How Are Environmental Data Used

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How Are Environmental Data Used?

• William F. Hunt, Jr.
• Visiting Senior Scientist, North Carolina State
  University
• Former Director, Emissions, Monitoring and
  Analysis Division,
• U. S. EPA

2
A Data Users Perspective on the Monitoring
Process (Poirots Added Value Theory)

• Ambient monitoring data are expensive and
  extensive, but increase in value with use
• Value of ambient monitoring data nearly always
  exceeds the original monitoring objectives

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Poirots Added Value Theory Continued

• especially if
• Collected using standard methods
• Data quality are known and documented at multiple
  sites
• collected over long time periods
• and if
• Data are easily accessible to users
• can be combined with other data

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Major Air Pollutants

• Six Criteria Pollutants
• Ozone
• Particulate Matter
• Carbon Monoxide
• Sulfur Dioxide
• Nitrogen Dioxide
• Lead
• 188 Hazardous Air Pollutants
• Visibility

5
How are Data Used?

• Determine compliance - Has a standard been
  exceeded?
• Determine trends - Is the air pollution control
  program working?
• Assess environmental risk - How serious is the
  problem?
• Corroborate the emission inventories - Are the
  inventories correct?
• Validate the models - How good are the model
  predictions?

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How are Data Used? (contd)

• Report air quality index - How good or bad is the
  air pollution today?
• Evaluate control strategies - Is the strategy
  achieving its objectives?
• Characterize air quality - What are the diurnal,
  seasonal and year to year patterns? What are the
  effects of varying meteorological conditions on
  air pollution?

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Number of Monitors Reporting Data to AIRS
 
8
Overview Comparison of Growth and Air Pollution
9
Ozone Air Quality, 1982-2001Based on Annual 4th
Max 8-hour Average
10
VOC Emission Trends, 1982-2001
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Regional Trend in 8 Hr Avg. O3 Levels1982-2001Ba
sed on Annual 4th Highest Daily Max 8-Hr. Average
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Diurnal Pattern of mean winter (December-February)
hourly CO Concentrations, 1987-1996
15
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PM, Ozone, and CO
Diurnal pattern of winter daily one hour maximum
PM fine
Diurnal pattern of summer daily one hour maximum
PM fine
Diurnal pattern of mean winter hourly CO
concentrations
Summer Diurnal Pattern of Ozone
17
Why and How We Normalized the Data!!

•  A single source Gaussian plume model was used to
  normalize the data. The details of this model can
  be found at the following website
• http//www.epa.gov/scram001/tt22.htmscreen3
•  
• From the model, we know that the concentration is
  equal to emissions/(wind speedsigma zsigma y).
  Wind speed tends to be more variable than that of
  the sigmas. Resulting in the following formula
• Normalized ConcentrationWind Speed
•  
• Patterns appeared in the data after the VOC was
  normalized. An example of emerging patterns can
  be seen in the before (top) and after (bottom)
  normalization plots.

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Ethylene at the Deer Park Site How the Wind
Affects the Data
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But Why Not a 1Hr Max?
Many runaway 1-hour observations cause this
statistic to violate standards when in fact the
PM concentrations are under control.
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Can Toxic Release Trends in the Petroleum
Industry be Explained? Jeffrey A. Thomas,
Darious J. Brooker Ho-Ling Cheng
21
Urban Indicators Using Data to Generate
Information
Phoenix Metro Area Urban Growth Over Time
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A Possible Summer Trend?

• Summers alone are experiencing a negative trend.
• Temporary? Coincidence??

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A View From Space (May 9, 1998)
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A View From Space (May 14, 1998)
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Greater Bengan Field, Kuwait Citytaken from space
Simulated PINDEX
27
Greater Burgan Fire Storm Kuwait City
Simulated PINDEX
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North Carolinas Air Awareness ProgramOzone
Forecast Centerhttp//daq.state.nc.us/Ozone
30
EPAs AIRNOWOffice of Air Quality Planning
Standardshttp//www.epa.gov/airnow
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AIRNOWs link toOzone Mapping Archiveshttp//www
.epa.gov/airnow/maparch.html

• Retrieve archived ozone
• maps by clicking on
• a highlighted
• area

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Getting an Ozone Mappingfor the East Coast
Areahttp//www.epa.gov/airnow/archives/2002/nort
heast.html

• Select East from the
• drop-down box below
• the map
• Click on the
• See Archives icon

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Ozone Mapping Archives for the East
Coast(North Carolina northwards to
Maine)http//www.epa.gov/cgi-bin/airnow.cgi

• Scroll down to locate a
• date
• Click on an X under
• animation, 1-hour peak,
• or 8-hour peak

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Ozone 8-hour Peak Values for the East on
Thursday, August 15, 2002
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Ozone 1-hour Peak Values for the East on
Thursday, August 15, 2002
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Ozone Animation for the East on August 15, 2002
37
Department of Natural Resourcesfor
Georgiahttp//dnr.state.ga.us
http//state.ga.us/dnr
Click on the Environmental link below to
access Georgias Environmental Protection
Division!
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Georgias Environmental Protection
Divisionhttp// www.state.ga.us/dnr/environ/
39
Georgia Department of Natural ResourcesAir
Quality Information http//www.air.dnr.state.ga.u
s/amp/index.html
Click on appropriate link to see recent air
quality values!
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Monitor-Specific 8-hour averages for Atlanta at
the Conyers Station
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Summary

• The graphics and tabular presentations summarized
  in this lecture tell a story and communicate
  environmental information effectively.
• Examples were prepared by both professional
  statisticians undergraduate students.
• A picture is worth a 1000 words.