NARSTO EPA Supersite Baltimore: High-Resolution PM2.5 Metal and Cytokine Data

NARSTO_EPA_SS_BALTIMORE_SEAS_PM25_METAL_CYTOKINES is a data product from the EPA PM Supersites Program. It contains high-temporal-resolution measurements of metals and inflammatory cytokines in particulate matter (PM2.5) collected at three Baltimore monitoring sites between August 2001 and November 2002. The data were collected by the University of Maryland using a Semicontinuous Elements in Aerosol Sampler (SEAS II) and analyzed via atomic absorption spectrometry and bioassays.

Use Cases

• Correlating short-term PM2.5 metal concentrations with inflammatory cytokine responses based on the 30-minute sampling intervals.
• Analyzing source-receptor relationships for particulate matter using multivariate statistical techniques on the multi-element data.
• Modeling the health effects of PM2.5 by linking specific chemical compositions (Al, As, Cd, etc.) to biological assay results mentioned in the description.
• Comparing atmospheric transport and pollutant composition at industrially influenced urban sites during the two intensive measurement campaigns.

Strengths

• Data collection employed 'unprecedented temporal resolution' with 30-minute samples, allowing for fine-grained time-series analysis.
• Simultaneous multi-element analysis determined concentrations of 12 metals (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn).
• The project successfully developed a reproducible bioassay system for testing PM2.5 samples, providing linked chemical and biological data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data is from a specific time period (2001-2002) and may not reflect current atmospheric conditions.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), via the NARSTO EPA Supersites Program.

Collection Method

Ambient air sampled at 90 L/min for 30 minutes, analyzed via graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and cytokine bioassays on cultured cells.

Time Range

August 27 to September 10, 2001 and July 6 to November 27, 2002.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:31:36.748115; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Three monitoring locations in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.