Integration across Air Quality Observation Systems: Background

Links to: Air Quality Cluster > CENR Monitoring Strategy

This section would introduce the subject, scope and provide the needed context for moving forward. The recent NAS reports, advances in technologies, umbrella organizations like GEOSS and build the partnership theme based on overlapping and emerging data needs and diminishing resources.

The subject scope would be very inclusive yet focused on air and the United States (this is a U.S. AQRS Federal agency effort). Since there are existing strategies underway for satellite based systems, this effort would focus more on ground based U.S. systems and address the connection to vertical systems (satellites and vertical profiling efforts), intensive and international efforts. In addressing such connections, priority recommendations could very well be placed on enhancements to vertical systems. To the extent that other media and geographies are incorporated, the focus would be on the information supplied by air media that impacts land/water systems and the need to assimilate long distance transport in assessing U.S. air pollution and deposition.

A reference to existing strategies (IGOS/IGACO; NAAMS) would be included as well as the previous CENR monitoring document and the role this effort plays in comparison.