Air quality in America’s largest cities has steadily improved thanks to tighter regulations on key sources of particulate pollution.
Air quality in America’s largest cities has steadily improved thanks to tighter regulations on key sources of particulate pollution. However, increased heat, wildfire smoke and other emerging global drivers of urban aerosol pollution are now combining to create a new set of challenges for public health officials tasked with protecting millions of people on the East Coast.
Research from Colorado State University published in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science begins to unpack and characterize these developing relationships against the backdrop of New York City. The research quantifies how existing particulate pollution from sources such as vehicle exhaust or consumer products are now combining with wildfire smoke – transported from thousands of miles away – to create secondary, often more toxic, pollution or contribute to the formation of ozone in hot weather.
Professor Delphine Farmer in the Department of Chemistry led the research with data collected from continuous on-the-ground readings at a site on Long Island during the summer of 2023.
Read More: Colorado State University
Image: View of the FROG flux tower which has sampling equipment used in the study on it. Credit: Emily Franklin/Colorado State University (Credit: Emily Franklin/Colorado State University)
