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OVERVIEW OF THE 1999 ATLANTA SUPERSITE PROJECT
Citation:
Solomon, P A., W. L. Chameides, R. W. Weber, A. M. Middlebrook, C. S. Kiang, A. G. Russell, A. G. Butler, B. Turpin, D. Mikel, R. Scheffe, E. Cowling, E. Edgerton, J. St. John, J. Jansen, P. McMurry, S. Hering, AND T. Bahadori. OVERVIEW OF THE 1999 ATLANTA SUPERSITE PROJECT. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH: ATMOSPHERES 108(D-7):SOS1-1 to SOS 1-24, (2003).
Impact/Purpose:
The PM Supersites Program is an ambient monitoring program intended to address the scientific uncertainties associated with fine particulate matter. The main objectives of the Supersites Program are as follows: 1) characterize particulate matter in a way that contributes to the understanding of source-receptor relationships and supports development of State Implementation Plans (SIPs), 2) develop and test advanced measurement methods for potential use in national monitoring networks, and 3) support health and exposure studies by providing detailed chemical and physical data at one or more central monitoring sites.
The specific objectives of this task are to provide scientific review and coordination of the technical aspects of the Supersites Program. This includes coordination among all Supersites projects and other projects which support Supersites objectives, overseeing of the data management, and coordinating the communication of data analysis and modeling results to the scientific community and other stakeholders. Products include a number of peer-reviewed journal articles (approaching 200 or more), final reports from each project, a relational database than includes not only Supersites data, but most aerometric data collected in the continental US and SE Canada during the period July 2001 to August 2002, and a policy relevant findings synthesis entitled Key and Policy Relevant Findings from the Supersites Program and Related Studies. Also supporting the synthesis is a major international conference where results will be presented from air quality methods, measurements, modeling, and data analysis studies with similar objectives to the Supersites program and during the time period of the Supersites Program, i.e., the last 5-7 years.
Description:
This paper presents an overview of the 1999 Atlanta Supersite Project coordinated through the Southern Oxidants Study and the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) and funded by the US EPA along with other sponsors who provided in-kind support primarily through existing studies. The Atlanta Supersites Project was located at the existing SEARCH/ARIES site on Jefferson St. in NW Atlanta, GA. The primary objective of the Atlanta Supersites Project was to evaluate and compare advanced measurement methods for particulate matter mass and its components. Methods included filter/denuder based time-integrated or discrete samplers, a variety of semi-continuous methods measuring mass, its major components (sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, organic carbon, elemental carbon, trace elements) and gas phase precursors, and for the first time ever, a comparison among particle mass spectrometers, four in total. These data were complemented by meteorological data as well as gas phase criteria pollutant measurements and other supplemental data, such as particle physical properties, VOC, oxygenated VOC, and NOy. The primary and supplemental data also were used to better understand the formation and accumulation of PM in Atlanta and to better understand source-receptor relationships. This paper overviews the study, summarizing objectives, the site and measurements, the relative reference data used for comparisons, overviews the meteorological and chemical characteristics of pollution in Atlanta during the study, puts the study in context of Atlanta and the Southeast US, and finally summarizes the key findings from the over 30 publications published, submitted, or in preparation. This paper also provides as complete a list as is currently available of those publications. Others certainly will be emerging over time. The comprehensive database is available through the Atlanta Supersites Project web site sponsored by GIT (http://www-wlc.eas.gatech.edu/supersite/).
The United States Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development funded and managed or partially funded and collaborated in the research described here under Assistance Agreement No. CR824849 to the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication.