Air quality in the Northern Colorado Front Range Metro Area: The Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ)

We provide a history of air quality of the region and the outcomes of previously conducted experiments, describe the atmospheric conditions encountered during the campaign, and summarize the scientific findings that the campaign produced, together with the Deriving Information on Surface Conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) intensive, simultaneously carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

The goal of FRAPPÉ was to measure emission tracers and photochemical tracers from the ground and by aircraft to be able to quantify the contributions of various emission sectors to the photochemical production of ozone in the Colorado Front Range. We found major contributions from the fossil fuel extraction sector as well as the transportation sector, with minor contributions from agriculture, energy generation, and industry.