Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content
  • Feedback

    • NARSTO SHEMP Particulate Matter Composition Data, Canada, 2000-2002

    Metadata Updated: December 6, 2023

    NARSTO_SHEMP_CANADA_PM_COMPOSTION_DATA was obtained between February 14, 2000 and August 1, 2002 during the Study of the Health Effects of the Mix of Urban Air Pollutants (SHEMP). SHEMP was a three-year Toxic Substances Research Initiative study undertaken to advance Canadian knowledge on the possible relationship between PM 2.5 composition and co-pollutants (e.g., NO2, O3) and health effects and on the behavior of PM 2.5 in Canadian cities. The main objectives of this study were to obtain new information on the sources, formation and chemical make-up of PM 2.5 and the critical components of the air pollution mix responsible for health effects.

    Field measurement studies in Toronto and Vancouver were designed to meet these objectives and to provide the data to test the hypothesis that the organic fraction of PM 2.5 was a critical component with respect to cardio-respiratory disease. In this study, the sources, formation and chemical content of breathable particles in air and the co-occurrence of other air pollutants were investigated. Air samples were collected daily from sites in Toronto and Vancouver over 2-3 years. Chemical content and particle size were determined. Data were also collected on the presence of other air pollutants present in the form of gases (co-pollutants). A small number of samples were analyzed to determine whether the content of specific indicator chemicals in air particles could help find their pollution source (vehicle exhaust, cooking, wood burning etc.).

    Specific chemicals of breathable particles produced by different types of sources were identified. Similarly, a small number of samples were collected to assess if semi-volatile organic compounds (i.e., chemicals that may evaporate from the particle and are thus often not measured properly) were an important contributor to the mass of breathable particles. The SHEMP study was led by the Air Quality Research Branch of the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC). The main collaborators were the Environmental Technology Centre of the Environmental Protection Service and the Chemistry Department of the University of Toronto. The breadth of the study also necessitated that many other organizations provide support, such as the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Pacific Environmental Science Centre and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO), which has since disbanded, was a public/private partnership, whose membership spanned across government, utilities, industry, and academe throughout Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The primary mission was to coordinate and enhance policy-relevant scientific research and assessment of tropospheric pollution behavior; activities provide input for science-based decision-making and determination of workable, efficient, and effective strategies for local and regional air-pollution management. Data products from local, regional, and international monitoring and research programs are still available.

    Access & Use Information

    Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Created Date December 1, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date December 6, 2023

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NASA Data.json

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Created Date December 1, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date December 6, 2023
    Publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
    Maintainer
    Identifier C2350113375-LARC_ASDC
    Data First Published 2006-09-19
    Language en-US
    Data Last Modified 2018-04-18
    Category NARSTO, geospatial
    Public Access Level public
    Bureau Code 026:00
    Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
    Metadata Catalog ID https://data.nasa.gov/data.json
    Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
    Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
    Citation 2005-03-11. Archived by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Government, NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASDCDAAC/NARSTO/0008.
    Harvest Object Id e53627b5-23bb-4c67-8b8d-2502c899969c
    Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
    Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
    Homepage URL https://doi.org/10.5067/ASDCDAAC/NARSTO/0008
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><gml:Polygon xmlns:gml="http://www.opengis.net/gml/3.2" srsName="EPSG:4326"><gml:outerBoundaryIs><gml:LinearRing><gml:posList>43.66 -121.98 43.66 -79.4 49.22 -79.4 49.22 -121.98 43.66 -121.98</gml:posList></gml:LinearRing></gml:outerBoundaryIs><gml:innerBoundaryIs></gml:innerBoundaryIs></gml:Polygon>
    Program Code 026:001
    Source Datajson Identifier True
    Source Hash 3bed0e4fffda8dac48411168d129a08d2bc849ba8a28dafa4f734d5eef195f5f
    Source Schema Version 1.1
    Spatial
    Temporal 2000-02-14T00:00:00Z/2002-08-01T23:59:59.999Z

    Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.