Major Ions and Acidifying Gases: Daily Canadian Air Quality Measurements

Daily ambient air samples collected by the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN) at a height of 10 meters. Filter pack analysis measures concentrations of particulate ions (Cl-, NO3-, SO4=, NH4+, Na+, K+, Ca++, Mg++) and gaseous pollutants (HNO3, SO2) in micrograms per cubic meter. The dataset is produced by Environment and Climate Change Canada using a methodology described in Sirois and Fricke, 1992.

Use Cases

• Modeling acid deposition and its environmental impact based on measured sulfate and nitrate ion concentrations.
• Analyzing seasonal trends in particulate matter composition based on daily sampling of ions like ammonium and calcium.
• Tracking long-term changes in atmospheric concentrations of acidifying gases like sulfur dioxide and nitric acid.
• Correlating air quality measurements with meteorological data based on the daily sampling cadence.

Strengths

• Sampling and laboratory analysis methodology is explicitly cited (Sirois and Fricke, 1992).
• Concentrations are blank-corrected and standardized to IUPAC temperature and pressure.
• Data is collected through a standardized national monitoring network (CAPMoN).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and temporal coverage are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the Canadian monitoring network.

Provenance

Source

Environment and Climate Change Canada

Collection Method

Daily 24-hour air sampling through a three-stage filter pack, with laboratory extraction and analysis.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-07 20:01:48.040111; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Canada (specific monitoring network locations not detailed)