IMPACT OF METEOROLOGY ON THE FINE PARTICIULATE MATTER DISTRIBUTION IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN OHIO

摘要

Air quality problem related to fine particulate matter (PM_(2.5)) in Ohio is associated with both local emission sources and pollutants transported here from great distances. Favorable meteorological situations contribute to the formation and transport of PM_(2.5) within Ohio. A detailed understanding of the sources of pollutants and meteorological conditions affecting air quality is therefore required for any meaningful air quality planning in Ohio. In this study, the characteristics of fine particulate matter distribution are evaluated for selected monitoring sites in Ohio. Trajectory and cluster analyses were employed to study the movement of air parcels carrying pollutants from sources situated long distances. Recent studies have used cluster analysis for various purposes. Dorling et al. (1992) applied cluster analysis to find out the relationships between large-scale surface pressure patterns and the pollution climatology of a site. Also, they used cluster analysis as a tool for examining the influence of synoptic weather patterns on air and precipitation chemistry. Brankov et al. (1999) examined the relationship between synoptic-scale atmospheric transport patterns and concentration levels of several toxic trace elements with cluster ana.'ysis. Another study by Rao et al. (1998) addressed the influence of a finite number of synoptic patterns associated with pollutant transport from a different source region.