EPA AQS
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General
Contact
Data System Name: Air Quality System (AQS)
Data System URL: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/airs/airsaqs/aqsweb/aqswebwarning.htm
Contact Person: Jake Summers
Contact e-mail: summer.jake@epa.gov
Background
About the Data System (Purposes, Audience)
AQS is the national repository for ambient air quality data. It is intended primarily or State, Local, and Tribal organizations to supply their data to the USEPA. However, the system does allow for the extraction of data through standardized reports and on-line forms to view the data.
Presentation
http://wiki.esipfed.org/images/3/3f/Data Summit AQS Overview.ppt
History
AQS is the EPA’s repository for air quality measurements from ground based stations. The stations are operated by state, local, tribal, and other federal agencies. Some of the data is required by regulation, other data is reported voluntarily. The agency that collects, analyzes, and submits the sample data to AQS maintains ownership of the data.
Agencies
State, local, tribal, and other federal agencies submit and own the data in AQS.
List of Publications, Papers, Presentations
Data System Scope
Data Content
Datasets Served
AQS contains ambient air quality measurements (mostly at the hourly or daily sample length), summaries of these measurements (at a daily, quarterly, and annual basis), special calculations required by the regulations (like 8-hour running averages for ozone), site and monitor metadata, and quality assurance information about the data.
Parameters
Over 1,000 parameters are collected and maintained by AQS including criteria pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, speciation data, and air toxics.
Spatial - Temporal Coverage
AQS contains data from all 50 states, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and data from border sites in Mexico and Canada. AQS has data available from 1957 to the present day consisting primarily of hourly and 24-hour samples.
Applications/Potential
Health
Data from AQS is used by other organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of the current air quality standards and to assess where the standards are being violated. It is also a major source of input to epidemiological and other health studies.
Forecasting and Reanalysis
To my knowledge, this data is not used in forecasting.
Model/Emissions Evaluation
AQS provides no capabilities to model data or to evaluate emissions. However the ground observation data in AQS is used validate model projections of air quality.
Characterization, Trends, Accountability
AQS is the basis for EPA’s characterization of air quality effecting the populations and ecosystems, the efficacy of control strategies, and exposure to toxic pollutants – all top level EPA air quality management goals.
Other
Not Given
Data System IT
Primary/Official Store for Some data
Station based air quality measurements from the national ambient air quality monitoring network(s).
Data Consolidation/integration
Data from multiple networks is included (criteria, toxics, visibility, etc.)
Providing Data Access to users/externals
AQS provides standard and ad hoc report access to users. By policy, only state, local, tribal and federal agency employees and contractors are allowed an AQS account. External access is handled by the AQS Data Mart. The AQS Data Mart is the dissemination piece of AQS. It contains all of the data reported to AQS from 1980 to the present (even AQS does not keep that much on-line). It is updated nightly with the data added to AQS during the business day. Access requires registration but is open to anyone and there is a guest account. Access is via 5 SOAP web services or a “Direct Interface” query builder (which is just a GUI on top of the SOAP web services).
Data Processing
Quality assurance and temporal aggregation.
Visualization/Analysis
Not Given
Decision Support (e.g. some integration into user business process)
Not Given
End-to-End Integration
Not Given
Other DS Values
Not Given
Data Access and/or Output Interoperability
The AQS database can be accessed by end users through the AQS application or Oracle Discoverer. The AQS Data Mart can be accessed via SOAP web services, a query interface on the EPA TTN, or via an SQL connection for EPA users and applications.
Reusable Tools and Methods
Exchange Network web services
Security Barriers and Solutions
EPA architecture
User Feedback Approach
List server, emails.
Other Architecture
Not Given
