ARL Weekly News – October 23, 2020

Recent Events

ARL Contribution to Air Quality Forecasting Capability Recognized in NOAA Administrator’s Awards.

The 2020 NOAA Administrator’s Awards include recognition of the upgrade to the National Air Quality Forecasting Capability (NAQFC) developed jointly with ARL and NWS. ARL Awardees include ARL’s Pius Lee and Rick Saylor, joined by NWS’s Jeff McQueen, Ivanka Stajner and Dorothy Koch; the team is cited: For implementing and upgrading NOAA’s Air Quality Forecasting Capability for improving the lives of Americans and saving billions of dollars per year. Pius Lee and Rick Saylor have been closely supported at ARL by Daniel Tong, Youhua Tang, Tianfeng Chai, HyunCheol Kim, Fantine Ngan, Barry Baker and Patrick Campbell, some for more than a decade. This prestigious award recognizes the atmospheric research and modeling advances that improve our societal well-being.

This project began back in 2003 when the U.S. Congress mandated that NOAA launch NAQFC by the H.R. Energy Policy Act of 2002 (Senate Amendment) S. 517, SAI383, Forecast and Warning bill.  The NOAA NAQFC forecasting service began nationwide coverage in 2006, with forecasts and warning of poor air quality that adversely affect the public. As of today, NAQFC provides daily 48-hour forecasts of ground-level ozone and PM2.5 (atmospheric particles with diameter less than 2.5 micrometers). These pollutants are silent, yet significant, sources of mortality, and productivity and property loss in the U.S.  The NAQFC thus provides a vital service to public health agencies across the country by saving at least 10,000 lives and billions of dollars of potential property-related losses on an annual basis since 2017. The highly accurate 48-hour forecasts of adverse pollution and air quality conditions allow state and local public safety and health agencies, at-risk citizens, and businesses to take advance preventive actions to aid in saving lives and mitigating property loss.

Upcoming Presentations

ATDD Acting Director LaToya Myles to Keynote NADP Fall Symposium

The National Atmospheric Deposition Conference will kick off its first all-virtual fall meetings and symposium with a keynote by Dr. LaToya Myles, Acting Director of ARL’s ATDD division on Oct. 28, 2020.  Her talk on “Atmospheric Research in a Changing World” will discuss the realities of conducting atmospheric research, including long-term monitoring and process studies, in a rapidly changing world (e.g. severe weather, flooding, wildfires, pollution, pandemic, etc.). She will also discuss how such events shape research approaches moving forward. Other ARL representation at NADP meetings includes leadership on subcommittees.