Air Pollutant Measurements Aloft
Photo: SCAQMD’s Meteorologist Kevin Durkee
The objectives of this project were to quantify and develop an annual profile of boundary concentrations within the South Coast Air Basin. The sampling was conducted using an aircraft equipped with instrumentation to measure meteorological variables as well as ozone, carbonyls and VOCs. Sampling missions included offshore collection along key traverse routes as well as vertical soundings at specific locations onshore and offshore. The aircraft profiles were augmented by rawinsonde/ozonesonde measurements at a coastal airport to further document the meteorology and ozone conditions during the aircraft sampling periods. All measurements were made onboard a chartered aircraft using a portable, self-contained instrument package designed by T&B Systems that required no airframe or electrical modifications to the aircraft.