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APES Air Pollution Lab

Introduction
The EPA has established national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for six of the
most common air pollutants. Among these six are carbon monoxide (CO) and Ozone (O 3).
The first of these is an odorless, colorless, gas that can attach itself to the hemoglobin in
blood. This bond prevents necessary oxygen from bonding to the hemoglobin in the blood
which deprives organs of their oxygen supply, leading to organ failure. Carbon monoxide is
often a byproduct of automobiles. Ozone is a naturally occurring gas in the stratosphere and
is essential for regulating temperature on Earth. However it is becoming more and more
prominent in the troposphere which amplifies the greenhouse gases and contributes to
drastic climate change. Ozone can come from burning fuel, coal, as well as a result of
chemical reactions with other elements in the atmosphere.

EPA Air Quality Index Data


Days Per Year by Site and Pollutant Type
St. Louis St. Louis Los Angeles Los Angeles
AQI Category
1980 2015 1980 2015
Ozone CO Ozone CO Ozone CO Ozone CO
Good 198 217 296 365 120 59 152 365
Moderate 66 140 60 0 49 216 105 0
Unhealthy 40 6 9 0 30 45 76 0
Sensitive
Unhealthy 39 3 0 0 34 18 31 0
Very Unhealthy 23 0 0 0 133 28 1 0
Analysis

1. Using your completed data table, make at least three quantitative comparisons between
St. Louis and Los Angeles. Example: In 1980, St. Louis had XX fewer days than Los Angeles
on which the AQI for CO was >50.
In 1980, St. Louis has more 58 days where the Ozone was at a good
to moderate level over LA
Though Los Angeles had more problematic ozone days, ST. Louis had
more problematic CO days (1980)
In 2015, both LA and St. Louis had all 365 days in the good category

2. Look at each of your four maps. What patterns, if any, do you observe about the time of
the year/season during which the AQI index is poor? Make several observations.
It gets worse during the summer months potentially from lots of travel
and vacations taken during these months. It could also be aside effect of
the suns rays. The radiation is present for longer periods of time as well
as at a higher intensity which can amplify the effects of greenhouse
gases.

3. What do the data reveal about how air quality has changed in St. Louis between 1980 and
2015? Use data to support your response.
The air quality has gotten significantly better since 1980. The ozone
levels, which used to be in the 30-40 days range deceased all the way to
0-9 days in the unhealthy category. The carbon monoxide days are all in
the good category which is a major increase from 1980 where a third
of the days were below good.

4. What do the data reveal about how air quality has changed in Los Angeles between 1980
and 2013? Use data to support your response.
Los Angeles also got better over the 25 years. The carbon monoxide
days went from 59 in the good category to all 365 days. The ozone
however has decreased in the good category but the ones from the
bad category increase the number of moderate days. This indicates it
has gotten better but not significantly.

5. Which city has better air quality? Again, support your response with data.
St. Louis has better air quality because the carbon monoxide levels have
drastically decreased with no days in anything other than the good
category. Though LA has the same factor, the ozone days distinguish the
betterment. While LA did get better the number of good days decreased
as the moderate increased. Though that increase came from less
unhealthy days, St. Louis only has 9 days out of the entire year where
the AQI is past moderate.

6. Hypothesize about the causes of the differences between the two cities. Provide at least
three reasons.
The reason that ST. Louis has better quality air is most likely due to its
population. LA has a larger concentration of people which means more
lifestyle emissions on top of automobile emissions. The city of Los
Angeles is also located near mountains and is in a valley like depression
in the state of California. St. Louis is in the middle of the country on flat
plains where wind can easily disperse the pollutants instead of
concentrating it even further in the midst of mountains. Ozone can be
generated by the creation and disposal of technology which LA is a hub
for. Though there are regulations in place, the concentration from the
previous years lasts a long time because ozone does not decompose as
fast as other gases.

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