; e com o mecanismo químico considerado, o RADM2, acionado apenas nas grades de 3 e 1 km. Os inventários de emissão foram baseados em informações estimadas de número de veículos, fatores de emissão de compostos químicos e número médio de quilômetros percorridos por dia pelos distintos tipos de veículos considerados. Os períodos de estudo 06 a 09 de setembro de 2004 e 12 a 15 de novembro de 2011 foram selecionados, principalmente, por apresentarem episódios de altas concentrações de ozônio e pela existência de dados experimentais de determinação de fatores de emissão. Para avaliar a performance das simulações foram utilizados dados observados de temperatura, umidade relativa, vento, concentração de ozônio, óxidos de nitrogênio e monóxido de carbono das estações de qualidade do ar da rede de monitoramento da Companhia de Tecnologia de Saneamento Ambiental (CETESB). Os resultados mostraram que as configurações físicas e químicas estabelecidas no modelo conseguiram representar adequadamente os ciclos de formação do ozônio, no entanto, com defasagens e intensidades máximas menores, características relacionadas com o cálculo das distribuições espaço/temporal das emissões como também pelo transporte não só do ozônio, mas também de seus precursores desde regiões externas à RMSP. Por outro lado, dadas as características de emissão em 2004 e 2011, encontrou-se que a atmosfera da RMSP estava caracterizada por um regime COV-limitante naqueles anos, principalmente no ano 2004. Finalmente, o cenário de emissão para 2011 considerando os mesmos fatores de emissão de 2004 mostrou um grande impacto na formação do ozônio troposférico, considerando a grade de 1 km de espaçamento. Esse resultado foi 8 produto do estabelecimento de uma razão média COV/NOx mais eficiente em termos de formação de ozônio, apesar das emissões dos seus precursores ter diminuído em relação a 2004. / The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of vehicular emission factors change on tropospheric ozone formation in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP), Brazil for 2004 and 2011. Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model was used as the photochemical modeling tool. WRF-Chem was set up to run with four nested grid cells: 27, 9, 3 and 1 km. The Regional Acid Deposition Model (RADM) version 2 was the chemical mechanism considered, turned it on barely in 3 and 1 km grid cells. The emission inventories were based on the estimated information of number of vehicles, emission factors and average driving kilometers for vehicle per day. The study periods September 06-09, 2004 and November 12-15, 2011 were chosen due to the high ozone concentrations observed, and the experimental data available for these periods. Observation of temperature, relative humidity, winds, and O3, CO and NOx concentrations from the air quality monitoring network of Companhia de Tecnologia de Saneamento Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (CETESB) were used to evaluate WRF-Chem simulations performance. The results showed that the chemical and physics configurations in WRF-Chem represented adequately the ozone formation cycles; however, with mismatches and maximum concentrations lower than observations, characteristics related with the estimative of the spatial and temporal distributions of the emissions as well as by the transportation of ozone and its precursors from external regions to MASP. On the other hand, given the characteristics of emission in 2004 and 2011, we found that MASP was under a strong COV-limited regime, principally in 2004. Finally, the scenario considering the emission factor of 2004 valid for 2011 in MASP showed a great impact in tropospheric ozone formation with high concentrations calculated for 2011 considering 1 km grid cell (with the most realistic vehicular activity), as result of a more efficient COV/NOx ratio calculation in terms of ozone formation.

Nos últimos anos, tem-se observado que na RMSP o ozônio troposférico foi o poluente responsável pela maior parte das ultrapassagens dos padrões de qualidade do ar estabelecidos pela CETESB. Supõe-se que diferentes padrões atmosféricos possam interferir nas concentrações de ozônio, devido à influência na variabilidade da concentração de poluentes, já estudada, e devido ao fato deste poluente ser formado pela interação entre seus precursores e a radiação solar. Dados horários de ozônio, provenientes de 17 estações da rede de monitoramento de poluentes da CETESB, foram utilizados para a construção de séries de médias anuais, mensais e diárias. O ciclo sazonal médio do ozônio, para a região de estudo, indicou um máximo em meados da primavera e mínimo no final do outono, o que é fortemente influenciado pelo ciclo médio de radiação solar e cobertura de nuvens. As estações situadas em áreas com reduzida atividade urbana e longe do centro da mancha urbana apresentaram ciclo sazonal mais bem definido e concentrações sobremaneira mais altas, sugerindo que as concentrações absolutas e o ciclo sazonal do ozônio sejam influenciados pelo uso do solo no entorno da estação. Os meses com anomalias positivas e negativas intensas de ozônio foram selecionados, e as anomalias climáticas e os padrões atmosféricos predominantes em alguns destes meses foram analisados, em escala mensal e diária. Os resultados indicaram, na análise dos padrões atmosféricos mensais e de evolução diária, que as anomalias positivas de ozônio estiveram associadas a anomalias positivas de radiação solar e, negativas de umidade relativa, o que foi resultante da variabilidade dos sistemas atmosféricos atuantes em escala sinótica que contribuíam para o aumento da divergência em superfície, tais como os anticiclones na retaguarda de sistemas frontais, o anticiclone do Atlântico Sul, e VCANs provenientes do NE do Brasil. Para os meses com anomalias negativas, verificou-se maior frequência ou intensidade dos sistemas frontais, em comparação ao valor médio climatológico para a região, bem como anomalias positivas de nebulosidade e aumento da atividade convectiva, associada, algumas vezes, à ocorrência da ZCAS. Além disso, verificou-se que a maioria dos meses com anomalias negativas de ozônio foram também precedidos por meses com anomalias negativas, próximas de zero, ou períodos com tendência de queda da concentração. / In the past few years, tropospheric ozone has been noticed to exceed the states environmental agency (CETESB) air quality standards more than any other air pollutant in the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area (SPMA), Brazil. Its assumed that different atmospheric patterns are responsible for different impacts on ozone concentrations, due to already known phenomena concerning atmospheric variability and air pollutants, but also to the fact that this specific pollutant is formed at surface level through interactions between its precursors and incoming shortwave solar radiation. Ozone hourly data from 17 CETESB air quality network stations were used to calculate annual, monthly and daily averages. The seasonal cycle observed for the area of study indicated a middle spring maximum and late autumn minimum, both visibly influenced by mean seasonal solar radiation and cloud covering cycles. Stations located in areas away from the urban center or with lesser urban activity showed a well characterized seasonal cycle and higher concentrations in general, thus suggesting that ozone absolute concentrations and its seasonal cycle are somewhat linked to the predominant land use in the stations surroundings. Months with intense positive and negative ozone anomalies were selected, and climatic anomalies and atmospheric patterns were evaluated in some of these months in the monthly and daily time scale. Results from the monthly atmospheric pattern analysis and daily variability analysis point out that positive ozone anomalies were associated with solar radiation positive anomalies and relative humidity negative anomalies, resulting from synoptic-scale variability of atmospheric systems that contributed to air divergence strengthening at surface level, such as high-latitude anticyclones that followed frontal systems, the Southern Atlantic semipermanent anticyclone and Upper Level Cyclonic Vortexes from Northeastern Brazil. For months displaying anomalous negative behaviour, a higher than average frequency or intensity of frontal systems was observed for the region, as well higher cloudiness and increased convective activity, sometimes associated with the ZCAS (Southern Atlantic Convergence Zone). Besides that, it was perceived that most months with ozone negative anomalies were preceded by months already showing negative anomalies, or either way, a decreasing tendency on concentrations.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o impacto da mudança dos fatores de emissão veicular na formação de ozônio troposférico na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (RMSP), Brasil, comparando os anos de 2004 e 2011. Essa avaliação foi realizada por meio de modelagem numérica com o modelo de qualidade do ar Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), configurado sobre um domínio com 4 grades aninhadas: 27, 9, 3 e 1 km; e com o mecanismo químico considerado, o RADM2, acionado apenas nas grades de 3 e 1 km. Os inventários de emissão foram baseados em informações estimadas de número de veículos, fatores de emissão de compostos químicos e número médio de quilômetros percorridos por dia pelos distintos tipos de veículos considerados. Os períodos de estudo 06 a 09 de setembro de 2004 e 12 a 15 de novembro de 2011 foram selecionados, principalmente, por apresentarem episódios de altas concentrações de ozônio e pela existência de dados experimentais de determinação de fatores de emissão. Para avaliar a performance das simulações foram utilizados dados observados de temperatura, umidade relativa, vento, concentração de ozônio, óxidos de nitrogênio e monóxido de carbono das estações de qualidade do ar da rede de monitoramento da Companhia de Tecnologia de Saneamento Ambiental (CETESB). Os resultados mostraram que as configurações físicas e químicas estabelecidas no modelo conseguiram representar adequadamente os ciclos de formação do ozônio, no entanto, com defasagens e intensidades máximas menores, características relacionadas com o cálculo das distribuições espaço/temporal das emissões como também pelo transporte não só do ozônio, mas também de seus precursores desde regiões externas à RMSP. Por outro lado, dadas as características de emissão em 2004 e 2011, encontrou-se que a atmosfera da RMSP estava caracterizada por um regime COV-limitante naqueles anos, principalmente no ano 2004. Finalmente, o cenário de emissão para 2011 considerando os mesmos fatores de emissão de 2004 mostrou um grande impacto na formação do ozônio troposférico, considerando a grade de 1 km de espaçamento. Esse resultado foi 8 produto do estabelecimento de uma razão média COV/NOx mais eficiente em termos de formação de ozônio, apesar das emissões dos seus precursores ter diminuído em relação a 2004. / The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of vehicular emission factors change on tropospheric ozone formation in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP), Brazil for 2004 and 2011. Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model was used as the photochemical modeling tool. WRF-Chem was set up to run with four nested grid cells: 27, 9, 3 and 1 km. The Regional Acid Deposition Model (RADM) version 2 was the chemical mechanism considered, turned it on barely in 3 and 1 km grid cells. The emission inventories were based on the estimated information of number of vehicles, emission factors and average driving kilometers for vehicle per day. The study periods September 06-09, 2004 and November 12-15, 2011 were chosen due to the high ozone concentrations observed, and the experimental data available for these periods. Observation of temperature, relative humidity, winds, and O3, CO and NOx concentrations from the air quality monitoring network of Companhia de Tecnologia de Saneamento Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (CETESB) were used to evaluate WRF-Chem simulations performance. The results showed that the chemical and physics configurations in WRF-Chem represented adequately the ozone formation cycles; however, with mismatches and maximum concentrations lower than observations, characteristics related with the estimative of the spatial and temporal distributions of the emissions as well as by the transportation of ozone and its precursors from external regions to MASP. On the other hand, given the characteristics of emission in 2004 and 2011, we found that MASP was under a strong COV-limited regime, principally in 2004. Finally, the scenario considering the emission factor of 2004 valid for 2011 in MASP showed a great impact in tropospheric ozone formation with high concentrations calculated for 2011 considering 1 km grid cell (with the most realistic vehicular activity), as result of a more efficient COV/NOx ratio calculation in terms of ozone formation.

Grandes centros urbanos e regiões industriais estão contribuindo para o aumento das emissões antrópicas para a atmosfera. No Brasil, nas ultimas décadas, o interesse por estudos relacionados à poluição urbana tem adquirido muita ênfase; as regiões metropolitanas das principais cidades do país apresentam níveis de concentração elevados de poluentes conforme a resolução do CONAMA, preocupando a população. Modelos numéricos de previsão do tempo e qualidade do ar ganha espaço nas áreas de estudo com o objetivo de prever e avaliar o comportamento dos poluentes com origem antropogênica. Devido a grande complexidade das reações fotoquímicas, que ocorrem entre os poluentes primários após lançados na atmosfera, ferramentas como ReLACS (Regional Lumped Atmospheric Chemical Sheme) são implementados aos modelos químicos facilitando estas analises. Estudos em regiões metropolitanas buscam o melhoramento funcional deste mecanismo para a obtenção de uma boa resposta operacional para cada região. No Rio Grande do Sul, na região metropolitana de Porto Alegre (RMPA), o modelo CCATT-BRAMS (Coupled Aerosol and Tracer Transport model to the Brazilian Developments on the Regigional Atmospheric Modelling System) apresenta bons resultados aos processos de formação e destruição dos principais poluentes que agravam a saúde pública: o Ozônio Troposférico. A implementação do ReLACS auxilia nos mecanismos químicos que compreende as reações entre seus precursores tais como: os óxidos de Nitrogênio (NOx), monóxido de carbono (CO) e hidrocarbonetos (HC). Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar e observar o melhoramento da resposta operacional do RELACS para a Região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre, com base no comportamento das concentrações de formação e destruição do ozônio em superfície, partindo de reações fotoquímicas entre seus precursores, NOx (NO + NO2) e compostos orgânicos voláteis (COV), através de simulações numéricas realizadas no CCATT-BRAMS. A avaliação final dos resultados é comparada com os dados de razão de mistura obtidos pelas estações de monitoramento de qualidade do ar na RMPA. / Big cities and industrial regions are contributing to the increase of anthropogenic emissions into the atmosphere. In Brazil, in recent decades, interest in studies related to urban pollution has raised; major cities metropolitan areas have high concentration levels of pollutants according to the resolution of CONAMA, preoccupying the population. Numerical models of weather prediction and air quality is gaining ground in the study areas in order to predict and evaluate the behavior of pollutants with anthropogenic origin. Due to the great complexity of photochemical reactions that occur among primary pollutants emitted into the atmosphere after, tools like ReLACS (Regional Lumped Atmospheric Chemical Sheme) are implemented to chemical models making these analyzes easy. Researches in metropolitan areas search for functional improvement of this mechanism to obtain a good operational response for each region. In Rio Grande do Sul, in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre (MRPA), the CCATT-BRAMS (Coupled Aerosol and Tracer Transport model to the Brazilian Developments on the Regigional Atmospheric Modelling System) model seems to be a good solution to the process of formation and destruction of pollutants that aggravate the public health: Ozone Tropospheric. The implementation of ReLACS assists in chemical mechanisms comprising the reactions among their precursors such as: nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC). This research aimed to access and monitor the improvement of ReLACS the operational response to the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, based on the behavior of the training levels and ozone depletion in surface, from photochemical reactions between their precursors, NOx (NO + NO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOC), through numerical simulations in CCATT-BRAMS. The final evaluation of the results is compared with the mixing ratio of data obtained by the quality monitoring stations air in MRPA.

L'altimétrie spatiale contribue majoritairement à la compréhension de la circulation océanique régionale et globale. Elle permet aujourd'hui de fournir une cartographie de la topographie océanique à des échelles spatiales et temporelles de plus en plus fines. Le passage du signal radar à travers la vapeur d'eau de l'atmosphère implique un retard de l'onde, qui nécessite d'être corrigé : c'est la correction troposphérique humide. Des méthodes statistiques sont actuellement utilisées pour estimer la correction troposphérique humide. Elles permettent d'inverser des mesures de températures de brillance fournies par un radiomètre couplé à l'altimètre sur une mission altimétrique, à deux ou trois fréquences proches de la bande d'absorption de la vapeur d'eau, à 22.235 GHz. Bien que ces algorithmes permettent d'estimer cette correction avec de faibles incertitudes en plein océan, des améliorations sont nécessaires pour réduire les erreurs dans les zones océaniques complexes, comme les régions d'upwelling, et sur les surfaces hétérogènes, comme en régions côtières, sur glace de mer, ou sur les eaux continentales. A ces fins, une approche variationnelle uni-dimensionnelle (1D-Var) est développée dans cette thèse. Elle permet de tenir compte de la physique de l'atmosphère et des variations de la surface dans l'environnement des mesures, pour estimer la correction troposphérique de manière globale, sur différents types de surface, dans le contexte des missions altimétriques actuelles, et futures, dont les technologies instrumentales évoluent. Une analyse fine des caractéristiques de l'approche 1D-Var, et de ses performances, permet de montrer l'apport et l'impact des différents paramètres en jeu sur les variables atmosphériques restituées, et la correction troposphérique humide estimée. Les performances du 1D-Var ainsi que ses limites sont évaluées pour l'estimation la correction troposphérique humide en plein océan, en conditions de ciel clair. L'apport des mesures de températures de brillance aux hautes fréquences, typiques des missions altimétriques futures, est également analysé. Leur potentiel est exploité dans le cadre de l'estimation de la correction troposphérique humide dans les régions côtières, où les mesures de températures de brillance sont contaminées par la présence de terre dans le signal. Enfin, une analyse des estimations des émissivités de surface, et de leurs variations sur la glace de mer, est proposée dans le cadre d'une étude préliminaire à l'estimation de la correction troposphérique humide, aux interfaces complexes mer/glace de mer, dans les régions polaires. / Space altimetry is one of the major contributors to the understanding of regional and global oceanic circulation. It currently enables to provide a map of ocean topography at higher temporal and spacial scales. A propagation delay of the altimeter signal along its path through atmospheric water vapor needs to be accounted for, and corresponds to the wet tropospheric correction. Statistical methods are currently used to estimate wet tropospheric correction. These methods are fed by brightness temperature measurements provided by a radiometer coupled to the altimeter, at two or three frequencies close to the water vapor absorption line, at 22.235 GHz. While these algorithms provide wet tropospheric correction with low uncertainties over open ocean, improvements are still needed to reduce higher uncertainties in complex oceanic areas, such as upwelling regions, and over heterogeneous surfaces, as coastal regions, sea ice or inland waters. To this end, a one-dimensional variational approach (1D-Var) is developed in the frame of this thesis. This approach accounts for atmospheric and surface variability in the surroundings of the measurements, to provide wet tropospheric correction estimates at a global scale, over various surfaces, in the context of both current and future altimetry missions, with improved instrumental technologies. We first analyze the characteristics of the 1D-Var approach and evaluate its performances. The contribution and impact of the different input parameters on retrieved atmospheric variables and wet tropospheric correction are shown through this analysis. The potential and limits of the 1D-Var approach to retrieve wet tropospheric correction over open ocean, for clear sky conditions, are evaluated. The contribution of high frequencies, typical to future altimetry missions, is also analyzed. It is fully exploited to retrieve wet tropospheric correction over coastal areas, where land contamination occurs within brightness temperature measurements. A preliminary analysis of surface emissivity estimates and their variability over sea ice is also undertaken, in the frame of the 1D-Var estimation of wet tropospheric correction over sea ice/open sea transition surfaces, in polar areas.

"July, 2003" / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-183) / xxii, 183 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Chemistry and Physics, Discipline of Physics and Mathematical Physics, 2004

A major opportunity for using satellite observations of tropospheric chemical concentrations is to improve our scientific understanding of atmospheric processes by integrated analysis of satellite, aircraft, and ground-based observations with global and regional scale models. One endpoint of such efforts is to reduce modeling biases and uncertainties. The idea of coupling these observations with a regional scale air quality model was the starting point of this research. The overall objective of this research was to improve the NOₓ emission inventories by integrating observations from different platforms and regional air quality modeling. Specific objectives were: 1) Comparison of satellite NO₂ retrievals with simulated NO₂ by the regional air quality model. Comparison of simulated tropospheric gas concentrations simulated by the regional air quality model, with aircraft and ground-based observations; 3) Assessment of the uncertainties in comparing satellite NO₂ retrievals with NOₓ emissions estimates and model simulations; 4) Identification of biases in emission inventories by data assimilation of satellite NO₂ retrievals, and ground-based NO, NO₂ and O₃ observations with an iterative inverse method using the regional air quality model coupled with sensitivity calculations; 5) Improvement of our understanding of NOₓ emissions, and the interaction between regional and global air pollution by an integrated analysis of satellite NO₂ retrievals with the regional air quality model. Along with these objectives, a lightning NOₓ emission inventory was prepared for two months of summer 2004 to account for a significant upper level NOₓ source. Spatially-resolved weekly NO₂ variations from satellite retrievals were compared with estimated NOₓ emissions for different region types. Data assimilation of satellite NO₂ retrievals, and ground-based NO, NO₂ and O₃ observations were performed to evaluate the NOₓ emission inventory. This research contributes to a better understanding of the use of satellite NO₂ retrievals in air quality modeling, and improvements in the NOₓ emission inventories by correcting some of the inconsistencies that were found in the inventories. Therefore, it may provide groups that develop emissions estimates guidance on areas for improvement. In addition, this research indicates the weaknesses and the strengths of the satellite NO₂ retrievals and offers suggestions to improve the quality of the retrievals for further use in the tropospheric air pollution research.

Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) was applied to retrieve tropospheric NO2 and aerosol vertical profiles from downtown Toronto, and King City, Ontario during select periods in 2006 – 2010. Linear regression of MAX-DOAS NO2 vertical column density (VCD) versus OMI (satellite) VCD yielded a good correlation (R = 0.88) and MAX-DOAS negative bias of 20%, which was within the reported uncertainty of the MAX-DOAS and OMI VCD. The average regional Toronto VCD (remotely-sensed via MAX-DOAS and OMI) was half of the near-road VCD obtained in-situ (2.4 x 1016 ± 1.2 x 1016 molec/cm2). MAX-DOAS measurements of O4 were coupled with radiative transfer modeling to obtain vertical aerosol extinction profiles and aerosol optical depth (AOD). A strong linear agreement was observed between PM2.5 concentration and aerosol extinction coefficient (R = 0.92), and MAX-DOAS versus sun photometer AOD (slope = 0.94; R= 0.90).