Texas PM2.5 Chemical Composition Measurements from 1997-1998

NARSTO's Texas Particulate Matter 2.5 Sampling and Analysis Study collected 24-hour PM2.5 mass and chemical composition measurements from 15 sites across Texas. The study was sponsored by the City of Houston, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, and the Houston Regional Monitoring Network. Data collection occurred from March 11, 1997 to March 12, 1998.

Use Cases

• Analyze PM2.5 mass concentration trends over the 1997-1998 period from 15 Texas sites.
• Compare chemical composition data from Teflon and quartz fiber filters to identify pollutant sources.
• Evaluate data precision and accuracy using measurements from various sampler configurations.
• Establish background PM2.5 conditions using measurements from sites outside Houston.
• Determine compliance with potential new PM standards using 24-hour gravimetry mass measurements.

Strengths

• Data spans a full year of continuous monitoring from March 1997 to March 1998.
• Measurements were collected from 15 distinct sites across the state of Texas.
• Includes both mass measurements by gravimetry and full chemical analysis for a subset of filters.

Limitations

• Dataset is temporally stale, with the last update in March 1998.
• Sample size is limited to one year of data, potentially insufficient for long-term trend analysis.
• Chemical analysis was performed only on a selected subset of filters, not the full collection.

Provenance

Source

LARC_ASDC, via the NARSTO partnership.

Collection Method

24-hour PM2.5 samples collected using DRI's MEDVOL particle samplers, with mass measured by gravimetry and filters subjected to chemical analysis.

Time Range

March 11, 1997 to March 12, 1998.

Geography

15 sites throughout the state of Texas, including Houston.