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Maryland’s elaborate Piney Run air monitoring station now includes an outdoor camera that shows visibility conditions in Western Maryland. The camera is connected to CamNet, a real-time air pollution and visibility-monitoring network, a project managed by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM). The public can check visibility conditions in Western Maryland by visiting the CamNet Website at www.hazecam.net and clicking on Frostburg under the Live Sites menu.
On a Clear Day
The Piney Run Station is specifically designated to measure pollutants that come from out of state sources, known as transport pollution. The camera is pointed directly at Mount Davis, the highest mountain in Pennsylvania - 13.5 miles away. On a clear day, the camera offers an impressive panoramic view of the region just west of Frostburg in Garrett County.
The camera is just one technical feature of the Piney Run station. There are currently monitors to measure several air pollutants including nitrogen oxides, ozone, and sulfur dioxide. There are semi-continuous carbon and sulfate particulate analyzers to measure constituents of fine particulate matter (PM fine). PM fine is a component of haze, which impairs visibility. Also included at the site are measurements of atmospheric optical properties and an upper air profiler that measures air temperature, horizontal and vertical wind speed and direction at various levels in the atmosphere up to three kilometers (1.86 miles) high.
Equipment Detects Aerosols Moving through Mid-Atlantic and Northeast
Piney Run is unique for air quality-monitoring stations, as they are generally placed in densely populated areas or near major roadways.Piney Run is intentionally located at a high elevation in rural Maryland to measure pollutants that come from out of state sources, known as transport pollution. The station is at the southern boundary of the Rural Aerosol Intensive Network (RAIN). The network includes three similar monitoring stations in the Northeast states. The other two are located in Connecticut and Maine. The network’s purpose is to characterize the transported aerosols moving through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states. Its location at the state boundary allows scientists to probe the effectiveness of two other haze regional planning organizations other than Maryland’s, and detect transport that is mostly from out of state.
“Piney Run in Western Maryland is near large sulfur dioxide sources in the Ohio River Valley,” said George Allen, NESCAUM senior scientist. “The Connecticut station measures data from a wide range of sources while the Maine station in Acadia National Park is the proverbial ‘end of the tailpipe’ receptor site.”
The Piney Run site is a collaborative project involving MDE, the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast Visibility Union (MANE VU), the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory and NESCAUM. Mr. Allen emphasizes “RAIN would not be possible without the ongoing support of Maryland, Connecticut, Maine, the National Park Service and MANE-VU."
Presently, MDE dedicates one employee to train an Appalachian Laboratory staff person to collect data and calibrate the equipment.
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