Current Capabilities and Future Directions of CASTNET RPO

Current Capabilities and Future Directions of CASTNET RPO National Technical Meeting June 8, 2005 Gary Lear Office of Atmospheric Programs (OAP)

CASTNET Objectives • Monitor the status and trends in regional air quality and atmospheric deposition • Provide information on the contribution of atmospheric pollution to ecosystem conditions • Provide measurements for validating and improving atmospheric models PAR 107 CASTNet Site Parsons, WV

CASTNET Today Sites 87 (+ 2 collocated) Sampler Filter pack - Teflon®, Nylon®, and Whatman® Chemical analysis Laboratory extraction and ion chromatography Gaseous species HNO 3, SO 2 Particle species NO 3, NH 4, SO 4, Base cations Meteorology Temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, wind direction Sampling height 10 m Sampling frequency 168 hours (1 week) Sampling schedule Tuesday to Tuesday Data availability 4 -7 months CASTNET filter pack assembly (2 Alaska sites not shown)

CASTNET Has Provided Accountability for Many OAR Programs • Reporting requirements due to statute and international agreements Trends in SO 2 Concentrations – CAAA effectiveness in reducing acid deposition – NAPAP Report to Congress – US-Canada Air Quality Agreement Progress Report, etc. • Annual reporting requirements – Acid Rain Program Progress Report, – NOx Budget Program Progress Reports, etc. • PART (Program Assessment Rating Tool) – Establish baselines for our programs – Set annual, progressive environmental goals – Results are tied to budgets Trends in Total Deposition

EPA Must Continue to Provide Accountability for Emerging Issues • Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) Areas Designated Nonattainment for Ozone and PM 2. 5 NAAQS in 2004 – A regional control program requires regional accountability measures • Source attribution • Ecosystem conditions – Eutrophication – Critical Loads • Model development and validation – EPA makes decisions worth $10 Billion based on these model output • Air Quality Forecasting – Convergence of measured and modeled results NO 3+HNO 3 Bias (CMAQ – CASTNET)

National Academy of Sciences Air Quality Management in the United States (2004) Key Findings • “The current lack of rural monitoring sites severely hampers the AQM system’s ability to address multi-state airshed pollution problems or to assess and mitigate pollutant impacts on natural and managed ecosystems. • “The nation’s air quality monitoring network is dominated by urban sites, limiting its ability to address a number of important issues, such as documenting national air quality trends and assessing the exposure of ecosystems to air pollution. ” Recommendations • “New monitoring methods to respond to the changes in air quality and monitoring data needs that have occurred over the past 30 years. • “Increased number and distribution of air quality monitoring stations in rural, agricultural, and remote forest areas, aided by a statistical design that will improve spatial and temporal estimates of exposure. • “Enhanced accessibility of ambient air quality measurement data to the scientific community and the public. ”

Regionally Representative Rural is important because it gives representative data: • Unaffected by local sources • Minimized variability • Specific siting criteria Gothic, CO Variability of local sources can obscure regional signals and long-term trends

This is the Challenge! Respond to our unmet national monitoring needs: • Characterize regional air quality • Characterize secondary fine particulates and their precursors • Reduce uncertainty in air quality modeling applications • Get data to our scientists and the public … and still maintain: • Stable operating costs for our monitoring networks • Robust, reliable equipment that will provide quality high-resolution measurements • The ability to provide traditional accountability indicators

Expanding the capabilities of CASTNET • Add advanced instrumentation to 30 -50 sites • Use multi-pollutant monitors to save on cost – SO 2, HNO 3, HNO 2, O 3, NH 3, – SO 4, NO 3, NH 4, Base cations – NOy • Seek local partners to complete NCORE Level 2 • Hourly resolution • Real-time availability of data • Implement in 3 -Phase approach – Prototype – Pilot – Full deployment

NCORE and CASTNET Measurements Measurement IMPROVE/ STN CASTNET Expanded CASTNET NCORE Level 2 O 3 1 -hr 1 -wk 1 -hr NO 1 -hr NH 3 1 -hr TBD HNO 3 1 -wk 1 -hr TBD HNO 2 1 -hr CO 1 -hr Crustal 24 -hr/3 -day FRM Mass 24 -hr/3 -day Continuous Mass 1 -hr OC/EC 24 -hr/3 -day SO 4 Particle 1 -hr NOy PM 2. 5 SO 2 Gases 1 -hr 1 -wk 24 -hr/3 -day* 1 -hr 24 -hr/3 -day* NO 3 1 -wk 24 -hr/3 -day* 1 -hr 24 -hr/3 -day* NH 4 1 -wk 24 -hr/3 -day* 1 -hr 24 -hr/3 -day* Base Cations 1 -wk 1 -hr Meteorology 1 -hr * PM 2. 5 fraction

Criteria for Multi-Pollutant Instruments • 7 day unattended operation • 1 hour measurements of major nitrogen and sulfur species • Detection Limit < 0. 1 ug/m 3 for all species • Relative percent difference from standard methods < 20% • Consumable liquids < 10 gallons/week • Non-hazardous waste liquids or by-products • Data available within 24 hours of sampling • Reasonably sized (fit within existing CASTNET shelter) • Internal, automated quality assurance checks • Does not require specialized instrument training of field technician • Remote data availability • Sampling height between 4 and 10 m • Evaluation committee from OAP, OAQPS, ORD, NPS, USFS, Cherokee Nation Tribe, Midwest RPO, and NOAA

Multi-Pollutant Instrument Selected for Additional Testing Sampler MARGA Chemical analysis Ion Chromatography Gaseous species HNO 3, HNO 2, SO 2, NH 3 Particle species NO 3, NH 4, SO 4, Base cations Sampling height 4 m Sampling frequency 1 hour (minimum is 20 min) Sampling schedule Continuous Quality Assurance Continuous internal standards Data availability 1 hour (24 hours to Web) MARGA (Monitoring Instrument for Aerosols and Gases) -- Developed by ECN (Energy Research Center for the Netherlands) and APPLIKON, INC

Principles of MARGA sampling 1. Ambient air composed of gases and particles Rotatin g denu d er 3. Particles pass through the denuder into the steam chamber 4. Particles “grow” as steam condenses 2. Gases are removed from air into the rotating denuder liquid 6. Liquids containing gases and particles are analyzed separately by liquid chromotography 5. “Grown” particles condense on sides of condenser and collect at bottom of chamber

Comparison of MARGA and Denuder/Filterpacks Average Conc. Slope vs Median R^2 ug/m 3 Marga 1 Marga 2 Marga 3 Marga 4 HNO 2 1. 5 1. 07 1. 13 0. 94 0. 93 0. 99 0. 96 0. 98 SO 2 5. 2 1. 03 1. 04 0. 94 0. 88 0. 93 0. 91 0. 96 0. 91 NH 3 3 1 1 0. 99 0. 98 Cl 1. 1 1. 02 0. 94 1. 13 0. 71 0. 99 0. 96 0. 8 NO 3 4. 7 0. 97 1. 02 1 0. 87 1 1 1 0. 99 SO 4 3. 5 0. 98 1. 05 0. 99 0. 82 0. 98 0. 97 0. 99 0. 93 Na 1. 1 0. 98 1. 01 1. 17 0. 87 0. 99 0. 96 0. 76 NH 4 1. 9 0. 81 1. 02 0. 83 0. 97 1 0. 99 0. 94 N=12

Phase I (2004 -2006) ü Funded: $1. 2 M OAP, OAQPS and CASTNET ü Evaluate and select prototype instruments for testing • Short-term high-intensity testing of selected instruments – – – – August 2005 (4 weeks) NOAA, EPA team using standard methods Two sets of instruments collocated for precision determination Gas/Particle Analyzer • Gases: HNO 3, SO 2, HONO, NH 3 • Particles: SO 4, NO 3, NH 4, Cl, Ca, K, Mg, Na Trace-gas analyzers (on-going) • NOy (NO + NO 2 + NOz ) • SO 2 • CO Sandy Dasgupta’s GPIC (? ), Others? Beltsville participants include scientists from NOAA, OAP, OAQPS, ORD, University MD, Howard University Four MARGAs operating simultaneously with denuder/filter packs at Aplikon headquarters for preliminary precision and accuracy determinations in April 2005

Phase I (2004 -2006) ü Funded: $1. 2 M OAP, OAQPS and CASTNET ü Evaluate and select prototype instruments for testing • Short-term high-intensity testing of selected instruments • Long-term testing of selected instruments – – – – – July 2005 - July 2006 (1 year) Three CASTNET sites Gas/Particle Analyzer Trace-gas analyzers (on-going) Dasgupta’s GPIC (Bondville) Passive Devices Low-flow denuder/filter pack for NH 3 and NH 4 Ogawa devices for NH 3 Continuous data available to public within 24 hours

Phase I (2004 -2006) ü Funded: $1. 2 M OAP, OAQPS and CASTNET ü Evaluate and select prototype instruments for testing • Short-term high-intensity testing of selected instruments • Long-term testing of selected instruments • Evaluation (January – September 2006) – – – Determine data quality objectives for all instrumentation • NCORE • Ecosystem and deposition monitoring • Trend determination • Modeling needs • State and local needs Evaluate results against DQOs Make recommendations

Phase II (2006 -2007) ü Funded: $1. 0 M OAR and CASTNET • Contingent on successful Phase I • Pilot program of up to 10 sites – • Instrumentation – – – • Install 5 -7 additional sites for routine monitoring and operation CASTNET Filter packs Gas/Particle Analyzers and NOy Analyzers Seeking partners for PM 2. 5 and CO measurements Actual site locations based on: – – – Providing regional-scale coverage Collocation with IMPROVE Consultation with National Park Service, RPOs, states and tribes • Filter pack measurements will continue for establishing instrument baselines and bias • Continuous data available to public within 24 hours (Actual locations to be determined)

Phase III (2006 -2008) • Contingent on successful Phase II • Funding – – – $3. 5 Million Budget cycle requires proactive request Funding returned if instruments not recommended • Full implementation at 30 -50 enhanced sites • Actual site locations based on: – – – Providing national coverage Collocation with IMPROVE Consultation with National Park Service, RPOs, states and tribes • Data available through AQS and CASTNET web site • Decommissioning of old technology is contingent on alternative modeling techniques • Encourage partners to join the network (Actual locations to be determined)