New York City Automated Air-Quality Data Collection Network

Abstract

The problem of air pollution, particularly in metropolitan areas, is a function of widely distributed sources of contaminants and meteorological conditions which prevail over a large geographical area. To effectively monitor such a large area, and to provide timely, accurate information at a reasonable cost, an automated data network was deemed mandatory. The initial system for monitoring, telemetering, and assembling air-quality data in New York City is composed of ten diverse monitoring locations, each containing instrumentation for the measurement of CO, SO2, particulates, temperature, wind speed, and wind direction. The central, or control point of the network, is at Air Pollution Control Department offices in downtown Manhattan. Display equipment, output devices, controls for the network, and the automatic equipment, including a small-scale integral computer, form the network master station. The system, as now installed, can accommodate up to 30 remote telemetry stations with up to 12 instruments at each location. Plans for extension of the system are now under consideration and include mobile field laboratories using radio telemetry and additional fixed locations.