Southern Florida Air Pollution Climatology Ctudy & Selected Episodic Impacts

Segal, M; Pielke, R; Arritt, R; Moran, M; Yu, C; Henderson, D.

The close proximity of National Park Service-managed lands in l southern Florida (Everglades National Park, Big Cypress Preserve, I Biscayne National Monument) to rapidly growing urban areas on Florida's Atlantic coast (Miami, Fort Lauderdale) and Gulf coast (Naples, Fort Myers) has led to concern over the potential impacts of urban air pollutants on these relatively pristine areas. An interdisciplinary research project into the biological effects of air pollutants on the Everglades ecosystem has been initiated by the National Park Service with the cooperation and financial assistance of the Florida Power and Light Company. As part of this effort, estimates of the ground-level concentrations and dosages of air pollutants, especially sulfur dioxide and sulfur aerosol, at the various biological effects field sites are needed on both an episodic and seasonal/annual basis. In order to prepare such estimates it is necessary to understand both the meteorology and climatology of the southern Florida peninsula and atmospheric transport and dispersion over this region. The primary objective of the study described herein was to improve our knowledge of the air pollution potential and air pollution climatology of the southern Florida peninsula.