Concept information
Preferred term
SURE
Definition
- Program Code: SURE Program Title: Sulfate Regional Experiment The Sulfate Regional Experiment (SURE) was designed to investigate the behavior of airborne sulfur oxides and associated substances over the greater northeastern United States. The study area extended from eastern Kansas to theAtlantic seaboard and from mid-Alabama to southeastern Canada, an area of approximately 2,400 by 1,000 km. The study was motivated by concerns in the early 1970s that suspended sulfates impair human health when inhaled in a mixture of pollutant gases and other suspended particulate components. Since then it has been established that adverse health effects are not associated with ambient sulfate concentrations as formerly thought. However, sulfur oxides and their copollutants, nitrogen oxides, may have roles in governing the acidity of the atmosphere and precipitation, and in impairing visibility, but these aspects of air quality were not studied explicitly in the SURE project. The primary objectives of the SURE project were: 1) Establish a regional air quality data base through measurements of several parameters at the ground and aloft with specified accuracy and precision, and evaluate the adequacy of the measurements selected for establishing the origins of the sulfur oxide particulate complex. 2) Establish the location and magnitude of emissions occurring during the air quality measurement period with specified accuracy and precision. In addition to sulfur oxides the emissions inventory included the nitrogen oxides, gaseous hydrocarbons and particles. 3) Derive a quantitative method for relating emissions from the electric power industry to regional ambient air quality as measured by sulfur dioxide and particulate sulfate. Using this method establishes the relative importance of emission density distribution, meteorology, chemical transformations, and removal processes to the regional occurrence of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Continuous air quality measurements were obtained at 9 Class I stations from August 1977 through June 1979. Intermittent air quality measurements were obtained during seasonally representative sampling months at 45 Class II stations and from aircraft from August 1977 through December 1978. These seasonally intensive sampling months were August 1977, October 1977, January-February 1978, April 1978, July 1978, and October 1978. See: "http://src.com/~epriasdc/sure/sure.htm" for more information on SURE. (en)
Broader concept
- S - U (en)
URI
https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/fe538355-a0c4-4229-b235-f4adf84256c0
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