Ambient Monitoring Networks and Ambient Monitoring Networks and Monitoring StrategiesMonitoring Strategies

Judith C. Chow ( judy.chow@dri.edu )John G. Watson

Desert Research InstituteReno, NV, USA

presented at: The Workshop on Air Quality Management, Measurement,

Modeling, and Health EffectsUniversity of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

24 May 2007

ObjectivesObjectives

• Discuss network design principles and philosophy

• Define monitoring objectives

• Evaluate air quality monitoring strategies

Ambient Monitoring NeedsAmbient Monitoring Needs

• Sampling locations that represent regional, urban, neighborhood, and source-oriented spatial scales

• Sampling periods and durations that represent range of source contribution conditions

• Long term record to detect trends and control strategy effectiveness

• Comparability of analytical methods with source profile measurements

Statement of ProblemStatement of Problem

• Many networks are designed mainly to detect maximum concentrations

• Many monitoring sites measure similar concentrations and are redundant

• An objective methodology is needed to design monitoring networks that represent exposure where people live, work, and play

Watson et al., 1997

Zones of RepresentationZones of Representation

• Collocated 1 to 10 m

• Microscale 10 to 100 m

• Middle-scale 100 to 500 m

• Neighborhood-scale 500 m to 4 km

• Urban-scale 4 to 100 km

• Regional-scale 100 to 1,000 km

• Continental-scale 1,000 to 10,000 km

• Global-scale >10,000 km

U.S. EPA’s Pyramid Approach to U.S. EPA’s Pyramid Approach to Air QualityAir Quality

ResearchSupersites

AssessmentChemical

Speciation

CompliancePM2.5 Mass

• 7 Urban areas

(short-term except Fresno, CA)

• ~1050 FRM

• ~200 Continuous

• ~54 Trends

• ~250 Source Apportionment

• ~165 IMPROVE Visibility

Compliance monitoring cannot serve all objectives!

Compliance NetworkCompliance Network

Non-urban and urban PMNon-urban and urban PM2.52.5

networksnetworks

Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual

Environments (IMPROVE) Network

Chemical Speciation Network (CSN)

Virgin IslandsVirgin Islands

Neighborhood- and Urban-Scale Neighborhood- and Urban-Scale Monitoring ObjectivesMonitoring Objectives

• Determine compliance with air quality standards

• Provide air quality forecasting and issue alerts

• Assess source/receptor relationships

• Evaluate health, radiative, and ecological effects

Urban and/or Health Network Urban and/or Health Network CharacteristicsCharacteristics

• Multi-year duration

• Urban-scale zone of representation near compromised populations

• Hourly to daily frequency and averaging times

• Particle concentrations by size, surface area, composition, and bioavailability

• Gas and meteorological co-factors

Regional-Scale Monitoring Regional-Scale Monitoring Objectives Objectives (primary)(primary)

• Determine air quality in urban, non-urban, and remote areas

• Observe long-term temporal and spatial pollution trends

• Monitor progress made by emission reduction measures

• Conduct atmospheric process research

Regional-Scale Monitoring Regional-Scale Monitoring Objectives Objectives (secondary)(secondary)

• Conduct photochemical or other air quality model simulation

• Relate changes in secondary pollutant concentrations to changes in precursor gas emissions

Regional Network CharacteristicsRegional Network Characteristics

• Represent boundary conditions, source, and receptor areas that characterize regional-scale phenomena

• Minimize influences from local sources

• Include background (upwind), transport, and receptor (downwind) locations

Siting ConsiderationsSiting Considerations

• Emission sources

• Terrain

• Meteorology

• Population density

• Existing air quality measurements

Siting ConsiderationsSiting Considerations

• Adequate exposure – minimize nearby barriers and particle deposition surfaces

• Minimum nearby emitters – monitor should be outside zone of influence of specific emitters

• Collocated measurements – other air quality and meteorological measurements can aid in the interpretation of high or variable PM levels

• Long-term site commitment – sufficient operating space, accessibility, security, safety, power, and environmental control

Monitoring StrategiesMonitoring Strategies

•Level III: Portable, inexpensive filter and continuous sampling at a large number of locations with a low investment in site infrastructure and maintenance.

– Hardware is already in use for indoor and exposure studies. Some accuracy and precision is traded for greater spatial coverage. Temporary, dense networks of this type surrounding Level I and Level II sites would establish the zones of representation for the permanent monitors.

(NRC 2004)

Examples of Portable and Examples of Portable and Inexpensive Monitoring DevicesInexpensive Monitoring Devices

Concentration Concentration contours of contours of

average PMaverage PM1010

mass around the mass around the Corcoran site Corcoran site

during the during the CRPAQS fall CRPAQS fall

intensive intensive (10/09/00 - (10/09/00 - 11/14/00). 11/14/00).

SFE

C05

COP

DAIP

DAIU

GRA

GRAS

H43

ORE

YOD

808.0 808.5 809.0 809.5 810.0 810.5 811.0 811.5 812.0 812.5

UTME

3996.5

3997.0

3997.5

3998.0

3998.5

3999.0

3999.5

4000.0

4000.5

4001.0

4001.5

4002.0

UT

MN

Average S ite Concentration (ug/m 3)

44.00 to 48.00

48.00 to 52.00

52.00 to 56.00

56.00 to 60.00

60.00 to 64.00

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

M ass C oncentra tion (ug/m 3)

0 1 2 3 4K ilom eters

Monitoring Strategies Monitoring Strategies (continued)(continued)

•Level II: Fixed sites with proven technology, similar to compliance sites, but with locations and observables intended to serve multiple purposes.

– These would have real-time access for forecasting and episode alerts. Resources directed at urban sites no longer needed for compliance could be used to establish background, boundary, and transport sites. Discontinued Level II compliance sites could be replaced with Level III monitors to address community and environmental justice concerns.

PMPM2.52.5 Federal Reference Federal Reference

Methods (FRMs)Methods (FRMs)

Andersen RAASThermo Fisher Scientific, formerly Andersen Instruments, Smyrna, GA

URG MASSURG Corp., Raleigh, NC

Partisol SamplerThermo Fisher Scientific, formerly Rupprecht & Patashnick, Albany, NY

BGI PQ-200 BGI, Inc., Waltham, MA

Speciation Monitors (EPA Speciation Network)Speciation Monitors (EPA Speciation Network)

Mass Aerosol Sampling System (MASS)URG Corporation, Raleigh, NC

Reference Ambient Air Sampler (RAAS)

Andersen Instruments, Smyrna, GA

Spiral Aerosol Speciation Sampler (SASS)Met One Instruments, Grants Pass, OR

Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual

Environments (IMPROVE) SamplerAir Resource Specialists, Ft. Collins, CO

Other Speciation MonitorsOther Speciation Monitors

Dual Channel Sequential Filter Sampler

and Sequential Gas SamplerDesert Research Institute, Reno, NV

Dichotomous Virtual ImpactorAndersen Instruments, Smyrna, GA

Paired MinivolsAirmetrics, Inc., Springfield,

OR

Partisol 2300 Speciation SamplerRupprecht & Patashnick, Albany, NY

Dichotomous Partisol-Plus SamplerRupprecht and Patashnick, Albany, NY

URG 3000NSpeciation Sampler URG Corporation, Raleigh, NC

Monitoring Strategies Monitoring Strategies (continued)(continued)

•Level I: Fixed sites with proven and novel technology, similar to those of supersites.

– A few of these locations would be located in contrasting environments with different sources, meteorology, and PM composition to test new technology, understand atmospheric processes, and support health studies. These would have instrumentation similar to that of Level III and Level II sites to determine comparability, as well as detailed size ranges, PM chemistry, and precursor gases. They would provide an infrastructure for the testing and evaluation of new measurement concepts and the development of procedures to implement at Level II and III sites.

Supersite MeasurementsSupersite Measurements

Fresno SupersiteFresno Supersite

ConclusionsConclusions

• Optimize information gained with available resources by careful network design.

• Design based on existing emissions, meteorology, temporal cycles, and aerosol composition data.

• Conduct short-term neighborhood-scale monitoring with densely located monitors to determine spatial representation.

• Daily sampling may be needed during the most-polluted season, with less frequent sampling during other seasons.

Conclusions Conclusions (continued)(continued)

• Provide information to assist in control strategy development, emission tracking, trend analysis, and exposure assessment.

• Maintain consistent data quality with standard calibration and operating procedures and data reporting formats.

• Develop infrastructure to support long-term nationwide or regional networks.

ReferencesReferences

Chow, J.C.; Engelbrecht, J.P.; Watson, J.G.; Wilson, W.E.; Frank, N.H.; and Zhu, T. (2002). Designing monitoring networks to represent outdoor human exposure. Chemosphere, 49(9):961-978.

NRC (National Research Council) (2004). Air Quality Management in the United States. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC.

Watson, J.G.; Chow, J.C.; DuBois, D.W.; Green, M.C.; Frank, N.H.; and Pitchford, M.L. (1997). Guidance for network design and optimal site exposure for PM2.5 and PM10. Report No. EPA-454/R-99-022. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. http://www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/pmstg.html.