Optical remote sensing of airborne particulate matter to quantify opacity and mass emissions

Emissions of particulate matter (PM) from anthropogenic sources are regulated by federal and state authorities to protect human health and welfare. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) developed both mass standards and opacity standards for a wide range of sources that discharge visible plumes of PM. This study is focused on developing innovative optical remote sensing (ORS) techniques to quantify the opacity of plumes from stationary point sources and mass emission factors of PM generated from unique military operations that is emitted into the atmosphere.;Digital Optical Method (DOM) was developed during the first stage of this research to quantify plume opacity using digital photography. DOM was tested in the field during both daytime and nighttime conditions to evaluate its applicability. Results from those field tests demonstrated that DOM has the potential to serve as the alternative to the USEPA reference method, Method 9, because this new method is more objective and economical when compared to Method 9, and provides archival image for possible legal action.;During the second stage of this research, a technique was developed to obtain in-situ measurements of PM mass emissions for the dust plumes that are generated from unique military activities. The method was then tested in the field to measure dust emissions from artillery back blast and tracked vehicle movement in desert areas. Dust plumes were also characterized by developing contour maps that describe the plumes' horizontal and vertical dimensions, light transmittance, and temporal variability of size specific PM mass concentrations.