Major Smog Study to Be Launched

Southern California’s largest study of how smog forms and spreads will be launched this week with a new cache of sophisticated technology, including laser beams, radar systems and about 1,000 weather balloons.

The $5-million project, funded largely by the California Air Resources Board, aims to improve understanding of how air pollution travels within a sweeping, 10-county area stretching from the ocean to the Arizona border, and from Kern County to Tijuana.

In a ceremony Wednesday, state and local officials said the data collected over the next four months will help frame their ongoing attack on Southern California’s smog. Despite substantial improvement, the Los Angeles region still has the nation’s worst air pollution.

Most of the research, which begins Sunday and ends Oct. 15, will occur on what the scientists believe will turn out to be the 15 smoggiest days of the year. At 17 locations during those days, scientists will launch helium-filled weather balloons. Six airplanes will collect air samples and track air movement.

Advanced equipment will measure light, temperature and wind speeds--all crucial elements in the formation of ozone, the potent, colorless gas that is the main ingredient of smog. One aim is to collect weather and pollution data up to two miles above the ground--the first time it will be gathered at that high of an altitude.

Ozone is a complex pollutant--how severe it gets depends on a combination of weather conditions. It forms when nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons--mostly from vehicles, industries and consumer products--react in sunlight and are trapped by stagnant air conditions.

In El Monte, a laser will fire 10 beams each second to measure the light absorbed and reflected, which enables scientists to determine the amount and location of ozone. Wind speeds will be measured by equipment at 26 locations that will send radar and electromagnetic pulses into the air. Also, radar beams will be bounced off high-pitched sound waves to help get a weather profile at higher altitudes and study the inversion layer that traps pollutants.

In addition, 30 new monitoring stations to measure pollution will be added to 100 that already exist. Tracer gases will be released into the air at sea to check whether emissions from ships reach shore.

Ozone, known to damage lungs, is already the most well-studied air pollutant, particularly in Southern California, where efforts to clean it up began 50 years ago. But officials at the South Coast Air Quality Management District say that updating the technical knowledge, which is a decade old, could help them outline more effective solutions for fighting smog.