NARSTO_EPA_SS_ST_LOUIS Air Chemistry, Particulate Matter, Met Data

St. Louis is climatologically representative of the country's eastern interior, affected by a wide range of synoptic weather patterns and free of localized influences from the Great Lakes, Ocean, Gulf, and mountains. It accordingly provides an ideal environment for studying the sources, transport, and properties of ambient particles.The initial data types included:1) 5-minute PM 2.5 black carbon (880 nm) and uv-absorbing carbon (370 nm) measured by a Magee Scientific Aethalometer (Model AE-21).2) 1-hour PM 2.5 elemental carbon and blank-corrected organic carbon from semicontinuous thermo-optical analysis by the ACE-ASIA method.3) 24-hour PM 2.5 elemental carbon and organic carbon (both blank-corrected) from integrated filter with offline thermo-optical analysis by the ACE-ASIA method.4) 30-minute PM 2.5 metal composition from samples collected with a Semicontinuous Elements in Aerosol Sampler (SEAS) II.5) 5-minute meteorological data (wind, temperature, RH, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation) measured with a Climatronics anemometer, wind vane, thermocouple, lithium chloride sensor, pyranometer, barometer, and tipping bucket.6) 24-hour PM 1.0 filter mass concentration measured by sharp cut cyclone and gravimetric analysis.7) 1-hour PM 2.5 mass measured by an Andersen Continuous Ambient Mass Monitoring System (CAMMS).8) 24-hour PM 2.5 and PM 10 filter mass by Harvard Impactors and laboratory gravimetric analysis.The U.S. EPA Particulate Matter (PM) Supersites Program was an ambient air monitoring research program designed to provide information of value to the atmospheric sciences, and human health and exposure research communities.

Eight geographically diverse projects were chosen to specifically address these EPA research priorities: (1) to characterize PM, its constituents, precursors, co-pollutants, atmospheric transport, and its source categories that affect the PM in any region; (2) to address the research questions and scientific uncertainties about PM source-receptor and exposure-health effects relationships; and (3) to compare and evaluate different methods of characterizing PM including testing new and emerging measurement methods.

NARSTO (formerly North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone) is a public/private partnership, whose membership spans government, the utilities, industry, and academe throughout Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The primary mission is to coordinate and enhance policy-relevant scientific research and assessment of tropospheric pollution behavior; activities provide input for science-based decision-making and determination of workable, efficient, and effective strategies for local and regional air-pollution management.

Data products from local, regional, and international monitoring and research programs are available.