Borrego Springs, CA is located in San Diego County in the middle of Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California’s largest state park. As part of the Sonoran Desert, it receives 7″ of annual precipitation and consists of fine sandy soils, making the region prone to soil erosion via natural and anthropogenic soil disturbances. The Borrego Springs community has expressed a concern in deteriorating air quality, potentially due to changes in drought conditions, agricultural practices, increased amounts of off-road vehicle activity, and other factors. Starting 2016/2017, I will be assessing the particulate matter air quality (PMAQ) in the Borrego Springs region, as well as advising on specific source regions of PMAQ concern.
I will evaluate current and historical air quality trends, develop and calibrate a regional PMAQ model, and attribute and advise on the source regions of PMAQ concern. Current and historical trends will be gathered via satellite, in situ, and aerosol forecasts. The regional PMAQ model will be based on the Weather and Research Forecasting Model (WRF) and incorporate the Mineral Dust Entrainment and Deposition Model (Zender et al., 2003).
Please click here to see a news article related to our study, featured in the Borrego Sun.