Grantee Research Project Results
2004 Progress Report: The Urban Measurements Project—The Urban Atmosphere Observatory
EPA Grant Number: CR830890C001Subproject: this is subproject number R830890C001 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant CR830890
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Solutions for Energy, AiR, Climate and Health Center (SEARCH)
Center Director: Bell, Michelle L.
Title: The Urban Measurements Project—The Urban Atmosphere Observatory
Investigators: Gaffney, Jeffrey S. , Marley, Nancy A. , Coulter, Richard L. , Doskey, Paul V. , Frederick, John
Institution: Argonne National Laboratory , University of Chicago
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004 (Extended to June 30, 2005)
Project Period Covered by this Report: July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004
RFA: Targeted Research Center (2003) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Targeted Research
Objective:
This project seeks to establish and operate an array of instruments devoted to measuring various aspects of the urban physical and chemical environments. Collectively these sensors comprise the Urban Atmosphere Observatory (UAO) located on the University of Chicago campus. The objective of this research project is to acquire high quality datasets related to urban radiative energy fluxes and atmospheric composition. This information is the primary input to the companion project in the Center for Environmental Science devoted to data analysis and modeling.
Progress Summary:
During summer 2004, a suite of instruments began operation at UAO and include a Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR), a Robertson-Berger broadband ultraviolet meter, a nephelometer for measuring the total extinction coefficient of atmospheric particles, a seven-channel aethalometer for recording the black carbon content of particulate matter, and chemiluminescent sensors for monitoring ground-level ozone, nitric oxide and total odd nitrogen. These instruments join an existing Brewer spectrophotometer that measures solar spectral irradiance from the shortest wavelengths that reach the ground to 360 nm. Taken collectively, this array of sensors can provide comprehensive datasets that define the particle content of the atmosphere, both locally and in the total air column; the optical characteristics of these particles; and the effect of the particles on received solar irradiance over the visible and chemically important ultraviolet range. In addition , a portable net radiometer that measures upwelling and downwelling total solar irradiance and upwelling and downwelling total thermal infrared irradiance is operating at the UAO site. This is the primary instrument for use in examining the radiative energy budget in various urban and rural locations.
Future Activities:
The acquisition of data on particulate matter, trace gases and radiation from the UAO site will continue. A long-path laser system for measuring ammonia in the urban atmosphere should become operational in the last quarter of 2004.
Communications are underway with representatives of the City of Chicago to arrange for operation of the net radiometer from several locations in the urban area. Topics of particular interest involve (1) the role of the lower boundary of the atmosphere (grass, concrete, wet, dry) in determining the rates of heating and cooling; and (2) the degree of daytime heating experienced in an “urban canyon.” Downtown Chicago provides an ideal setting for the second of these studies. A dense array of high-rise buildings, as viewed from street level, blocks a significant fraction of the sky and thereby limits the amount of solar energy that reaches the ground. The vertical faces of buildings with solar exposure, however, can experience enhanced solar heating, the extent of which depends on the albedo of the construction materials and shielding by surrounding structures. Sky blockage by buildings also will inhibit cooling of the ground by thermal infrared emission. The magnitude of these effects will depend on details of the configuration of buildings and prevailing meteorological conditions.
Deployment of the net radiometer in a variety of locations with different physical characteristics will provide valuable information concerning the influence of urban development on the thermal environment at the ground. This measurement-based project will constitute the Ph.D. research of graduate student Timothy Barzyk.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 2 publications for this subprojectSupplemental Keywords:
urbanization, solar radiation, thermal radiation, particulate matter, carbon, atmospheric energetics, air, atmosphere, modeling, monitoring, Chicago, Illinois,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Environmental Chemistry, Monitoring/Modeling, Environmental Monitoring, Atmospheric Sciences, atmospheric measurements, ambient particle properties, chemical characteristics, Urban Atmosphere Observatory, air quality model, air quality assessments, aerosol analyzers, atmospheric chemistryRelevant Websites:
http://www.atmos.anl.gov/CES/ Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractMain Center Abstract and Reports:
CR830890 Solutions for Energy, AiR, Climate and Health Center (SEARCH) Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
CR830890C001 The Urban Measurements Project—The Urban Atmosphere Observatory
CR830890C002 The Urban Data Analysis and Modeling Project
CR830890C003 Attenuation of Ultraviolet Solar Radiation by Cloudy Skies: Links to Urban Air Quality
CR830890C004 Measurements of Black Carbon in Chicago: Implications for Controls on Diesel Emissions
CR830890C005 Attenuation of Visible Sunlight by Limited Visibility and Cloudiness
CR830890C006 The Energy Balance of Urban Microclimates
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
Main Center: CR830890
9 publications for this center
1 journal articles for this center