California Air Resources Board

Principal Investigator/Author: John Seinfeld

Contractor: California Institute of Technology

Contract number: 21RD017

Project Status: Completed

Relevant CARB programs: California State Implementation Plans

Topic areas: Air Pollution Exposure, State Implementation Plans (SIPs), Particulate Matter (PM), PM2.5, Emissions Data, Light-Duty Vehicles, Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Diesel Exhaust, Heavy-Duty Vehicle Research

Research Summary:

In summer of 2021, researchers from Caltech studied the air pollution in Pasadena, CA for five weeks to learn about the sources of a type of pollution called particulate matter (PM). This study was part of a larger effort by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to understand air quality in the region.

In this project, Caltech will make sure the data collected during the study is accurate and report on different types of pollution. They used special tools to measure the composition of atmospheric PM along with other chemicals in the air. This information will help figure out where the pollution comes from and how it changes.

The data collected will be used to see which sources are causing pollution the most. They will compare the new data with older studies done in Los Angeles and analyze things like cooking emissions. They will also look at how weather affects pollution and study different types of pollution caused by chemicals in the air. This study will provide important information to make rules that can help reduce pollution levels.

Keywords: PM2.5, secondary organic aerosols, air quality, emission sources, state implementation plans, source apportionment, air quality trend