Recommendations for the PAMS Network in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States

摘要

The Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS) network was established in the mid-1990s in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions to provide information on the effectiveness of control strategies, emissions tracking, trends, and exposure. In many respects, the PAMS program has been a success. A large amount of high quality data have been collected, useful data analyses have been performed, and the data have already contributed to the scientific community's overall understanding of ozone formation and transport. Our goal was to assess the regional PAMS network as a whole (e.g., to ignore political boundaries) in order to recommend the most effective way in which to operate PAMS in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas. Specifically, PAMS data were used to identify the minimum type and number of observations needed to satisfy PAMS goals; to list and evaluate current measurements; and to assist the states in developing recommendations for potential changes to the network to reduce the monitoring resource requirements. This paper presents the recommendations (and supporting data analyses) for improving data quality; eliminating potentially redundant sites; selecting target species, sample duration, and sampling frequency; supporting carbonyl compound measurements; and other monitoring issues.