Mobile Air Quality Laboratory
University of Houston Mobile Air Laboratory Projects for 2025, 2024, and 2023
2025 Projects
Mobile Air Quality Monitoring in Texarkana, TX
The Texarkana Texas (TX)-Arkansas (AR) metropolitan area has recently become an area of concern due to elevated fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) aerosol loadings. The area is forested and contains a few large paper mills which are one potential source of the PM. These paper mills are located in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. There are other possible industrial sources of PM2.5 and it is possible that the PM2.5 is being advected into the area from sources well outside of the area. The upcoming changes to regulatory acceptable PM2.5 levels necessitate a better understanding of the cause of these enhanced PM2.5 levels in the Texarkana area. A comprehensive study of the particle and gas phase chemical species associated with these PM2.5 exceedance episodes will assist in interpreting the source of these air masses.
A three-week field deployment in Texarkana, TX during the February-March 2025 time period to examine the sources of high PM2.5 loadings in the Texarkana area will be conducted. This study will obtain information regarding the chemical species present in these high loading events in both particle and gas phase. This information will better inform policymakers with respect to the health hazards associated with these higher aerosol loading events.
- Objectives for this study include Characterize selected PM2.5 and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) point sources in the Texarkana area.
- Evaluate background PM2.5 conditions in the vicinity, including upwind of the Texarkana TX-AR metropolitan area. Given the location of the metropolitan area this will likely involve measuring areas outside of the state of Texas but would not emphasize detailed emission factors for out-of-state sources.
- Any highly local effects which might be present and impacting the measurement of PM2.5 at the Texarkana New Boston Station (C1031) will be examined.
The University of Houston, Baylor University, and Aerodyne are nationally recognized for their experience in development and deployment of mobile air quality labs. These customizable, comprehensive, and dynamic platforms provide on-the-go monitoring and analysis of aerosol, VOCs, trace gas, boundary layer height and meteorological parameters. Texarkana’s air quality is impacted by local sources, photochemical processing and transport from multiple regions. This complexity can be overcome with the deployment of mobile air quality laboratories which have several advantages in study areas such as Texarkana. These advantages include real-time monitoring, flexibility in sampling location and time, response to plumes or events (e.g., potential aerosol or precursor plumes), source characterization (e.g., upwind vs downwind), repeat measurements, and accessibility in complex environments.
Corpus Christi
The University of Houston’s Mobile Air Quality Lab (MAQL3) will conduct a field study in and around the Corpus Christi area, during August 2025. The air quality measurements collected during this campaign will build upon the 2023 Mobile Air Quality Monitoring project that was conducted in the same region by UH and Baylor University.
The data collected during this campaign can be analyzed in future studies and will allow for a larger spatial study of air quality in the Corpus Christi domain and among other major Texas cities.
The UH Mobile Air Quality Lab (MAQL3) is hosting instrumentation from Baylor University and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi as part of this collaborative study funded by Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Southern California
The Statewide Mobile Monitoring Initiative (SMMI) is designed to attain a comprehensive dataset of criteria pollutants, toxic air contaminants, and greenhouse gases, create a data portal for public to access and visualize SMMI data, and conduct inclusive community engagement to better understand and address community concerns. This project provides an opportunity to complement AB 617 statewide air monitoring activities by engaging communities beyond those currently selected under the Community Air Protection Program, providing data to fill air monitoring gaps and support additional actions to reduce emissions and exposure.
CARB received $27 million through legislative appropriation to conduct mobile air monitoring in communities across the state. CARB awarded a $26.88 million contract to Aclima, a California Public Benefit Corporation that specializes in hyperlocal air quality mapping and analysis, through a competitive solicitation process called a Request for Proposals (RFP). The RFP was released on January 22, 2024 to solicitate proposals to carry out primary tasks, such as community engagement, mobile monitoring, data management, and data analysis and visualization. CARB selected Aclima pursuant to its capability and capacity to carry out the primary tasks.
Aclima and their subcontractors will conduct mobile monitoring of criteria pollutants, greenhouse gases, and toxic air contaminants in Community Air Protection Program (CAPP) Consistently Nominated AB 617 Communities (CNCs) using a combination of 42 Aclima mobile platforms and 3 partner mobile laboratories (operated by UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and Aerodyne).
The University of Houston Mobile Air Quality Laboratory 3 (MAQL3) will be deployed in collaboration with UC Riverside and Baylor University to investigate concerns in several of the identified communities within southern California and the southern San Joaquin Valley. The MAQL3 carries up to four scientists plus driver and is instrumented with research grade instrumentation for trace gases, volatile organic compounds, aerosols, and meteorology measurements to address complicated air quality and atmospheric chemistry questions. The MAQL3 will be operating in southern California between September and November 2025.
More information on the program and partners:
Mobile Air Quality Monitoring – Five-County Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown Metropolitan Area
The University of Houston’s Mobile Air Quality Lab (MAQL3) will conduct a field study in and around the five-county Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metropolitan statistical area, which includes Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson Counties during August 2024. The air quality measurements collected during this campaign will build upon the 2023 Mobile Air Quality Monitoring project that was conducted in the same region by UH.
The data collected during this campaign can be analyzed by future studies and will allow for a larger spatial study of air quality in the Capital Area Council of Governments domain and among other major Texas cities.
The UH Mobile Air Quality Lab (MAQL3) is hosting instrumentation from Baylor University as part of this collaborative study sponsored by the Capital Area Council of Governments.
Weather balloons with ozone instruments will also be launched from St. Edward’s University in 2024 and 2025 to complement the mobile lab measurements.
Measuring Sulfur Dioxide for Environmental Studies
NASA SO2 and Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study
University of Houston participated in the SO2 and Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study (SOWLETS) in June 2023. The SOWLETS campaign is a NASA campaign involving UH and St. Edward’s University to launch our sulfur dioxide (SO2) sondes (instruments attached to balloons) to validate the new SO2 measurement capabilities of the Langley Mobile Ozone Lidar in Hampton, Virginia. This project measured SO2 emissions from a nearby power plant. Vertical profiles of SO2 from the balloon-based measurements were compared to those from the lidar system. Other supporting measurements included NASA Pandoras and other measurements at the CAPABLE site at NASA Langley, as well as other academic participants. The UH mobile lab supported this project by helping to locate the plume of air pollution and serving as a second measurement location and base of operations while in the field.
NASA Student Airborne Research Platform (SARP) East
During this same period, the UH mobile lab, along with colleagues from Baylor University and St. Edward’s, participated in the Student Airborne Research Program’s east coast campaign, the first time the program was held outside of California. SARP is a NASA program geared toward providing high quality research experiences for undergraduate students. In this eight-week program, students worked together in groups and on individual research projects on airborne platforms such as the DC-8, P-3, and B-200 alongside research scientists from numerous federal and academic institutions. When not flying, students had the opportunity to participate in other research experiences, including in the new UH mobile air quality laboratory. Other UH researchers flew on the B-200 operating a complex payload of research instruments from UH, NASA Langley, and NASA Goddard while instructing and giving hands-on experiences to SARP students.
Understanding the Causes of Ozone and Particulate Matter
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Mobile and Offshore Air Quality Monitoring
This project collects air quality and supporting measurements in and around the Houston area, Galveston Bay, and adjacent coastal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. These data will aid the TCEQ in efforts to inform implementation plans to improve air quality in the region. To accomplish these goals UH, Baylor University, St. Edward’s University, and Texas A&M University deploy instrumentation on a variety of research platforms, including the new mobile air quality lab, a research boat, drones, and balloons. Each platform carries a combination of measurements to characterize the chemical (e.g., ozone, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds), particle, and physical properties, like temperature, pressure, humidity, and winds.
Atmospheric Research Boat
While the new mobile air quality lab was deployed in June for SOWLETS and SARP, this marked the first deployment of the new atmospheric research boat, which collects detailed measurements over Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to drawing air samples into the boat for real-time analysis, the boat also carries remote-sensing instruments and launches instrumented balloons to examine conditions overhead. Some of these techniques can be used to support data validation of satellites like NASA’s TEMPO mission, which launched in April 2023. Together, these observations will help lead to a better understanding of the causes of ozone and particulate matter in Houston and surrounding areas.