Ozone pollution has been a problem in western Wyoming for years because of oil and gas development, but the chemistry behind it has been a mystery, until now.
A study published this month in the journal Nature looks at how wintertime ozone pollution in rural areas with oil and gas development is chemically different from summertime ozone pollution in big cities. In the Uinta Basin in Utah the researchers found levels of the two main components of ozone were opposite of what they would be in cities.
“This study was trying to understand the chemistry in a detailed enough fashion that you can decide which one to control and if you can target specific compounds that you want to control,” said Shane Murphy, an assistant professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Wyoming and one of the co-authors of the study.
He says that information could be very helpful to regulators.
“In the future, this paper will probably help us understand what the most effective strategy is. Wyoming went at it from all angles. And this paper will also help us understand as we continue to monitor Wyoming, why the controls are working.”
Murphy says the research is particularly relevant as oil and gas development ramps up across the Rocky Mountain West.