Publication Date:
2013-09-26
Description:
Ambient air monitoring as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (US EPA's) Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) currently uses filter packs to measure weekly integrated concentrations. The US EPA is interested in supplementing CASTNet with semi-continuous monitoring systems at select sites to characterize atmospheric chemistry and deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds at higher time resolution than the filter pack. The Monitor for AeRosols and GAses in ambient air (MARGA) measures water-soluble gases and aerosols at hourly temporal resolution. The performance of the MARGA was assessed under the US EPA Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program. The assessment was conducted in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina from 8 September–8 October 2010 and focused on gaseous SO2, HNO3 and NH3 and aerosol SO4−, NO3− and NH4+. Precision of the MARGA was evaluated by calculating the median absolute relative percent difference (MARPD) between paired hourly results from duplicate MARGA units (MUs), with a performance goal of
Electronic ISSN:
1680-7375
Topics:
Geosciences
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