Thomas John Korniski

AMBIENT SULFATE MEASUREMENTS ON ALLEGHENY MOUNTAIN AND THE QUESTION OF ATMOSPHERIC SULFATE IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

An experimental study is described in which atmospheric aerosol measurements at Allegheny Mountain in southwestern Pennsylvania were used to search for interrelationships of SO/sub 4/(-), percentage SO/sub 2/-SO/sub 4/(-) conversion, meteorological properties, rainfall, visibility, light scattering, SO/sub 2/, aerosol mass, H(+), NO/sub 3/, various trace elements, and rainfall H(+) and SO/sub 4/(-). The selected woodland location is in the area of maximum SO/sub 4/(-) concentration in the northestern U.S. The results obtained show that aerosol H(+) and SO/sub 4/(-) were uniquely correlated with each other and with light scattering, that the light scattering was entirely attributable to SO/sub 4/(-), and that SO/sub 2/ is evidently not related to any other parameter. It is concluded that the SO/sub 4/(-) at Allegheny Mountain stemmed from transport, with or without SO/sub 2/ oxidation, from westward nonurban sources of some kind that were sources of very little else in the aerosol.

Artifact Formation of Sulfate, Nitrate, and Hydrogen Ion on Backup Filters: Allegheny Mountain Experiment

Artifact sulfate formation in ambient conditions on filters of several types was evaluated by comparison between upstream and downstream tandem filters and also by comparison between filters operated in parallel. Some evaluation of artifact H+ and NO3 − was also performed. The experimental site was a tower on the top of Allegheny Mountain in southwestern Pennsylvania. Artifact SO4 = on backup filters was observed to be directly related to filter alkalinity, relative humidity, and cumulative exposure to SO2 with the more alkaline types converting ≥ 10% of the SO2 to which they were exposed, even after very long exposure. On the quartz-fiber backup filters, which gave relatively little artifact, the artifact SO4 = and NO3 − precursors seem to have the same origin as the atmospheric SO2. Artifact H+ was also related to atmospheric SO2, though not clearly to artifact SO4 =; on a mole basis, H+ was a leading, if not the major, artifact species on quartz-fiber backup filters. However, the backup filter method g...

FTIR: fundamentals and applications in the analysis of dilute vehicle exhaust

FTIR spectroscopy has been shown to be a valuable tool in the analysis of complex gas phase mixtures, such a dilute vehicle exhaust. Regulated and non-regulated vehicle emissions have been routinely sampled and analyzed using prototype instrumentation developed in this laboratory, and in several other laboratories over the last decade. More recently, commercial versions of these FTIR analyzers have become available through several manufacturers. This paper reviews the data acquisition and processing techniques utilized by the FTIR analyzer developed in this laboratory. The statistical detection limits for 22 of the components analyzed by the system are presented. In addition, the linearity of the carbon monoxide (CO) analysis is demonstrated over several orders of magnitude. Experiments designed to study the effects of environmental parameters on the accuracy and the sensitivity of the system are also described.