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Does anyone monitor the levels of carbon monoxide (CO) in the air in Albuquerque, New Mexico? I need the data for my science fair project. If that is not available, is there a way I can calculate it through weather, etc. archives for the past month in Albuquerque NM, and where would I find that data?

It would be very difficult to calculate the CO level, as it will vary from place to place, and from from minute to minute in the urban area, and will be a complex function of all the emissions sources of CO -- there are a LOT, e.g., every single car! -- the meteorological conditions and the levels of other pollutants in atmosphere. A calculation of this type would require a detailed computer simulation, which is far beyond what can be done in a few days. Perhaps it would make a good PhD thesis.

However, all is not lost. There may very well be measurements of carbon monoxide in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Clean Air Act set standards for a few pollutants, including CO. These standards must be met, and, cities must generally test their air to make sure that they are meeting the standards. Most big cities have some testing programs for air quality, and these will generally include measurements of CO.

I checked around a few web sites, and found some promising leads. Here's a couple of places you might start:

• You could call one of the air-quality contacts at the New Mexico environmental bureau -- their phone numbers are listed in the following website. They should know (or know how to find out quickly) if there is a monitoring site (or sites) in Albuquerque, and, how to get the data:
  www.nmenv.state.nm.us/aqb/aqb_home.html
• You could also contact Region 6 of the EPA, and talk to someone who deals with air quality issues. Their website dealing with air quality is: www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6pd/air/pd-q/quality.htm
• Finally, the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards website has a number of links and publications dealing with air quality monitoring at sites all around the country. You might be able to get data directly from this website.
  www.epa.gov/oar/oaqps/cleanair.html
  They may have web-available detailed data for many if not all major monitoring sites in the country. This group also publishes an annual data summary on the web, at:
  www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd98/toc.html

I took at look at this report, and extracted a few pages that mentioned Albuquerque specifically. These give some summaries of the data that have been taken. The actual detailed data -- e.g., hourly measurements -- must exist somewhere, but, are not included in this particular summary publication.

Dr. Mark Cohen