Pittsburgh air quality study overview

Ambient sampling for the Pittsburgh Air Quality Study (PAQS) was conducted from July 2001 to September 2002. The study was designed (1) to characterize particulate matter (PM) by examination of size, surface area, and volume distribution, chemical composition as a function of size and on a single particle basis, morphology, and temporal and spatialvariabil ity in the Pittsburgh region; (2) to quantify the impact of the various sources (transportation, power plants, biogenic sources, etc.) on the aerosol concentrations in the area; and (3) to develop and evaluate the next generation of atmospheric aerosolmonitoring and model ing techniques. The PAQS objectives, study design, site descriptions and routine and intensive measurements are presented. Special study days are highlighted, including those associated with elevated concentrations of daily average PM2.5 mass. Monthly average and diurnal patterns in aerosol number concentration, and aerosol nitrate, sulfate, elemental carbon, and organic carbon concentrations, light scattering as well as gas-phase ozone, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide are discussed with emphasis on the processes affecting them. Preliminary findings reveal day-to-day variability in aerosol mass and composition, but consistencies in seasonal average diurnal profiles and concentrations. For example, the seasonal average variations in the diurnalPM 2.5 mass were predominately driven by the sulfate component. r 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[1]  C. Lewis,et al.  Biogenic Fraction of Ambient VOC: Comparison of Radiocarbon, Chromatographic, and Emissions Inventory Estimates for Atlanta, Georgia. , 1999, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[2]  J. Kahl,et al.  Analysis of 10‐day isentropic flow patterns for Barrow, Alaska: 1985–1992 , 1994 .

[3]  Allen L. Robinson,et al.  Estimating the Secondary Organic Aerosol Contribution to PM2.5 Using the EC Tracer Method Special Issue of Aerosol Science and Technology on Findings from the Fine Particulate Matter Supersites Program , 2004 .

[4]  R. Harrison,et al.  Validation of techniques for fast response measurement of HNO3 and NH3 and determination of the [NH3][HNO3] concentration product , 1994 .

[5]  W. J. Mitchell,et al.  East versus West in the US: Chemical Characteristics of PM2.5 during the Winter of 1999 , 2001 .

[6]  B. Turpin,et al.  Issues in the Quantitation of Functional Groups by FTIR Spectroscopic Analysis of Impactor-Collected Aerosol Samples , 2001 .

[7]  G. P. Wyers,et al.  THE STEAM-JET AEROSOL COLLECTOR , 1995 .

[8]  W. Malm,et al.  Examining the relationship between atmospheric aerosols and light extinction at Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks , 1994 .

[9]  Cliff I. Davidson,et al.  Semi-continuous PM2.5 inorganic composition measurements during the Pittsburgh air quality study , 2004 .

[10]  J. Jaffrezo,et al.  Carboxylic acids measurements with ionic chromatography , 1998 .

[11]  Min Hu,et al.  The continuous analysis of nitrate and ammonium in aerosols by the steam jet aerosol collector (SJAC): extension and validation of the methodology , 2001 .

[12]  C. Stanier,et al.  An Algorithm for Combining Electrical Mobility and Aerodynamic Size Distributions Data when Measuring Ambient Aerosol Special Issue of Aerosol Science and Technology on Findings from the Fine Particulate Matter Supersites Program , 2004 .

[13]  Kenneth A. Smith,et al.  Development of an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer for Size and Composition Analysis of Submicron Particles , 2000 .

[14]  J. C. Cabada,et al.  Positive and Negative Artifacts in Particulate Organic Carbon Measurements with Denuded and Undenuded Sampler Configurations Special Issue of Aerosol Science and Technology on Findings from the Fine Particulate Matter Supersites Program , 2004 .

[15]  Jan Willem Erisman,et al.  Instrument development and application in studies and monitoring of ambient ammonia , 2001 .

[16]  J. Ondov,et al.  Development and Evaluation of a Prototype System for Collecting Sub-Hourly Ambient Aerosol for Chemical Analysis , 2001 .

[17]  A. Wexler,et al.  Laser Desorption/Ionization of Single Ultrafine Multicomponent Aerosols , 1998 .

[18]  C. Stanier,et al.  A Method for the In Situ Measurement of Fine Aerosol Water Content of Ambient Aerosols: The Dry-Ambient Aerosol Size Spectrometer (DAASS) Special Issue of Aerosol Science and Technology on Findings from the Fine Particulate Matter Supersites Program , 2004 .

[19]  B. Heikes,et al.  Automated fluorometric method for hydrogen peroxide in air , 1986 .

[20]  A. Robinson,et al.  Spatial Variations of PM2.5 During the Pittsburgh Air Quality Study , 2004 .

[21]  Andrey Khlystov,et al.  Nucleation Events During the Pittsburgh Air Quality Study: Description and Relation to Key Meteorological, Gas Phase, and Aerosol Parameters Special Issue of Aerosol Science and Technology on Findings from the Fine Particulate Matter Supersites Program , 2004 .

[22]  Barbara J. Turpin,et al.  An in situ, time-resolved analyzer for aerosol organic and elemental carbon , 1990 .

[23]  Continuous Determination of PM2.5 Mass, Including Semi-Volatile Species , 2001 .

[24]  J. C. Cabada,et al.  Mass size distributions and size resolved chemical composition of fine particulate matter at the Pittsburgh supersite , 2004 .

[25]  G. Cass,et al.  An evaluation of the thermodynamic equilibrium assumption for fine particulate composition: Nitrate and ammonium during the 1999 Atlanta Supersite Experiment , 2002 .

[26]  LASER DESORPTION/IONIZATION OF ULTRAFINE AEROSOL PARTICLES , 1997 .

[27]  Susanne V. Hering,et al.  Method for the Automated Measurement of Fine Particle Nitrate in the Atmosphere , 2000 .

[28]  A. Robinson,et al.  Effects of Sampling Conditions on the Size Distribution of Fine Particulate Matter Emitted from a Pilot-Scale Pulverized-Coal Combustor , 2002 .

[29]  J. Collett,et al.  On the Caltech Active Strand Cloudwater Collectors , 1996 .

[30]  W. Malm,et al.  Spatial and seasonal trends in particle concentration and optical extinction in the United States , 1994 .