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emissions that form ozone in the San Joaquin Valley are also due to local and upwind areas (Jin 2011). Areas
in the north such as the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley, are some of the primary basins for the wind that
contribute to the San Joaquin Valley ozone (See appendix B). Trends during the summer conveyed unique
patterns that demonstrated peaks during individual days. The highest source of ozone was observed
where there were more emission sources and least amounts of ozone were observed in rural areas.
Therefore, ozone suggests that there are strong differentiations in the levels of ozone across the valley.
These deviations in levels of ozone are related to source relationships with different meteorological
processes in various regions.
Temperature can also affect the ozone levels as shown in Appendix C, where cooler temperatures were
associated with lower ozone levels; whereas, higher temperatures contributed to increased levels of ozone
shown more in the San Joaquin Valley. Diurnal changes have also been observed to be affected by
temperature differences between inland and the coastal areas. The sea breeze from the coasts increase
during the mid morning when heating occurs over land, and reaches its maximum around sunset. However,
the winds differ depending on the region. During the daytime when it is the warmest in the San Joaquin
Valley, the air becomes stagnant, trapping the polluted air and preventing it from moving out of the Valley.
This correlates to the ozone levels and their relationship with wind patterns.
Impacts On the Valley
Agricultural impacts: The San Joaquin Valley is one of the most productive agricultural regions; however,
brings about some of the worst air quality in the area. This is due to certain factors like irrigation which
impact pollutants throughout the Central Valley (Li 2016). Since the San Joaquin Valley alone holds millions
of acres of irrigated land in the US, it produces over 10 percent of the agricultural production. This land use
and the coverage of land transpires due to changes in environment such as climate change and/or
wildfires and human activities including agriculture. Irrigation happens year round and has posed the
question of how it affects ozone and other pollutants. Irrigation in agriculture indirectly alters the
meteorological habitats of pollution by multiple factors. One of the ways irrigation can increase pollution is
by increasing moisture in the soil which causes a decrease in air temperature. Once the air temperature is
decreased, it affects photochemical rates (Li 2016). Another way is increasing the humidity which results in
concentrations of certain compounds to become strengthened in the atmosphere. Studies have found that
this increase in poor air quality by irrigation has been linked to the absence of clouds and moisture in the
air.
Not only has irrigation been a contributing factor to air pollution, but agricultural runoff has also become
an issue in this regard. The impact of rising temperatures, precipitation, and pesticides have been
correlated to changes in runoff (Ficklin 2009). This change in the runoff has resulted in the increase of
carbon dioxide levels which in turn, increases other compounds in the air such as nitrogen and
phosphorus. Such changes cause alterations to the precipitation and water cycle which affect crop
production and agricultural runoff. This issue has caused much concern in the San Joaquin Valley due to
the increase in contamination of surface water.
Health Impacts: Due to the poor air quality in the San Joaquin Valley, many of the citizens face short term
and long term health-related issues. The area is among one of the highest ranked for the issue of asthma
compared to other parts of the US (Meng 2010). High ratings of asthma have come down to the
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