MONITORING AMBIENT OZONE WITH A NETWORK OF PASSIVE SAMPLERS - A FEASIBILITY STUDY

Ambient levels of ozone have been measured at 46 mountain forest, dese rt, Class I Wilderness areas and other remote locations using a networ k of passive samplers. Typical values were 40-80 ppb (2 week samples) and exhibited temporal variations (studied for up to 1 year) as well a s changes with elevation (studied up to 10 500 ft (3 200 m)). The perf ormance of the passive sampler was evaluated with respect to reproduci bility, field controls, data capture (>0.95), precision for co-located samples (av. = 11.9%, n = 103), and the role of other atmospheric oxi dants as potential interferents (2 locations). Suggestions for additio nal sampler performance evaluation and network operation are outlined.