ANSTO ASP Monthly Contour Plots of Soil from 2007-2013

In terms of social importance, it has long been recognised that air pollution may be associated with health disorders, climatic change, and visual degradation. The Aerosol Sampling Program (ASP) is a long-term study to determine the elemental composition of fine suspended particulates with diameters less than 2.5 um (i.e. PM2.5). The study is headed by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) who have been collecting airborne PM2.5 fine particle samples from a number of sampling sites in NSW every Wednesday and Sunday for a 24 hr period (midnight to midnight). These samples are subsequently analysed using Accelerator Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) techniques at ANSTO to non-destructively determine the elemental and mass concentration (ng/m³). As this video demonstrates, the concentration data obtained can be used to generate contour maps which are indicative of PM2.5 levels from Warrawong (Wollongong) through Sydney to Newcastle in NSW, Australia.