Air Monitoring, Measuring, and Emissions Research

Protecting and improving air quality requires knowledge about the types and levels of pollutants being emitted by various sources such as coal-fired power plants, major highways and oil and gas refineries.  It also requires the best possible measurement and monitoring capabilities. The research goals include:

  • Develop methods to improve the ability to monitor and measure pollution levels and better understand the composition of pollutants.
  • Improve emission inventories to plan and implement air quality regulations and policies to protect air quality.
  • Develop and evaluate new technologies to monitor air pollutants with remote sensing technology, passive fence line monitoring, and infrared imagery to characterize diverse air pollution sources such as oil and gas refineries and landfills.
  • Develop low-cost, portable and user-friendly sensor technologies to measure local air quality near sources such as busy roads and industry.
  • Develop, refine and evaluate models, approaches and tools to address multipollutants and near source pollutant impacts.
  • Develop integrated multimedia systems modeling to better simulate the interplay of nitrogen across air, land and water.

The research information and tools support the development and implementation of regulatory programs to protect public health and the environment.

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