Skip to main content

Atmospheric Science and Chemistry Measurement Network (ASCENT)

ASCENT

ASCENT is a nationwide project consisting of twelve field sites studying aerosol composition and characteristics. Each site utilizes four instruments to characterize aerosol chemical composition, size and concentration. ASCENT field sites aim to provide long term monitoring in high-time resolution (minutes to hours) for each of these properties. Sites in the network are spread throughout a variety of urban, rural, and pristine environments, and often collocate with preexisting air quality monitoring stations to provide supplementary data.

For more information about ASCENT, please visit the project website.

Look Rock

Look Rock is an air quality monitoring station located at a high point on Chilhowee Mountain, a long ridge running along the western edge of the Smoky Mountains and commanding a view over the Tennessee Valley. This location places it between biogenic emissions from the surrounding forests and anthropogenic emissions from the nearby urban, industrial, and agricultural activity.

Look Rock has a long history of air quality measurements, such as part of IMPROVE and we are happy to add our ASCENT instruments to the capacity of the site. Past real-time monitoring work from the Surratt Group at Look Rock (Budisulistiorini et al. 2015, Budisulistiorini et al. 2016) has demonstrated the importance of isoprene derived organic aerosol at this location.

For more information about the ASCENT Look Rock site, please visit the site profile.

 

Citations:

  1. Budisulistiorini, S. H.; Li, X.; Bairai, S. T.; Renfro, J.; Liu, Y.; Liu, Y. J.; McKinney, K. A.; Martin, S. T.; McNeill, V. F.; Pye, H. O. T.; Nenes, A.; Neff, M. E.; Stone, E. A.; Mueller, S.; Knote, C.; Shaw, S. L.; Zhang, Z.; Gold, A.; Surratt, J. D. Examining the Effects of Anthropogenic Emissions on Isoprene-Derived Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation during the 2013 Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) at the Look Rock, Tennessee Ground Site. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 2015, 15 (15), 8871–8888. https://doi-org.libproxy.lib.unc.edu/10.5194/acp-15-8871-2015.
  2. Budisulistiorini, S. H.; Baumann, K.; Edgerton, E. S.; Bairai, S. T.; Mueller, S.; Shaw, S. L.; Knipping, E. M.; Gold, A.; Surratt, J. D. Seasonal Characterization of Submicron Aerosol Chemical Composition and Organic Aerosol Sources in the Southeastern United States: Atlanta, Georgia,and Look Rock, Tennessee. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2016, 16 (8), 5171–5189. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5171-2016.