Relationships between Synoptic Climatology and Atmospheric Pollution at 4 US Cities

Summary An evaluation of the impacts of weather on pollution, specifically, ozone and total suspended particulates concentration for Summer, is examined in four cities in the U.S.: Birmingham, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Seattle. These cities were selected because of their different climate regimes and their generally good pollutant and meteorological datasets. This paper uses a synoptic climatological approach, which combines a number of atmospheric factors, to better identify the relationships between atmospheric pollution and climatological conditions. Synoptic events represent holistic units of atmospheric conditions which commonly occur at a given locale, and possess specific weather and pollution characteristics. A number of weather variables, including temperature, are used in the development of a synoptic index, which can be used to identify synoptic events associated with specific pollution episodes. Results from the analysis illustrate that there is a substantial difference in pollution loads under different synoptic patterns, and that the cities do have substantially different relationships.Information from this study could be used to assist in the analysis of the differential impacts of weather and pollution upon human morbidity. Specific information as to the linkages between the synoptic weather patterns, pollution concentrations, and human health could be used in the development of weather/health watch-warning systems to alert the public that a synoptic episode is imminent.

[1]  G. Hidy,et al.  Spatial and temporal distributions of airborne sulfate in parts of the United States , 1978 .

[2]  Perry J. Samson,et al.  Aggregation of Selected Three-Day Periods to Estimate Annual and Seasonal Wet Deposition Totals for Sulfate, Nitrate, and Acidity. Part II: Selection of Events, Deposition Totals, and SourceReceptor Relationships , 1995 .

[3]  B. Yarnal,et al.  Relationships between synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation and ozone concentrations in Metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , 1992 .

[4]  Michael B. Richman,et al.  Obliquely Rotated Principal Components: An Improved Meteorological Map Typing Technique? , 1981 .

[5]  Trevor D. Davies,et al.  Cluster analysis: A technique for estimating the synoptic meteorological controls on air and precipitation chemistry—Method and applications , 1992 .

[6]  Roger G. Barry,et al.  Synoptic climatology; methods and applications , 1973 .

[7]  Jerry M. Davis,et al.  An Automated Classification Scheme Designed to Better Elucidate the Dependence of Ozone on Meteorology , 1994 .

[8]  Stu Daultrey,et al.  Principal components analysis , 1976 .

[9]  L. E. Niemeyer,et al.  Forecasting Air Pollution POTENTIAL1 , 1960 .

[10]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  Weather and Human Mortality: An Evaluation of Demographic and Interregional Responses in the United States , 1989 .

[11]  P. Crowe.  Concepts in climatology , 1971 .

[12]  J Schwartz,et al.  Increased mortality in Philadelphia associated with daily air pollution concentrations. , 1992, The American review of respiratory disease.

[13]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  Quantitative analysis of summer air masses in the eastern United States and an application to human mortality , 1996 .

[14]  Giovanni G. Amoroso,et al.  Stone Decay and Conservation: Atmospheric Pollution, Cleaning, Consolidation and Protection , 1983 .

[15]  B D Ostro.  Air pollution and morbidity: a sensitivity analysis of alternative monitors, pollutants, and averaging times. , 1984, The Science of the total environment.

[16]  Trevor D. Davies,et al.  Cluster analysis: A technique for estimating the synoptic meteorological controls on air and precipitation chemistry—Results from Eskdalemuir, South Scotland , 1992 .

[17]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  USING A SPATIAL SYNOPTIC CLIMATOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION TO ASSESS CHANGES IN ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION CONCENTRATIONS , 1990 .

[18]  J. Schwartz,et al.  Mortality and air pollution in London: a time series analysis. , 1990, American journal of epidemiology.

[19]  D. Dockery,et al.  An association between air pollution and mortality in six U.S. cities. , 1993, The New England journal of medicine.

[20]  P. Samson,et al.  Aggregation of Selected Three-Day Periods to Estimate Annual and Seasonal Wet Deposition Totals for Sulfate, Nitrate, and Acidity. Part I: A Synoptic and Chemical Climatology for Eastern North America , 1995 .

[21]  D. H. Pack,et al.  METEOROLOGY OF LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT , 1978 .

[22]  R. A. Muller,et al.  Estimates of Climatic Air Quality Potential at Shreveport, Louisiana , 1985 .

[23]  L. Kalkstein,et al.  A Synoptic Climatological Approach For Geographical Analysis: Assessment of Sulfur Dioxide Concentrations , 1986 .