Investigations of Ozone and Particulate Matter Air Pollution in the Northeast
Document ID: 147
Philbrick, C. Russell1
Clark, Richard D.2
Koutrakis, Petros3
Munger, J. William4
Doddridge, Bruce G.5
Miller, W. C.6
Rao, S. Trivikrama7
Georgopoulos, Panos G.8
Newman, L.9
1 The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Electrical Engineering, University Park, PA, U.S.A.
2 Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Department of Earth Sciences, Millersville, PA, U.S.A.
3 Harvard University, School of Public Health, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
4 Harvard University, Engineering and Applied Science, Boston, MA, U.S.A.
5 University of Maryland, Department of Meteorology, College Park, MD, U.S.A.
6 Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.
7 New York Department of Conservation, Albany, NY, U.S.A.
8 Rutgers University, Envir. & Occup. Health Sci. Institute, Piscataway, NJ, U.S.A.
9 Brookhaven National Laboratory, Environmental Chemistry Division., Upton, NY, U.S.A.
Abstract
During summer 1998, the NARSTO-NE-OPS (North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone - North East - Oxidant and Particle Study) pilot study was conducted in Philadelphia. This research has involved a consortium of investigators from several universities and government laboratories. Several were involved in preparation of the Philadelphia field measurement site and participated in a measurement campaign during a two week period in August 1998. The primary purposes of the pilot study were to evaluate the site and compare instrument platforms. However, the 21-22 August 1998 measurements included a significant pollution event, during which substantial increases in both ozone (concentration 125 ppb) and air borne particulate matter (PM2.5 65 μg/m3) were observed. During the summer of 1999, extended measurements were carried out over a two-month period that captured data on several air pollution episodes, some of which recorded the highest O3 in Philadelphia during the past decade. Techniques which were used during the investigation included a wide range of instruments that measured the surface layer and boundary layer properties.