New study finds an ongoing shift in the pollution dynamics of New York City

Monitoring equipment near New York City. Credit: Drew Gentner, Yale University

CPO’s Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle and Climate (AC4) Program supported a new scientific study that measured Particulate Matter (PM) from New York City (NYC) during the summer of 2022 as part of the NYC-METS (New York City metropolitan Measurements of Emissions and TransformationS) field campaign. AC4 funded this project through two different grants awarded to Yale University and Aerodyne Research Inc. focused on understanding the chemical composition of urban atmospheres. This work contributed to a large-scale coordinated measurement effort, as part of the NOAA-led AEROMMA field campaign, and its interagency umbrella, AGES+ (AEROMMA+CUPiDS, GOTHAAM, EPCAPE, STAQS). Atmospheric aerosols, specifically particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5), are significant air pollutants with adverse implications for human health and climate. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding the sources and factors influencing aerosol concentrations, as the composition poses challenges for air quality policies in NYC.