Analysis of Air Quality Data in the Lake Michigan Area

Analyses of air quality data should be used in conjunction with photochemical modeling to support the development of ozone control programs. Three particular analyses were performed using data from the Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Stations (PAMS) in the Lake Michigan area: trends analyses, emissions evaluation, and ozone-ozone precursor characterization studies. The trends analyses provide information about the change in local ozone concentrations taking into account changes in local ozone precursor concentrations and meteorology. The emission evaluation is necessary to improve the quality of the emissions inventory being used for modeling and other air quality planning activities. The ozone-ozone precursor characterization studies provide information on such issues as weekday-weekend differences in air quality concentrations. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of these analyses and to discuss their use in ozone attainment planning for the Lake Michigan area.