Ambient Ozone Concentration Patterns among Eastern U.S. Urban Areas Using Factor Analysis

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Abstract
Data on dally maximum ozone concentrations measured at ambient air monitoring stations operated by state and local air pollution control agencies in the Eastern United States were analyzed using principal factor analysis. Four orthogonal factors representing O3 formation potentials were derived using the statistical package SPSS; these factors accounted for over two-thirds of the variations in 1978 summer O3 levels at 21 urban-oriented stations. The analysis confirmed that O3 variations are similar among stations within defined geographical areas; this confirmation supports the widely held theory that ambient O3 formations are reglonwlde. The analysis suggested that trends analysis for determining general progress in improving O3 air quality should be based on aggregate statistics from clusters of monitors rather than from a single monitoring station within areas associated with the derived factors.

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