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PREFACE: SPECIAL ISSUE OF AEROSOL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON FINDINGS FROM THE FINE PARTICULATE MATTER SUPERSITES PROGRAM
Citation:
Solomon, P A. AND D. Allen. PREFACE: SPECIAL ISSUE OF AEROSOL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON FINDINGS FROM THE FINE PARTICULATE MATTER SUPERSITES PROGRAM. AEROSOL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 38(S1):1-4, (2004).
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 collection of papers, which is the first coordinated publication of results from the Phase II Supersites Program, reflects the objectives of the program - to characterize particulate matter, to provide information, such as source-receptor relationships, that support health effects and exposure research, and to develop new methods for characterizing fine particulate matter. Reports describe results from Supersites projects in Houston TX, Los Angeles CA, New York NY, Pittsburgh PA, and from sites in the southern US that were associated with the Atlanta Supersites project. A Phase I Supersites Program special issue describing results from Atlanta has been published (Solomon et al., 2003). Additional coordinated publication of research results is planned, so that the community interested in airborne PM can effectively monitor the advances in understanding PM made through the Supersites Program. The next special issue is underway in Atmospheric Environment with publication anticipated in mid-2004 followed by a special issue in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres in early 2005. Subsequent second special issues are anticipated in each of these journals during 2005 and 2006.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development partially funded and collaborated in the research described here under Assistance agreement Nos. CR828057-01 (Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV), CR80858-01-0 (Washington University, St. Louis, MO), CR80859-01-0 (University of California, Los Angeles, CA), CR80860-01-0 (State University of New York, New York, NY), CR80861-01-0 (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA) CR80862-01-0 (University of Texas, Austin, TX), and CR80863-01-0 (University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD). It has been subjected to Agency review and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by EPA.