The technical papers in this issue of the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association (JA&WMA) were derived from the presentations made at the A&WMA International Specialty Conference, Aerosol and Atmospheric Optics: Visibility and Air Pollution, held September 24–28, 2012, in Whitefish, Montana.
This international conference provided a technical forum on advances in the scientific understanding of the effects of aerosols on urban-, regional-, continental-, and global-scale haze and radiation balance. The conference specifically addressed emission sources, atmospheric conditions, and aerosol characteristics associated with haze and aerosol urban visibility; regional haze; climate forcing; innovative aerosol, haze, and radiation balance monitoring assessments and modeling methods; and urban and regional haze and aerosol climate forcing policy, regulatory, and economic issues related to implementation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards and rules, including the adopted emissions controls in state and U.S. EPA permits, rules, and implementation plans for the Regional Haze Rule and the expected impact of the anticipated PM Visibility and SO2/NOx Secondary Standards.
Sessions included investigators from developing nations outlining new developments in the understanding of black carbon and visibility from their research in these areas with source mixtures that are quite different from those in current developed countries. The group of papers published here includes information on black carbon, particulate matter (PM), and sources and visibility issues from Ghana, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and China. It is useful to present this work to the broader scientific community, but further work is needed in these regions to ensure scientifically based approaches to improve air quality and visibility.
Panel discussions were presented on three topics: Promise and Problems of Advanced Particulate Monitoring and Analysis Methods for Routine Networks, Scientific Issues and Information for a Visibility-Related PM2.5 NAAQS, and Implementing Visibility Regulations: Policy & Technical Issues. The complete final program for the conference can be found online at http://www.awma.org/visibility_finalprogram and the proceedings can be found at http://www.awma.org/visibility_proceedings
The 11 papers published in this issue cover the wide range of the topics presented at Whitefish. We are indebted to the authors, who prepared full papers related to their presentations, and the editors and reviewers, who assured the quality of these publications. The conference was a great success and we look forward to the next one that will be held in the future.
Delbert J. Eatough
Philip K. Hopke
Thank you to Our Sponsors
We also express appreciation to the U.S. National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which provided support for the conference, and particularly those agencies that supported this special grouping.