EPA 601/K-15/005 I September 2015 I www.epa.gov/research
Air, Climate, and Energy
STRATEGIC RESEARCH ACTION PLAN
2016-2019
Office of Research and Development
Air, Climate, and Energy
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EPA 601/K-15/005
Air, Climate, and Energy
Strategic Research Action Plan 2016 - 2019
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
September 2015
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Table of Contents
List of Acronyms ii
Executive Summary 1
Introduction 2
Environmental Problems and Program Purpose 3
Problem Statement 4
Program Vision 4
Program Design 4
Research Program Objectives 10
Research Topics 14
Topic 1: Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation (CIVA) 17
Topic 2: Emissions and Measurements (EM) 18
Topic 3: Atmospheric and Integrated Modeling Systems (AIMS) 20
Topic 4: Protecting Environmental Public Health and Well-Being (PEP) 21
Topic 5: Sustainable Energy and Mitigation (SEM) 23
Anticipated Research Accomplishments 24
Conclusions 27
Appendix: Table of Proposed Outputs, Air, Climate, and Energy FY16-19 28
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List of Acronyms
ACE Air, Climate, and Energy
AIMS Atmospheric and Integrated Modeling Systems
BenMAP Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program
CAA Clean Air Act
CDC Centers for Disease Control
CIVA Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation
CMAQ Community Multi-scale Air Quality model
CO Carbon Monoxide
CSS Chemical Safety for Sustainability
EM Emissions and Measurements
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
GHGs Greenhouse Gases
GIS Geographic Information System
HAPs Hazardous Air Pollutants
HHRA Human Health Risk Assessment
HSRP Homeland Security Research Program
IRIS Integrated Risk Information System
MA Climate Impacts Mitigation and Adaptation
MARKAL Market Allocation model
MDST Modeling and Decision Support Tools
MOSES Multicenter Ozone Study in Elderly Subjects
NAAGS National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NMP NAAQS and Multipollutant
N02 Nitrogen Dioxide
03 Ozone
ORD Office of Research and Development
Pb Lead
PEP Protecting Environmental Public Health and Well-bein^
PM Particulate Matter
R-LINE Research Line
SEE Sustainable Energy Evaluation
SEM Sustainable Energy and Mitigation
SHC Sustainable and Healthy Communities
S02 Sulfur Dioxide
SSWR Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
STAR Science to Achieve Results
USGCRP U.S. Global Change Research Program
VG Village Green
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Executive Summary
This Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE) Strategic Research Action Plan, 2016 to 2019 outlines a research
approach to address the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) objectives and mandates to
take action on climate change and improve air quality. We have made great gains over the past 45
years in combating air pollution and, as a result, the air is much cleaner. However, that progress is
now threatened by climate change and is complicated by the life cycles of new energy technologies
which have both benefits and potential adverse effects. To tackle these increasingly complex 21st
century problems, innovative thinking and sustainable solutions are needed to ensure a healthy
and prosperous environment. To address these challenges that cross science disciplines and media
- air, water, and land - we need science-supported models and tools that allow us to make more
informed decisions and understand the potential consequences of those decisions.
The ACE research program integrates air and climate science with better understanding of how
energy science and engineering interconnect these domains. The ACE research program was
developed with considerable input from Agency partners and outside stakeholders and interacts
with the five other national research programs of EPA's Office of Research and Development to
address cross-cutting issues.
The ACE research program is structured to provide research results that fulfill EPA priorities and
mandates, meet partners' needs, fill knowledge gaps, and complement broader efforts across the
federal government, as well as research being conducted by the larger scientific community. The
ACE research objectives are:
1. Assess ImpactsAssess human and ecosystem exposures and effects associated with air
pollutants and climate change at individual, community, regional, and global scales;
2. Prevent and Reduce EmissionsProvide data and tools to develop and evaluate
approaches to prevent and reduce emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere,
particularly environmentally sustainable, cost-effective, and innovative multipollutant
and sector-based approaches; and
3. Prepare for and Respond to Changes in Climate and Air QualityProvide human
exposure and environmental modeling, monitoring, metrics and information needed
by individuals, communities, and governmental agencies to take action to prepare for
and mitigate the impacts of climate change, and make public health decisions regarding
air quality.
To achieve these objectives and address their scientific challenges, ACE research projects are
organized into five interrelated topics: (1) Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation;
(2) Emissions and Measurements; (3) Atmospheric and Integrated Modeling Systems; (4) Protecting
Environmental Public Health and Well-being; and (5) Sustainable Energy and Mitigation. Each topic
includes specific near- and long-term goals designed to yield solutions to address climate change
and improve air quality. This ACE Strategic Research Action Plan, 2016-2019 (ACE StRAP), describes
those topics and the overall structure and purpose of the ACE research program. The research
results and innovative tools will support EPA's work to protect air quality and to meet broader EPA
legal and statutory mandates in the face of a changing climate.
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Introduction
Protecting human health and the environment
from the impacts of climate change and air
pollution in a sustainable manner are critical
21st century challenges. These challenges are
complicated by the interplay between air
quality, the changing climate, and existing
and emerging energy options. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office
of Research and Development's (ORD) Air,
Climate, and Energy (ACE) research program
provides the essential and innovative science
and engineering needed to address climate
change and improve air quality.
The ACE Strategic Research Action Plan, 2016-
2019 (ACE StRAP) outlines a four-year strategy
for delivering the research results and solutions
needed to: support EPA's mission to protect
human health and the environment; fulfill the
Agency's legislative mandates; and advance
the cross-Agency priorities identified in the FY
2014-2018 EPA Strategic Plan (EPA Strategic
Plan). The ACE StRAP is built on the needs of
Agency partners and stakeholders and the
application of cutting-edge science.
To help the program meet its ambitious
objectives, the ORD has developed this StRAP,
building upon the vision outlined in the original
ACE StRAP released in June 2012, Air, Climate,
and Energy Strategic Research Action Plan,
2012-2016 (2012 ACE StRAP).1 The 2016-2019
StRAP has been developed in collaboration with
EPA Program and regional partners and ORD
labs and centers involved with ACE, and through
interactions with external stakeholders. The
ACE StRAP aims to help ORD managers and
scientists to better:
Integrate ACE research
Prioritize research to focus on key areas
where ACE will lead science
Demonstrate how research will be translated
and actively delivered for use in Agency
decision making
Evaluate the impacts of ACE outputs on
partner needs
Explore and incorporate collaboration
and leveraging opportunities across
the national research programs and with
external stakeholders.
The ACE StRAP is one of six research action
plans, one for each of EPA's national research
programs in ORD. The six research programs
are:
Air, Climate, and Energy (ACE)
Chemical Safety for Sustainability (CSS)
Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP)
Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA)
Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
(SSWR)
Sustainable and Healthy Communities (SHC)
EPA's six strategic research action plans lay the
foundation for EPA's research staff and their
partners to provide focused research efforts
that meet the Agency's legislative mandates, as
well as the goals outlined in the EPA Strategic
Plan. They are designed to guide an ambitious
research portfolio that delivers the science
and engineering solutions the Agency needs to
meet its goals while also cultivating an efficient,
innovative, and responsive research enterprise.
The ACE StRAP specifically outlines the research
approach to achieve EPA's objectives to address
climate change and improve air quality. It
highlights how the ACE research program
integrates efforts across ORD to provide an
overall research portfolio aligned around the
central and unifying concept of sustainability.
'See http://www2.epa.gov/research/air-climate-and-energy-strategic-research-action-plan-2012-2016.
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Environmental
Problems and Program
Purpose
Integrating Air, Climate, and Energy
Research: Turning Challenge into
Opportunity
Ambient air pollution can have significant
adverse consequences on human health and
the environment. Research conducted and
supported by ORD has demonstrated that
exposure to air pollution can cause a range
of human health and environmental welfare
effects. These include, but are not limited to,
respiratory and cardiovascular dysfunction that
can lead to disease and mortality in humans
as well as deposition-driven eutrophication
and acidification in the environment. Research
has informed and enabled the nation's efforts
to curtail air pollution emissions and greatly
improve air quality over the last 45 years. While
we have seen enormous public health and
economic benefits, approximately 127 million
people in the United States are still living in
counties that do not meet current national
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for one
or more criteria air pollutants.2 Continued
improvement in understanding of emissions,
atmospheric processes, exposure, and effects is
critical to ensuring continued improvement in
air quality now and into the future.
Climate change is beginning to roll back some
of these achievements, and is impacting human
health and the environment in other, potentially
serious ways. Climate change is leading to
higher concentrations of some air pollutants
and increasing stressors such as heat and
allergens that may worsen health outcomes.
Simultaneously the presence of some air
pollutants in the atmosphere is affecting the
rate of climate change itself. Furthermore, the
warming climate is causing an increasing range
of major and adverse effects on air quality, water
resources, agriculture, wildlife ecosystems,
contaminated sites and waste management
practices, as well as the built environment (i.e.,
energy, infrastructure, and communities).
Researchers have shown that the emissions of
greenhouse gases (GHGs) into the atmosphere
are resulting in a change in the global climate.
Even as initial steps are taken to reduce
these emissions, the rate of responses of the
atmosphere and oceans means that climate-
driven impacts will continue to worsen for
some time. In the absence of continued and
expanded emission reductions, there is clear
scientific evidence that the public health and
welfare of current and future generations are
at risk.
The nation will not successfully address
climate change and continue improvement
in air quality without a solid understanding
of energy. The current mix of sources and
technologies for energy production and use
has major environmental impacts on air quality
and climate. Not only does the current energy
mix generally represent the major source of
air pollution emissions, including GHGs, it also
impacts water quality and demand and affects
ecosystems and the services they provide.
Meanwhile, the energy system is undergoing
a substantial transition toward natural
gas, renewable resources, and increased
electrification as technologies emerge and
evolve and as policies are introduced to reduce
GHG emissions. Understanding of this evolution
is crucial to developing and implementing
future approaches to address climate change
and improve air quality.
2Criteria pollutants are those pollutants for which NAAQS have been established. These pollutants include: particulate
matter (PM), ozone (03), nitrogen dioxide (N02); sulfur dioxide (S02); carbon monoxide (CO); and lead (Pb).(http://www.
ml).
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The challenges that span the nexus of air,
climate, and energy, as well as the major related
research needs identified by EPA partners
and stakeholders guide both the Problem
Statementthat governs EPA's strategic research,
as well as its Program Vision. The ACE team
will continue to build on its foundation of past
accomplishments to deliver the knowledge,
tools, and data needed to meet them.
Problem Statement
Protecting health and the environment from the
impacts of climate change and air pollution in
a sustainable manner are central 21st century
challenges. These challenges are complicated
by the interplay of air, the changing climate,
and emerging energy options.
EPA'sAir, Climate, and Energy research program
provides cutting-edge scientific information
and tools to support EPA's strategic goals
of protecting and improving air quality and
addressing climate change.
The ACE research program examines the
interplay of air pollution, climate change, and
today's dynamic energy sector to develop
innovative and sustainable solutions for
improving air quality and addressing climate
change. The results of research efforts support
policies that have far-reaching positive impacts
across the nation, including reducing health risks
from air pollution, preparing for the impacts of
climate change, and advancing more resilient
and sustainable communities. Integrating the
science and engineering issues inherent in
the complex interactions of air quality, climate
change, and energy into a seamless research
program presents a substantial challenge to any
research organization. From an EPA research
perspective, however, it also presents an
opportunity. Combining air, climate, and energy
research activities enables the development
of sustainable, integrated solutions that have
synergistic benefits for public health, the
environment, and the economy.
Program Design
This Strategic Research Action Plan, 2016-
2019, provides both a vision and an actionable
blueprint for advancing clean air, climate, and
energy science. The ACE StRAP focuses research
on meeting the priorities and legislative
mandates of EPA. ACE works closely with its
Agency partners and stakeholders, including
sister federal agencies, nonprofit organizations,
industry, and colleagues across the scientific
community, to identify and conduct research to
address the highest priority issues.
Building on the 2012-2016
Research Program
This plan builds upon and continues to advance
the research outlined in the 2012 ACE StRAP.
Guided by the previous plan, ACE researchers
moved the state of the science forward
and provided benefits to public health and
the environment, as seen by the following
examples:
Exposure and health scientists advanced the
science to enable the policy decision to lower
the NAAQS for PM25 based on clear benefits to
public health.
Researchers demonstrated the significance of
vehicle and roadway emissions and developed
models to show how roadside vegetative and
noise barriers can reduce exposures for people
living near heavily travelled corridors.
Researchers developed more advanced
modeling systems that have begun to tackle
the complex interactions between air quality,
environmental effects, and climate change from
community to global scales.
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Researchers are working with various tools
to study the possible environmental impacts of
different scenarios of future energy technologies
and changes in land use to provide insights
into the consequences of future decisions on
climate and air quality.
Investigators have brought together techno-
logical advances, communities, entrepreneurs,
and regulators to evaluate and deploy air qual-
ity sensors to forge a new future for commu-
nity science that can enhance the amount and
quality of air quality data available for consid-
eration by communities, regulators, and scien-
tists. These technologies are used by industries
for cost-effective detection of leaks and fugitive
emissions, and are providing communities with
the knowledge to take local action to protect
their air quality. This burgeoning area will con-
tinue to revolutionize monitoring science in the
next decade.
The ACE regional and program office partners
have expressed a need to build on much of the
research originally envisioned and conducted
under the 2012 ACE StRAP. With the dramatic
improvement in the Nation's air quality, the
partners' emphases have shifted toward imple-
menting air quality standards, climate change,
and the transition of the national energy port-
folio toward greater reliance on natural gas and
renewable energy. In response, the 2016-2019
ACE StRAP envisions a shift in relative priorities
among air, climate, and energy research consis-
tent with the mission and strategic directions of
the Agency. This shift places a greater emphasis
on the research that supports implementation
and evaluation of existing policies and regula-
tions, as they account for the current and ex-
pected impacts of climate change. The program
will be more oriented toward identifying solu-
tions to problems and improving the essential
understanding of health and environmental
responses, with less emphasis on problem
identification. The ACE research projects are
structured to anticipate a growing emphasis
on climate change, which continues to require
multidisciplinary approaches. The updated plan
presented here organizes research into five re-
lated topics:
1. Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and
Adaptation
2. Emissions and Measurements
3. Atmospheric and Integrated Modeling
Systems
4. Protecting Environmental Public Health
and Well-being
5. Sustainable Energy and Mitigation
Specific examples of the evolving research are
described in the Research Topics section.
EPA Partner and Stakeholder
Involvement
Communication with EPA program and regional
office partners occurs through a variety of
formal and informal avenues. Monthly and
quarterly updates provide a solid basis for
communicating new or evolving needs as
well as research progress. More formally, the
program and regional office partners annually
provide ACE with the research topics they
need to meet their goals over the coming
years. The ACE planning team incorporates this
information into the draft research portfolio for
the upcoming 1 to 2 years. The draft portfolio is
presented to the ACE partners through a formal
webinar and subsequent discussions. An annual
formal two-day, project-level program review
brings together all interested partners for more
in-depth discourse and feedback on short- and
long-term goals and outputs across the breadth
of the ACE program. Finally, the ORD Assistant
Administrator meets with the relevant partner
Assistant and Regional Administrators to discuss
research accomplishments and priorities.
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ACE interacts primarily with the Office of Air
and Radiation, the Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance, and the regional offices
on issues related to air quality. On topics related
to energy and climate change, ACE works most
frequently with the Office of Water, the Office of
Air and Radiation, the Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response, and the regional offices.
In addition, ACE involves the Office of Policy
and the Office of Children's Health Protection
in planning and communicating the program's
research.
The ACE program receives guidance from
stakeholders outside the Agency through
various approaches. EPA's Science Advisory
Board provides periodic review and feedback
on strategic programmatic directions while
the Board of Scientific Counselors has been
established to provide ongoing management
review. Less formal and indirect guidance is
provided through interagency venues such
as the Committee on Environment, Natural
Resources, and Sustainability, and the U.S.
Global Change Research Program (USGCRP).
National and international science meetings
and interaction with experts from across diverse
disciplines also provide insights into pressing
science and emerging environmental issues.
Through these interactions, ACE has developed
a defined vision for future research. The ACE
program is designed to leverage its activities
not only across ORD, but notably with its
program and regional office partners, and with
science partners in other agencies and research
organizations.
Integration across the Research
Programs
EPA's six research programs work together
to address science challenges. Coordination
efforts can range from formal integration efforts
across the programs, to collaboration among
EPA scientists working on related issues.
To formally integrate research on significant
cross-cutting issues, EPA developed several
"Research Roadmaps" that identify ongoing
relevant research and important science gaps.
The Roadmaps coordinate research efforts
and provide input that helps shape the future
research in each of the six programs. Figure 1
illustrates the role of the roadmaps. Roadmaps
have been developed for the following issues:
Nitrogen and Co-Pollutants
Children's Environmental Health
Climate Change
Environmental Justice
CLIMATE
NITROGEN &
COPOLLUTANTS
ROADMAPS
ENVIRONMENTAL CHILDREN'S
JUSTICE HEALTH
ranslation of ":
, Institutic
search Results
roduct Delivery Labs &
Figure 1. Cross-Cutting Research Roadmaps.
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The ACE research program is the lead national
program for the Climate Change Roadmap and
provides the foundation for research on climate
impacts, vulnerability and adaptation (see Topic
1, below). The impacts of climate change are ex-
pected to have dramatic effects on the nation's
water infrastructure, watersheds and ecosys-
tems, and communities. These effects will
worsen current multimedia problems such as
acidification and eutrophication of aquatic eco-
systems, energy needed to maintain water and
drinking water quality, and water demands for
energy. The Climate Change Roadmap focuses
on coordinating and integrating research across
the ORD programs. Examples include climate
change research with the Safe and Sustainable
Water Research program on watersheds, com-
munity resiliency with the Homeland Security
Research Program, and health impacts with the
Sustainable and Healthy Communities program.
The Climate Change Roadmap also highlights
opportunities for integration, and connections
to external groups, particularly through the
federal climate research coordinating body, the
USGCRP.
Table 1. Air, Climate and Energy (ACE) research program contributions to critical needs identified by
ORD Roadmaps. Checkmarks indicate a larger contribution of ACE activities and interest in the identified
science gaps of the roadmaps than a single checkmark; a blank indicates no substantive role. ACE is the
lead research program for ORD's Climate Change Roadmap.
ORD Roadmap
Climate Change
Environmental
Justice
Children's
Environmental
Health
Nitrogen & Co-
Pollutants
ACE Topic Area
Climate Impacts,
Vulnerability,
and Adaptation
SSS
SS
S
Emissions and
Measurements
SS
S
ss
Atmospheric
and Integrated
Modeling
Systems
SS
ss
Protecting
Environmental
Public Health
and Well-being
SS
ss
ss
ss
Sustainable
Energy and
Mitigation
SS
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The Nitrogen and Co-Pollutants Roadmap
guides integration between ACE and the SSWR
program to address the issues of nitrogen and
co-pollutants, both of which require study of
atmospheric and aquatic systems. EPA/NIEHS
Children's Environmental Health and Disease
Prevention Research Centers (CEHCs), several
of which focus on environmental justice and
socioeconomic factors, funded through the SHC
program, are firmly rooted in the long history of
research tying air contaminants to health effects
including asthma and respiratory infection. The
Children's Health and Environmental Justice
Roadmaps help ACE integrate relevant research
in these areas with SHC and SSWR.
Additional opportunities for integration are
being identified based onfeedbackfrom program
and regional office partners and ORD scientists,
as well as through guidance, innovation,
and initiative of individual researchers who
identify integration opportunities. Additional
opportunities for integration and leveraging
with ACE research across the research programs
include:
1. SHC and SSWR- Life cycle assessment
2. CSS - High-throughput approaches
to evaluate the toxicity of individual and
mixtures of air pollutants
3. SHC - Public health impacts of
air pollutants and at-risk populations
and lifestages, especially asthmatics;
development/application of air quality
modeling tools
4. HHRA-Multimedia assessment
of air pollutants; advancing
cumulative risk assessment methods
to address multipathway/multipollutant
exposures and associated health and
welfare effects; incorporation of ACE
research into Integrated Science
Assessments and Integrated Risk
Information System (IRIS).
Research to Support EPA Strategic
Plan
EPA's 45-year record of success in protecting
public and environmental health from air
pollution has relied on building a strong scientific
foundation to inform policy decisions. Today,
improving the Nation's air quality remains a
major EPA priority, especially for those who
reside in communities unable to fully meet air
pollution standards or who may be at increased
risk for health or sociodemographic reasons.
Even more pressing is the Agency priority to
address climate change, which has significant
negative implications for human health and
the environment. Climate change can directly
affect human health through extreme high
temperatures, and will indirectly affect health
by increasing incidences of water-borne and
vector-borne disease and changing allergen
profiles. Increases in extreme weather events
will place additional stresses on human health
and the environment. Many of the gains of past
air quality management decisions will likely be
at least partially reversed by climate change.
Even the indoor environment is stressed by
climate change where pollutant penetration,
indoor generated biological or other
contaminants, and ventilation/heat issues pose
evolving challenges to human health in the
built environment.
In support of EPA's mission to protect human
health and the environment, the EPA Strategic
Plan identifies strategic goals and cross-
cutting strategies (Table 2). The ACE research
portfolio is designed to address the current and
future needs of EPA partners as they develop
and implement policies to achieve Goal 1,
"Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air
Quality." This requires close communication
with Agency partners, as well as staying abreast
of advances in the science. The increased focus
on implementing air quality standards has led
ACE to increase emphasis on monitoring and
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sensors, air quality models, and emissions and
emission inventories. The Agency's actions to
develop policies to reduce GHG emissions and
prepare for the impacts of climate change has
resulted in a greater focus on understanding
the effects of climate change on air quality,
water quality, and, ultimately, human health
and the environment. Looking ahead to
anticipate our partners' needs under Goal 1,
the ACE portfolio incorporates research to gain
insights into potential benefits of multipollutant
air quality management approaches and
to understand how the energy system may
evolve as technologies and policies change to
address climate change or reflect technological
advances.
Table 2. EPA Strategic Plan (FY2014-2018)
Goals and Cross-Agency Strategies
EPA Strategic Plan (FY2014-2018)
Goals and Cross-Agency Strategies
Goal 1: Addressing Climate Change and
Improving Air Quality
Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters
Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and
Advancing Sustainable Development
Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and
Preventing Pollution
Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the
Environment by Enforcing Laws and
Assuring Compliance
Cross-Agency Strategies
Working Toward a Sustainable T uimc
Working to Make a Visible Difference in
Communities
Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local,
and International Partnerships
Embracing EPA as a High-Performing
Organization
In all of these areas, the Agency's priorities are
focused on making a difference in communities.
Communities challenged socioeconomically
or co-located with heavy industry are of
particular concern, as are tribal communities.
Partnerships with the EPA regional offices and
communities that involve collaborative research
on real-world problems can provide results that
are immediately useful. Hence, ACE pursues
diverse approaches to address air quality-
climate challenges, building from fundamental
laboratory science to the community and
national level, in an integrated effort to
achieve and maintain air quality standards and
other strategies to protect public health and
ensure the resilience of the built and natural
environments.
Statutory and Policy Context
The ACE research program has been designed
to support the overall priorities of the Agency
and the legislative mandates of its program
offices, primarily the Clean Air Act (CAA). The
CAA provides the legislative authority for efforts
to improve and maintain air quality, and is also
the basis for reducing GHG emissions through
initiatives such as the Clean Power Plan3, issued
by EPA to cut carbon pollution from power
plants. By informing decisions under the CAA,
ACE research fosters innovative approaches
based on sound science to ensure clean air in
the context of a changing climate and evolving
communities and energy options.
Under the CAA, the Agency is required to set
and periodically review air quality standards to
protect the public health and environmental
welfare of the Nation. EPA establishes NAAQS
for pollutants that cause serious health and
welfare effects and are widely distributed
across the country. To date, the Agency has
3See http://www2.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan/clean-
power-plan-existine-power-plants
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set NAAQS for six common air pollutants:
participate matter, ozone, sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and lead.
Of these, particulate matter and ozone appear
to account for the majority of adverse health
effects resulting from ambient air pollution.
In addition to the NAAQS pollutants, the CAA
requires EPA to regulate emissions of hazardous
air pollutants or air toxics that are known or
suspected to cause cancer or other serious
health or environmental effects.
The CAA also provides the statutory authority
for EPA to regulate GHG emissions, following
the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision and the
Administrator's issuance of the Endangerment
and Cause or Contribute Findings for GWGs4 in
2009. In addition, the Clean Water Act, Safe
Drinking Water Act, and Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act provide further context for
actions to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of
climate change. Additional policy context is given
by the President's Climate Action Plan as well as
Executive Order 13563, "Preparing the United
States for the Impacts of Climate Change5."
To provide the scientific foundation for EPA's
efforts to meet its legal, statutory, and policy
requirements in a changing climate, the ACE
research program will inform climate mitigation
and adaptation choices towards sustainable,
resilient solutions with maximum benefits for
the Nation's people and environment.
Research Program
Objectives
The ACE research program is structured to
provide research results that fulfill EPA priorities
and mandates, meet the needs of our partners,
fill knowledge gaps within broader
"See http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment/
5Seeht
efforts across the federal government, and
complement research being conducted by the
larger scientific community.
The program is strategically divided into three
broad research objectives that flow from the
organizing frameworks depicted in Table 1,
Figure 2, and the Agency priorities noted in the
text above. The research supported through the
ACE program addresses challenges specific to
EPA priorities and emphasizes efforts to focus on
the highest priorities identified by our partners
and stakeholders. Figure 2 is a conceptual
framework illustrating the intersection of air,
climate, and energy. The Research Program
Objectives are shown in the gray diamond.
The five Research Topics shown in the base
of the figure (discussed in more detail below)
collectively encompass the research to address
the Research Program Objectives. Important
social factors that influence, and are influenced
by, air quality, climate change, and energy
outline the five research topics.
Together the research objectives provide a
platform that encompasses the breadth and
diversity of the science research issues and
questions arising within the Agency's air-
climate-energy domain. They are:
Objective 1: Assess Impacts
Assess human and ecosystem exposures and
effects associated with air pollutants and
climate change at individual, community,
regional, and global scales;
Objective 2: Prevent and Reduce Emissions
Provide data and tools to develop and evaluate
approaches to prevent and reduce emissions
of pollutants into the atmosphere, particularly
environmentally sustainable, cost-effective,
and innovative multipollutant and sector-based
approaches; and
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Objective 3: Prepare for and Respond to
Changes in Climate and Air Quality
Provide human exposure and environmental
modeling, monitoring, metrics and information
needed by individuals, communities, and
governmental agencies to take action to prepare
for and mitigate the impacts of climate change,
and make public health decisions regarding air
quality.
Consistent with the principles and characteristics
of all ORD research programs, the ACE research
objectives and challenges outlined below
are unified through a call for sustainable
and innovative solutions to environmental
problems. Sustainability and innovation will be
reflected in activities that cut across the ACE
research objectives and will be integrated at
the program level.
Each research objective contains broad science
questions to enable staff to apply their expertise
and innovation to shape specific research
activities to meet the overall strategic aims of
the program.
ENERGY
Climate Impacts
Vulnerability &
Adaptation
Emissions and
Measurements
Atmospheric
& Integrated
Modeling Systems
LAND USE CHANGE
Protecting
Environmental
Public Health &
Wellbeing
WATER/FOOD SUPPLY
Sustainable
Energy &
Mitigation
TRANSPORTATION
Figure 2. Integration of Air, Climate, and Energy Research.
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Objective 1: Assess Impacts
Research Objective
/Assess human and ecosystem exposures and
effects associated with air pollutants and
climate change at individual, community,
regional, and global scales.
The human and ecosystem effects of air
pollution occur at multiple scales and result
from exposures to a mixture of pollutants
in the atmosphere. Exposures and effects
also are impacted by complex interactions
between climate change and air quality. The
effects of climate change on human health
and the environment cut across media and are
characterized by complex synergies between
human and natural systems. Social and economic
factors also impact the nature and degree of
human exposures and the resulting health
effects that may occur. Economics and energy
choices significantly influence the amount and
composition of emissions and the sources of air
pollutants. The identification of factors that put
people or ecosystems at risk (i.e., individual-
and population-level characteristics including
lifestage, pre-existing disease, genetics/
epigenetics, socioeconomics and other factors
that confer vulnerability) must be considered to
inform the decision making process.
New and existing methods and models need
to be deployed in systems-based studies to
assess these interactions and the factors that
ultimately impact public health and welfare.
Quantitative assessments describing exposures
and potential human and ecosystem effects
associated with air pollutants and climate
change, including direct and indirect climate
impacts to human health, air quality, and
water quality, are needed to inform partner
and stakeholder decision making. The resulting
science must be translated to inform regulations
and policy and to be used to make improved
and informed decisions at the commercial as
well as public and environmental health level.
Challenges:
What are the multipollutant exposures, effects,
and integrated impacts of climate change on
air and water quality and on public health and
ecosystems?
What innovative approaches are needed to en-
hance the assessment of human and environ-
mental exposures and effects of mixtures of pol-
lutants in the atmosphere?
What are the characteristics that put popula-
tions and ecosystems at increased risk to effects
from exposure to air pollutants and the impacts
of climate change?
What are the key uncertainties and data gaps
that need to be addressed to inform future re-
views of the NAAQS?
How can the science of health and environ-
mental outcomes best be communicated to
decision making bodies and communities for
implementation of best practices for improved
public health and environmental well-being
outcomes?
Objective 2: Prevent and Reduce Emissions
Research Objective
Provide data and tools to develop and evaluate
approaches to prevent and reduce emissions
of pollutants to the atmosphere and advance
sustainable, cost-effective, and innovative
multipollutant and sector-based approaches.
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When making environmental decisions, policy-
makers are challenged by the complex envi-
ronmental, economic, and social interactions
of various options. Innovative measures that
maximize public health benefits are needed
to prevent and reduce emissions to meet the
standards and regulations that lead to improve-
ments in air quality and human and environ-
mental health.
As a result, there is a growing recognition of the
need for sustainable, multipollutant strategies
that prevent air pollution of all types without
unintended environmental consequences to
public health, land, water, or climate. Policy-
makers are exploring technical and policy ap-
proaches that simultaneously address multiple
pollutants as an alternative to the one-pollut-
ant-at-a-time approach. Consistent with this
thinking is an appreciation for co-benefits and
the potential need for trade-offs in addressing
multipollutant issues that consider environ-
mental, social, and economic factors.
EPA policy-makers also need to understand how
international emissions of air pollutants impact
the effectiveness of domestic environmental
policies and how domestic emissions impact
other countries. Research is also needed to
evaluate and assess alternative approaches to
reduce or eliminate air pollutants that contrib-
ute to climate change. With the development of
national policies such as the Clean Power Plan
that promote innovation and adoption of clean
energy technologies and emission controls,
there is a need to understand the full life cycle
health and environmental impacts of technol-
ogy options and decisions to ensure that the
clean energy choices of the future are indeed
better for the environment.
Finally, environmental policies are only as ef-
fective as the emission reductions achieved.
Innovative approaches to measure source and
ambient pollutant concentrations provide op-
portunities to improve implementation and
enforcement of environmental policies. With
miniaturization of sensor technologies, less ex-
pensive yet more effective community-based
monitoring and fenceline sensing approaches
will become common. These approaches re-
quire not just technological advances, but stra-
tegic data processing capabilities as well.
Challenges:
What tools are needed to support the manage-
ment of air pollution problems, at the different
scales of time and space, associated with differ-
ent pollutants and effects?
What methods need to be developed and data
obtained to conduct life cycle analyses of al-
ternative pollution reduction and energy op-
tions to inform EPA and other local, regional,
national, and international decisions to ensure
the most sustainable and cost-effective uses of
resources?
What innovative monitoring technologies are
needed to support the implementation of man-
agement strategies to prevent and reduce air
pollution ?
What are the most efficient integrated, sustain-
able pollution reduction and prevention solu-
tions?
What advanced measurement methods and
modeling tools are needed to support imple-
mentation ofNAAQS?
Objective 3: Prepare for and Respond to
Changes in Climate and Air Quality
Research Objective
Provide human exposure and environmental
modeling, monitoring, metrics, and informa-
tion needed by individuals, communities, and
governmental agencies to take action to adapt
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to and mitigate the impacts of climate change
and make public health and welfare decisions
regarding air quality.
The impacts of climate change have the potential
to undermine environmental progress and
policies, including successful efforts to improve
air and water quality, reduce exposures, and
improve public and ecosystem health. Although
mitigating GHG emissions to minimize future
climate changes is crucial, it also is necessary to
develop the information to minimize and adapt
to the adverse impacts caused by unavoidable
changes in the climate.
Technical and user-friendly tools and informa-
tion support the development of community-
and individual-level strategies to reduce expo-
sures to air pollution. This includes providing
the necessary data to guide informed decision
making to protect public health and welfare, as
well as a thorough understanding of the public
perceptions, behavioral responses, and social
and economic factors that influence the deci-
sion making process. Therefore, it is critical to
develop information and tools to enable com-
munities and individuals to prepare for and
adapt to the impacts of climate change and
make informed decisions regarding air quality.
In addition, identifying populations and
ecosystems that are the most vulnerable to
(i.e., least able to cope with) the adverse effects
of air pollution and climate change will allow
for more targeted adaptation approaches.
These at-risk populations and lifestages may
have pre-existing social, health, and economic
risk factors that may undermine well-being
and health which can be ameliorated with
appropriately translated practical information.
EPA has an important role to play in providing
understandable and useful information to
help a wide range of stakeholders prepare and
implement adaptation strategies.
Challenges:
What are effective preparedness and adapta-
tion strategies to mitigate air pollutant and cli-
mate impacts, focusing on at-risk individuals,
communities, and ecosystems?
What innovative preparedness methods are
needed to effectively inform individual- and
community-level adaptation to climate change
and decision making regarding air quality?
What are the social, behavioral, and economic
factors that may hinder the ability of communi-
ties and individuals to prepare and implement
adaptation strategies for climate change and
make informed decisions regarding air quality
and carbon pollution ?
Research Topics
The three research objectives described above
serve as the framework for identifying research
topics to focus the scope and nature of the
ACE program. The current ACE research topics
outlined in Figures provide a framework for the
ACE program to meet EPA's science challenges
over the next four years. The vision described
in the current ACE StRAP builds on the previous
2012 ACE StRAP and supports the Agency
priorities; rapid developments in air sensor
and computing technologies; and a growing
public interest in environmental information
for community self-empowerment. Structural
changes to four of the five ACE research topic
areas are intended to improve integration,
infuse systems thinking and sustainability as
founding principles, and enhance translation
of science to inform Agency decisions and
community discussions concerning air quality
and climate change. Table 3 shows the research
topic areas that were the focus of the 2012
ACE StRAP and the current research topic areas
included in this plan for 2016-2019.
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Table 3. Evolution of ACE Research Topics
ACE Research Topics
ACE StRAP 2012-2016
Climate Impacts Mitigation and Adaptation
(MA)
Emissions and Measurements (EM)
Modeling and Decision Support Tools (MOST)
NAAQS and Multipollutant (NMP)
Sustainable Energy Evaluation (SEE)
ACE StRAP 2016-2019
Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation
(CIVA)
Emissions and Measurements (EM)
Atmospheric and Integrated Modeling Systems
(AIMS)
Protecting Environmental Public Health and
Well-being (PEP)
Sustainable Energy and Mitigation (SEM)
Air pollution research is presently the larg-
est component of the ACE program. Climate
change and energy research together make up
roughly one-third of the ACE program, although
both are envisioned to grow in emphasis. The
closely coordinated intramural and extramural
(EPA STAR - Science to Achieve Results pro-
gram) components of the ACE research pro-
gram provide an ideal balance of fundamental
and applied science across ACE as needed to
move the program forward.
The evolution of the ACE program includes a
broader public health context focused on de-
livering effective, relevant, timely science to
inform Agency regulatory drivers and strategic
directions as well as supporting community
needs. ACE has expanded its research focus
on air pollution sources to include community-
level considerations regarding public health
and environmental well-being. Embedding
public and environmental health outcomes
and sustainable solutions into the ACE re-
search portfolio prepares the Agency for com-
plex 21st century challenges. In many cases,
this expanded perspective can be gained by
applying systems approaches and involving
end-users in study design and interpretation.
Some attributes of this design include empha-
sis on social, economic, demographic and bio-
logical (e.g., disease, genetic and epigenetic)
factors that may better explain uncertainties in
observed public and environmental health ef-
fects of air pollutants and may offer more effec-
tive support for responses to climate change.
Specific examples include:
Developing science-based solutions to achieve
the greatest health and environmental benefits
and to improve well-being by reducing exposures
to harmful air pollutants;
Supporting the development and use of low-
cost, miniaturized air sensors for a variety of com-
munity and industrial applications;
Developing approaches to improve estimates
of emissions from agricultural sources and oil and
gas operations;
Understanding the impacts of climate change
to better guide mitigation and adaptation related
research;
Expanding regional- and local-scale information
on climate-related impacts to water quality, air
quality, and ecosystems;
Developing climate responses that improve
community preparedness and resiliency; and
Evaluating the broader environmental im-
pacts of the energy system across the life
cycle from resource supply to end use.
Table 4 briefly describes the ACE research top-
ics along with examples of near- and long-term
research. Additional information on each of
these topic areas is discussed below.
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Table 4. ACE Research Topics and the Near-Term and Long-Term Aims of the Program
ACE Research
Topic
Climate
Impacts,
Vulnerability,
and Adaptation
(CIVA)
Emissions and
Measurements
(EM)
Atmospheric
and Integrated
Modeling
Systems (AIMS)
Protecting
Environmental
Public Health
and Well-being
(PEP)
Sustainable
Energy and
Mitigation
(SEM)
Near-Term Research
Aim
Address climate
impacts on air
and water quality
and associated
human and
ecosystem health
Develop and
evaluate
regulatory
methods for
source and
ambient air
monitoring
Develop and
evaluate local,
regional, and
hemispheric air
quality models
Inform NAAQS
reviews
Evaluate
environmental
impacts
of energy
technology
Examples
Assess impacts of
climate change
on particulate
matter and coastal
ecosystems;
Identify climate-
related health
impacts on at-risk
populations and
lifestages
Federal Reference
Methods for
NAAQS; Source
compliance
methods; Low-
cost fenceline
monitoring
Community Multi-
scale Air Quality
model (CMAQ);
Local-scale
dispersion models;
Hemispheric-
CMAQ
Assess impacts of
criteria pollutants
on human health
and ecosystems
Evaluate
environmental
performance of
GHG mitigation
technologies;
Improve cookstove
performance to
protect health and
reduce energy use
Long-Term Research
Aim
Develop
sustainable
climate
adaptation
and mitigation
approaches
Change the
paradigm for
air pollution
monitoring
Develop and
evaluate multi-
scale models
that integrate
multimedia
processes and
systems
Develop
approaches
to inform and
protect public
health and the
environment
from air pollutant
mixtures
Protect human
and ecosystem
health in an
evolving energy
landscape
Examples
Develop and apply tools
to evaluate approaches
to (1) simultaneously
consider air pollutants
and climate forcing; (2)
improve resilience of
communities to climate
impacts on water
quality and ecosystem
degradation
Support development and
application of sensors;
Use satellites to measure
air quality; Integrate all
monitoring methods and
models into one national
tool
Integrated multi-scale air
quality and hydrologic
modeling systems into a
biosphere approach
Assess heterogeneity of
pollutants, exposures,
and health effects of
regional airsheds; Identify
modifiable factors to
reduce adverse impacts of
air pollutants; Effectively
translate research to
protect public health and
welfare from air pollution
Apply systems modeling
to evaluate emissions and
impacts from present and
future energy scenarios
with a means of weighing
benefits and risks
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Topic 1: Climate Impacts,
Vulnerability, and Adaptation (CIVA)
Policy makers want to know which populations
and ecosystems face the greatest risks to the
adverse effects of climate change and what
measures can be taken to prepare for and adapt
to the expected impacts. ACE research efforts in
conjunction with those undertaken in the SSWR
and SHC programs will develop information,
methods, and tools to improve the understand-
ing of the location, extent, and type of vulner-
abilities of populations, ecosystems, and the
built environment. The research is designed to
help inform decisions relevant to climate adap-
tation that are flexible, account for underlying
conditions, and avoid adverse impacts of ad-
aptation actions. To maximize effectiveness of
adaptation and preparedness approaches there
is a need to develop approaches that integrate
across complex systems and explicitly incor-
porate methods to describe complex systems
behavior.
Signature Protect:
Systems-based Approaches for
Sustainable Solutions
Providing science, data, and tools
for climate-smart EPA programs and
practices to support sustainable
solutions for global climate change
challenges in multimedia systems
The change to Climate Impacts, Vulnerability,
and Adaptation (CIVA) (formerly "Mitigation and
Adaptation" in the 2012 ACE StRAP) reflects the
restructuring of this topic area as it consolidates
climate-related research on impacts into (1) air
quality and health/ecosystems and (2) water
quality and ecosystems. The topic emphasizes
systems-based analyses seeking sustainable ap-
proaches to preparation, adaptation, and miti-
gation responses to climate change. Within this
topic area, projects have been restructured to
better align with EPA's mission (Health/Ecosys-
tems and Air Quality; Watersheds/Ecosystems
and Water Quality; Systems Thinking for Sus-
tainability) and to enhance clarity for Agency
partners and external stakeholders.
Health/Ecosystems and Air Quality
ACE research is focused on a more complete
understanding of how climate change affects
air quality and the related impacts on human
health and the environment. Researchers
will study how pollutant formation and trans-
port may change as the climate and emissions
change, develop methods to incorporate pro-
jected climate changes into air quality models,
and examine how increased temperatures and
other climate-driven effects may interact with
air pollutants to alter health and environmental
responses.
Watersheds/Ecosystems and Water Quality
ACE, coordinating and integrating with SSWR,
is developing models and approaches that pro-
vide information about what watersheds may
be at risk from a changing climate, and how and
when they may be at risk. This effort involves
incorporating continental-scale projections of
temperature and precipitation into watershed-
scale hydrological models, taking into account
possible changes in land use, water effluents,
and air emissions to study the possible effects
on water temperature, nutrient content, and
presence of pathogens.
Systems Thinking for Sustainability
ACE is incorporating "robust decision making"
methods into tools to guide adaptation deci-
sions. These approaches focus on analyses
that enable adaptive management approaches
in situations that face deep uncertainty about
future conditions, such as climate change. This
effort will use quantitative and qualitative in-
formation on uncertainty to evaluate tradeoffs
between cost and risk for specific applications,
including the Chesapeake Bay Program.
-------
Integration and Collaboration
The research is designed to enable decision
makers to identify priority adaptation actions
and anticipate related co-benefits as well as
unintended consequences that can occur in
dynamic, complex systems. ACE researchers
will develop and apply methods and models
to understand these types of interactions and
responses to develop sustainable adaptation
strategies. This understanding can only be
achieved through collaboration within and
across ORD programs following the Climate
Change and Nitrogen and Co-Pollutants
Roadmaps, such as the efforts to understand
how nutrient levels in water bodies may be
affected by climate change. Research under
the CIVA topic connects to the multimedia
modeling within the AIMS topic, and both
require interaction with watershed research
being conducted in the SSWR program.
Translating Research for End-Users
ACE researchers recognize the need for
research results to be effectively translated
and delivered to those who are responsible
for policy design and implementation. ACE is
working with other ORD programs, particularly
SHC, to incorporate climate impact data into
tools that are accessible to a broad range of
users in forms that are readily understood.
As an example, tools such as those based on
Geographic Information System (GIS) platforms
can provide easily understood visualizations of
complex, location-based sets of information and
data, such as locations of waste disposal sites
combined with projected changes in floodplains
due to climate change. This information can
enable better informed decision making aimed
at limiting adverse impacts attributed to
climate change. ACE will collaborate with SHC
on further development of the EnviroAtlas to
provide online, community-level information
concerning the scope and type of health and
ecosystem impacts associated with climate
change. ACE will also work with other federal
agencies, coordinated through USGCRP, to
develop and provide integrated climate and
land use scenarios to support the development
of the National Climate Assessment, a major
national product designed to inform decision
makers and the public across the country.
Topic 2: Emissions and
Measurements (EM)
The Emissions and Measurement (EM) topic
area is not undergoing any restructuring,
and will continue to provide foundational
research and development to support critical
Agency programs, including applications
for implementation and compliance with
relevant air pollution standards. The research
conducted within the EM topic area within the
ACE StRAP will be similar in scope to the work
conducted under the 2012 ACE StRAP with
necessary modifications considering scientific
advancements that have been made over the
past five years.
Ambient and Source Measurements
ACE is focusing on priority source and ambient
monitoring methods, in particular, Federal
Reference/Equivalency Methods and air quality
modeling tools that may be improved and
enhanced to meet the needs of EPA and state
and local agencies in implementing NAAQS.
Ease of use, accuracy and cost-drivers are
major factors pushing these developments
forward. ACE is pursuing research to support
the development and refinement of emissions
inventories or near-source emission profiles,
especially for high-priority sources (for example,
Portland cement, power plants); broad source
categories (for example, mobile sources); and
source sectors (for example, electric generating
units, oil and gas facilities) to strengthen model
development and standardize implementation
plans for use by state and local air monitoring
personnel.
-------
Next Generation Air Monitoring
Technologies for real-time or near real-time
measurement or monitoring of air pollutants
are advancing rapidly. At the same time, many
of these technologies are being miniaturized
with expanded data handling capabilities. Re-
searchers will evaluate these innovative tech-
nologies for monitoring multiple pollutants at
sources and in the ambient air, and adapt them
for a range of applications including compliance
and enforcement, regional and national assess-
ments, air quality planning, and community
information. These advances will shape a new
paradigm for air quality monitoring.
Developers and manufacturers will develop new
and improved sensor technologies, while ACE
researchers will provide a coordinating and mo-
tivating role to advance the field of air pollution
sensors and their integration with the panoply
of related measurement technologies and da-
tabases. ACE anticipates that portable sensors
and integrated sensor networks will provide
real-time, continuous data to evaluate emis-
sion profiles near and around specific emission
sources (called fenceline monitoring), as well as
to measure community ambient air constitu-
ents. Researchers are evaluating air sensors
to assess their performance in measuring air
quality. The technology is evolving sufficiently
in terms of sophistication and accuracy to sup-
port assessment of air pollution emissions and
may one day improve overall implementation
of clean air regulations. The ACE program will
pursue analytical and data management tools
Signature Protect:
Changing the Paradigm
for Air Pollution Monitoring
Evaluating the efficacy of next
generation monitoring technologies
- from sensors to satellites - to
complement and enhance air quality
assessment and forecasting
to enable local, regional, and national manag-
ers to evaluate the effectiveness of air pollution
reduction strategies on an ongoing basis.
ACE researchers will evaluate the performance
and cost of measurement technologies to
enable comprehensive management of sources
that co-emit criteria and toxic air pollutants,
GHGs, and other climate-forcing compounds
and aerosols. They will do evaluations in ways
that address not only air pollution problems,
but also consider implications on water
quality, and quantity and disposal of any
waste generated by the air pollution controls.
Additionally, methods, data, and models will
be developed to shape atmospheric pollutant
management strategies that can account for
the responsive behaviors of institutions and
individuals attempting to implement those
strategies. This will require integration of
social sciences, behavioral economics as well
as traditional engineering, and atmospheric
science approaches to provide a systems-based
perspective on these issues.
Research examples include developing a pro-
totype testing platform for sensor evaluation
and the development of community-targeted
tools for the use and interpretation of commu-
nity-embedded sensors data. Researchers are
evaluating mobile and stationary fenceline in-
struments and design-parameters for their use
in a wide variety of dispersed emission scenar-
ios to assess areal fugitive leakages as well as
site-specific leakages such as at valve and other
junction areas. For certain industries, like refin-
ing of oil and gas, where leaks are particularly
difficult to isolate and enforcement can be ar-
duous and costly, these new technologies are
proving to be positive advances both economi-
cally (reducing lost product) and environmen-
tally. These tools and methods are transferred
to EPA regional offices and states as well as the
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assur-
ance for compliance purposes.
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Topic 3: Atmospheric and Integrated
Modeling Systems (AIMS)
The Atmospheric and Integrated Modeling
Systems (AIMS) topic area (formerly "Modeling
and Decision Support Tools" in the 2012
ACE StRAP) is being restructured to provide
enhanced integration among projects and to
better reflect the multimedia/multipollutant/
multiscale nature of the modeling research
conducted by ACE scientists. The research under
this topic is being consolidated into a smaller
number of projects in order to better leverage
research across projects while continuing in the
same general scientific direction.
Multiscale/Multipollutant Models
ACE will develop and evaluate methods and
models to support multiscale air quality
management (e.g., from local communities to
national and global management efforts). The
Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ)
model has historically been the workhorse of air
quality models and continues to serve atthe core
of partner and stakeholder needs for air quality
assessment and prediction to meet NAAQS
implementation schedules. It also is at the core
of other multiscale and multipollutant models
used for air quality and climate interaction
evaluations. An additional goal of the AIMS
topic area is the development and evaluation
of a next-generation air quality model that
builds on the successes of CMAQ to integrate
multiscale and multipollutant capabilities in an
updated architecture to increase computational
efficiency and applicability. ACE will use
CMAQ and other focused air quality tools to
understand synergies and tradeoffs associated
with various mitigation and prevention options
for the spectrum of primary air emissions (from
traditional combustion components to GHGs)
and across the air-water-climate nexus.
Research activities also will provide support
for the evaluation of near- and long-term
benefits and impacts of strategic management
alternatives. EPA needs modeling and decision
support tools to relate changes in air pollution
and regional climate to impacts on human
health and ecosystems across the United
States. ACE research spans spatial scales
ranging from local to regional to national to
global, including characterization of ambient air
quality for inclusion in multipollutant and near-
source impact assessments. There are several
examples of joint development and applications
of air quality modeling tools derived and
planned in conjunction with the SHC research
program. Researchers are developing and
refining models for dispersion from varied
sources including roadways (R-LINE) as mobile
source emissions have significant impacts on
local atmospheric chemistry and the potential
for exposure to those living nearby. The
results of this research will provide robust
and comprehensive modeling tools that can
be applied across disparate spatial scales to
characterize the role of background air pollution
on NAAQS attainment and implementation,
to support the development of major energy
and transportation sector rules, to assess risks
posed by criteria and hazardous air pollutants
(HAPs), and to develop local and regional-scale
air quality and climate data products.
Multimedia/Multi-stressor Models
ACE is developing a multimedia and multi-
stressor modeling system to inform protection
of human health and welfare. This systems
model will serve both the current state of affairs
and future climate and land-use scenarios.
Signature Protect:
Integrated Multimedia, Multi-stressor
Systems Model Development
Advancing the "one-environment"
modeling paradigm to address both land
use and climate changes, and to move
toward a more inclusive "one-biosphere"
treatment
-------
ACE, SHC, and SSWR researchers are using a
coordinated and integrated research approach
to advance current tools that involve improving
the air-surface exchange processes in air quality
modelsto couple agricultural land management,
meteorology and hydrology models for
internally consistent drivers of ecosystem
models. This multimedia biosphere modeling
approach will result in improved assessment
methods to support better understanding of the
multitude of linkages across air, water, and land
boundaries and provide a means to estimate
potential impacts - supporting communication
and policy development - that would not
otherwise be understood under single media
models.
Topic 4: Protecting Environmental
Public Health and Well-being (PEP)
The Protecting Environmental Public Health and
Well-being (PEP) topic area [formerly NAAQS
and Multi-pollutant (NMP) topic area under the
2012 ACE StRAP] has been restructured to better
integrate and translate both the science that
supports regulatory standards and to broaden
the usefulness of this information for a wider
range of stakeholders. The projects planned
for inclusion in this topic area will fully engage
research across a range of scientific disciplines
to produce integrated and comprehensive
products and outputs that remain responsive,
timely, and useful.
The PEP Topic area emphasizes research to
address issues related to air pollution in the
context of public and environmental health
outcomes. This topic area reflects the evolution
of research on air pollution and the growing
emphasis on implementation-related research,
translating research to better inform the public
about measures that may be taken to reduce
the impacts of air pollution on public health
and welfare, and continued research to support
development of standards. Research on human
and ecosystem exposure and effects formerly
at the core of the NMP topic area will now be
conducted in the PEP topic area to continue to
inform future NAAQS reviews and to advance
assessments of multipollutant exposures. The
PEP topic area will be expanded to include the
translation of results to inform public health and
well-being practices. This broadened focus will
address ways to lower exposure or mitigate the
biological responses at individual, community,
or ecosystem levels, and, ultimately, to evaluate
whether such interventions have benefits as
measured by indicators of health, well-being,
or economics. By integrating science that
supports regulatory standards with additional
public health and well-being interventions, the
projects included in this topic will fully engage
research across a range of scientific disciplines
to produce integrated and comprehensive
results.
The PEP topic constitutes the largest single topic
area (approximately 40% of the ACE budget)
serving a primary regulatory mandate of the
Agency. However, the fabric of this topic is
evolving with greater contextual consideration
of the multipollutant reality of air pollution, its
impacts on public health and welfare, and its
reciprocal interactions with climate. As such,
leveraging of this topic with CIVA is growing.
Researchers will examine and expand currently
available information and indicators to include
additional components (e.g., multipollutant/
multi-stressor indices to incorporate climate
change impacts). Specific goals of research
conducted within this topic area include:
(1) informing the development of new policies
aimed at protecting public health and welfare
by EPA and its Agency partners and external
stakeholders, (2) measuring progress toward
environmental health goals, and (3) providing
information for communities and individuals
to improve protection of public health and
welfare.
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Health and Ecological Impacts
ACE will continue to conduct transdisciplinary,
source-to-outcome research to assess multipol-
lutant exposures and health effects in field and
laboratory settings, which include simple and
complex mixtures of particles, criteria gases,
and organic compounds. Researchers will de-
velop, evaluate, modify, and apply models and
methods to assess human and environmental
exposures and impacts of air pollution and cli-
mate change at individual, community, region-
al, national, and international scales. This work
is the core of that which supports NAAQS devel-
opment and assessments. This work is essential
and will be continued within both intramural
and EPA STAR extramural research activities.
Researchers will develop integrated approaches
to assess the physical, biological, and other rele-
vant factors (e.g., socioeconomic, demographic,
lifestyle, diet) that have an influence on air pol-
lutant-related effects. This will include the iden-
tification of biological mechanisms that impact
susceptibility and key exposure factors. Epide-
miology and controlled human clinical research
lie at the core of the PEP topic area and drive
the reassessment of the NAAQS in accordance
with the CAA mandate.6 These assessments,
however, are predicated and underscored on
the strength of studies of mechanism and plau-
sibility in animal and cell system studies that
by design, involve realistic exposure scenarios
(e.g., artificially generated photochemical ex-
posure scenarios that mimic geographic regions
within the United States). Studies will increas-
ingly examine the interaction between behav-
ior and social and economic factors to more
thoroughly understand how these factors may
influence health and well-being outcomes to
better inform a variety of strategies to protect
public health and the environment. Research
in this area is integrated with the SHC program
to better understand impacts to community
public health and well-being. Translating the
science for use in public health communication
and community empowerment is an area that
will see attention from EPA and other agencies,
such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Signature Protect:
Local and Regional Characteristics
Influencing Public Health Impacts in
Healthy and At-Risk Populations
Improving our understanding of factors
influencing observed heterogeneity in air
quality impacts, population exposures, and
health responses - now and in the future
In keeping with the principles of sustainability,
integrated research approaches will include
analyses of expected and potential unintended
impacts of novel systems scenarios as might oc-
cur indoors as individuals embrace tighter, more
energy-efficient homes and buildings thereby
adding to their cumulative multipollutant expo-
sures. Such scenario designs require more com-
plex thinking at the systems level to appreciate
interactions and yield better informed assess-
ments of the positive and negative impacts of
human activities.
Factors Influencing Risk
Additional work is needed to better inform our
understanding of at-risk populations and life-
stages. Recent scientific findings suggest the
possibility that greater numbers of people than
previously thought are at increased risk of ex-
periencing air pollution-related health effects,
such as individuals with diabetes or certain ge-
netic polymorphisms (genetic variations among
individuals) and epigenetic changes. Research
is also needed to identify the factors that may
result in ecosystems being highly susceptible to
changes in climate or to climate-driven changes
6The CAA requires review every five years of the science upon which the NAAQS are based and the standards
themselves. The NAAQS review process identifies key uncertainties and knowledge gaps that will help guide ACE
priorities on human and ecosystem effects research to inform future NAAQS reviews.
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(e.g., changes in seasonal temperature and pre-
cipitation patterns). In addition, climate change
can exacerbate the adverse impacts of other
stressors already present, such as water and air
pollution and changes in surrounding land use,
leading to increased susceptibility to climate-
related damage.
Integration and Collaboration
The PEP research on human and ecosystem ex-
posure and effects is designed with the primary
goal of informing future NAAQS reviews. The
results of research will contribute directly to
the Integrated Science Assessments developed
in the HHRA program. Research is targeting bet-
ter understanding of nitrogen and sulfur depo-
sition to characterize the resulting changes and
cross-media ecosystem functions and services.
This research will be coordinated with that in
the SHC Program and the SSWR program as re-
flected in the Nitrogen and Co-Pollutants Road-
map.
Topic 5: Sustainable Energy and
Mitigation (SEM)
The SEM research topic focuses on
understanding how changes in the resources,
fuels, and technologies used to produce and
use energy can pose risks or benefits to the
environment and human health, with the
understanding that efforts to mitigate climate
change and air quality will be one of the most
significant driving forces of change in the U.S.
energy system. The SEM topic area (formerly
"Sustainable Energy Evaluation" under the
2012 ACE StRAP) now better reflects changing
Agency partner priorities and increasing
emphasis on improving the data and tools to
compare alternative energy options to inform
decision making. The SEM topic is restructured
into focused projects to address environmental
impacts of energy at a national and regional
systems level; to evaluate the performance
and environmental consequences for specific
production and conversion technologies; and
to gain insights into the environmental impacts
of energy end-use.
Signature Protect:
Energy and the Environment: Improving
Human and Ecosystem Health in an
Evolving Energy Landscape
Evaluating and assessing the broader
impacts of energy production and use from
resource supply to end-use
Multiscale Evaluations
ACE research addresses the environmental
impacts of energy production and use across
significantly different scales, with the goal of
integrating information across scale to provide
a coherent understanding of the connections
between energy and environment. One major
focus is on national- and regional-scale energy
system evolution over decadal time scales. A
second area of importance is the evaluation
of the environmental impacts associated with
individual energy production and conversion
systems, such as natural gas extraction and pro-
cessing or fossil fuel-fired electricity generation.
The third component will examine the health
and environmental impacts related to energy
end-use, such as point-of-use combustion (e.g.,
cookstoves) or energy efficiency measures (e.g.,
"tight" buildings and the potential for degraded
indoor air quality).
At the national scale, researchers will use opti-
mization models representing the U.S. energy
system, life cycle impact models, and other
methods and approaches to evaluate how
changes in energy production and use tech-
nologies may impact air emissions and water
demand, as well as other environmentally rel-
evant parameters. For instance, researchers
will use the Market Allocation (MARKAL) model
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with the ACE-developed database of technolo-
gies to examine how different technology and
policy development pathways might affect fu-
ture emissions of air pollutants. This effort, in
collaboration with EPA's Office of Air and Radia-
tion, can provide insights into how technologi-
cal change might affect the long-term costs and
benefits of air quality management strategies.
At a technology-specific scale, SEM research will
provide information on the costs, performance,
and environmental impacts of energy produc-
tion and conversion processes. This research
will include pilot-scale studies of individual
technologies and syntheses of the technical lit-
erature. Understanding how oxygen-fired coal
combustion can change the characteristics of
coal ash compared to air-fired combustion, for
example, is important information for EPA and
state regulators to understand as they begin to
consider new technologies for climate mitiga-
tion. Research in this area will also evaluate the
impacts related to renewable energy sources,
including wind and solar energy. Information
from this effort will feed into the national sys-
tems-level analyses.
Cookstoves
Research under SEM will also continue to
evaluate the health and environmental
consequences of cookstoves used in developing
areas of the world to provide energy for cooking,
heat, and light. This research is looking beyond
the impacts to aid the development of new
designs and alternatives, with a longer-term
goal of providing insight into approaches for
developing clean energy systems that reduce
environmental damage, have little direct impact
on health, and reduce GHG emissions.
Integration and Collaboration
The complexity and breadth of energy-environ-
mental interactions requires extensive collabo-
ration and integration of SEM research with
that of other organizations. For instance, one
approach includes integrating an atmospheric
chemical transport model (CMAQ) developed
under the AIMS topic, the MARKAL energy
model, and an economics benefits model (Ben-
MAP) developed by EPA's Office of Air and Ra-
diation to evaluate the public health benefits,
costs, and tradeoffs associated with various
alternative energy scenarios. SEM research-
ers will work with colleagues in the Depart-
ments of Energy and Agriculture (individually
and through the USGCRP interagency working
groups) and the academic community to under-
stand how energy production and use can af-
fect EPA's ability to achieve its strategic goal to
address climate change and air quality.
Anticipated Research
Accomplishments
By its nature, the air, climate, and energy are-
na requires a strategic plan that comprises a
breadth of research activities across a wide ar-
ray of science and program issues. As science
and technology evolve rapidly, opportunities
arise for new technical approaches to environ-
mental problems and science questions and
whole new ways of thinking about problems.
In addition, there are major changes involving
social media, access to information, and public
attitudes and activism toward personal envi-
ronment and health. With air quality, climate
and energy costs featured prominently in public
interest polls, ACE continues to evolve to meet
its mandated obligations supporting regulation
and policy while it looks to the future, embrac-
ing sustainability, innovation, community en-
gagement and anticipation of the air, climate,
and energy issues ahead.
In that spirit, ACE reviews its five topic areas
and associated projects each year. Evolution of
research in thetopic is guided by the "signature"
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projects which reflect the vision or long term
aim of each topic area (see Table 4). The
accrual of knowledge through the shorter-term
achievements is shaped by the vision of the
"signature" project, which satisfies a critical goal
of the Agency. Anticipated accomplishments for
each research topic are described below.
ACE research will have the greatest impact when
products are developed and delivered in ways
most useful to ACE partners and stakeholders.
ORD products specifically designed to be useful
in the hands of partners are termed "outputs."
The proposed ACE outputs for FY16 to FY19 are
listed in the Appendix.
Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and
Adaptation (CIVA)
The research under this topic focuses on as-
sessments of climate impacts and data-driven
decisions, supporting preparative and adaptive
measures in the face of climate change. For air
quality, models integrating air pollution and cli-
mate interactions at multiple geographic scales
provide information for informed decisions,
including appreciation for the wide uncertain-
ties in projected climate change impacts. Socio-
economic factors, land use and energy choices
feed into these decision models sought by gov-
ernment agencies and communities alike. Proj-
ects supporting the development of tools and
models and the translation of the complexities
of scaling climate, weather, emission profiles,
and atmospheric science outcomes serving
community-scale decisions involve new innova-
tive computational approaches that themselves
evolve with advancing science.
Example Accomplishments:
Evaluate regional impacts of climate change
on air and water quality, aquatic ecosystems
and public health
Develop a synthesis and assessment
of potential climate change effects on water
quality and aquatic ecosystems
Develop methods to evaluate sustainable
climate change preparation and adaptation
approaches
Evaluate impacts and potential mitigation
approaches to improve air quality and
reduce exposures and effects associated
with near-source environs
Emission and Measurements (EM)
The core of the ACE program is clearly focused
on the regulatory drivers of the Agency. In the
emissions and measurements area, this work
includes the development of NAAQS Federal
Reference Methods and Federal Equivalent
Methods, development and evaluation of con-
trol technologies, and a variety of testing sce-
narios encompassing everything from alterna-
tive fuels to the optimization of combustion
properties and the determination of combus-
tion profiles and inventories. Further, technol-
ogy options that necessitate the development
of standardized testing guidelines for emissions
and profiling emissions among mixed sources
remain drivers of the research supporting pro-
gram and regional partners. Advances in mea-
surement technology could eventually usher in
a new paradigm of air pollution monitoring.
Example Accomplishments:
Develop and validate continuous
measurement techniques for multipollutants
in ambient air and along the fenceline
of significant stationary sources
Demonstrate utility of emerging air
quality sensor technologies, remote
sensing capabilities and data fusion
techniques to characterize multipollutant
air quality and exposure surfaces
Characterize biogenic and
anthropogenic emissions sources to
support regulatory compliance and
emissions inventories
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Atmospheric and Integrated
Modeling Systems (AIMS)
Research in this area addresses the long-term
aim of developing a multimedia and multi-
stressor modeling system to inform protection
of human health and welfare. The advances
in measurement technology under the EM
Topic (above) will lead to a virtual collage of
data tying community and personal sensors
to a validated regulatory network, integrating
satellite information, atmospheric chemistry
and models into a synthesized location-specific
tool. The regulatory application of such a tool
is a long-range effort, but community and
regional use is underway. Moreover, forecasting
models can be built from this interconnected
system to predict air pollution to which
personal or community behavior or land-use
decision making can be adjusted. The utility of
such a network for ecosystem protection and
assessment would follow on quite readily.
Example Accomplishments:
Develop and apply empirical
and computational approaches to
characterize inputs of atmospheric
pollutants to ecosystems and the
attendant impacts, including through
nitrogen deposition to terrestrial and
aquatic ecosystems
Develop modeling tools to estimate
air quality and community and individual
exposures at relevant local, regional, and
hemispheric scales, including the impacts of
climate change at regional and hemispheric
scales
Protecting Environmental Public
Health and Well-being (PEP)
Research under this topic primarily focuses on
providing the information to support develop-
ment of the NAAQS. In addition, regulatory
agencies and individuals need to make sound
and informed decisions to achieve environmen-
tal goals and sustain quality of life. Research
serving the medical community provides some
guidance in that the science serves both clini-
cal and public health agendas. For example, in-
fectious disease has long been studied in this
fashion providing a path forward to meet the
dual objectives to which ACE is striving: provid-
ing specific science evidence to take remedial
or regulatory action and communicating public
health information to inform community and
individual actions.
One ACE example of early success is the teaming
of EPA's Healthy Heart Program with CDC's
Million Hearts Program. Working with public
health and CDC investigators, EPA's data on the
impacts of air pollution on cardiac health was
contextualized with that of other risk factors in
heart disease, and is now part of the physical
evaluation protocols used by cardiologists and
public health clinics. With health as a driver, the
ability to capture attention and drive energy
and community planning options becomes
clearer to those who may be the most impacted
by these decisions. As EPA research served to
reveal the cardiac impacts of air pollution
and refine the fundamental understanding of
how this phenomenon could arise and lead to
regulatory action, that research has also served
as the driver and evidence to motivate public
health education at both clinical and community
levels. The coalition of regulatory and public
health communities provides essential synergy
to achieve solutions.
Example Accomplishments:
A broad set of relevant research results
and insights in exposure and health as well
as atmospheric science to support five-year
review cycle of the NAAQS
Develop novel approaches to describe
exposures and health effects associated with
multipollutant mixtures as well as
individual components.
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Provide fundamental information to improve
our understanding of at-risk populations and
lifestages and the influence of susceptibility
factors including preexisting disease and
other biological/genetic features
Determine influence of social, economic, and
environmental factors influencing exposures
and effects of multipollutant air pollution
Determine effective combinations
of measurements, models and metrics
to assess human exposures and health risks
of multipollutant exposure in space and time
Sustainable Energy and Mitigation
(SEM)
An overarching goal is to link across measure-
ment technologies and advances in combustion
science aimed at lower emissions, including the
use of novel fuels, to maximize shared benefits
while minimizing costs to the energy sector. As-
sociated health studies of composition-directed
emissions of alternative fuels and combustions
conditions provide a systematic approach to aid
the selection of the least impactful options.
Researchers are developing less conventional
yet critical testing standards for cookstoves
to be adopted worldwide as part of an
international commitment of the Agency to the
Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. EPA, the
Department of State and other federal partners
have key roles in mitigating health concerns
from emissions while providing co-benefits by
reducing climate impacts of black carbon. ACE
has committed substantial effort in testing
cookstoves and hypothesis-driven science to
reduce exposures and health impacts through
2020.
Example Accomplishments:
Develop approaches to understand
potential future energy system
configurations and subsequent
environmental and climate impacts
Assess potential health benefits of using
modern, more efficient cookstove designs
Conclusions
The ACE Strategic Research Action Plan 2016-
2019 is meant to serve as a guide to how ORD
will address the many Agency priorities to
address climate change and improve air quality.
There is a structure for essential research to be
done in this period and an obligation to ensure
it is the best science and that it is effectively
translated and communicated. The science
must be flexible to change as new information
is received and able to look at problems from
varied perspectives. If systems approaches
are to be adopted to achieve solutions, the
approaches that appear most obvious may
not be the most effective means to problem
resolution. As the ACE program research
evolves, it must remain resolute in its obligation
to support program and regional office needs,
but it must be aware of and open to new
approaches or science arenas, such as the
social sciences. Science is informed by failures
and serendipity, which often lead to greater
successes. The ACE program will continue
to partner with its program and regional
colleagues, communicating and translating its
science and exchanging constructive critique
to ensure that the health and well-being of the
public and environment can be improved and
sustained.
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Appendix
Table of Proposed Outputs, Air, Climate, and Energy FY16-19
The following table lists the expected outputs from the Air, Climate, and Energy Research Program,
organized by topic. It should be noted that outputs may change as new scientific findings emerge.
Outputs are also contingent on budget appropriations.
Emissions and Measurements (EM)
FY16 - Ambient air monitoring methods for ozone to support review and implementation of
NAAQS that will include all supporting documentation used in the final rulemaking for ozone
FY16 - Updates to key emission sources including: meteorologically-dependent, process-based
emission estimates; species profiles; effects of vehicle technology and operating conditions on
performance and pollutant emissions
FY16 - Village Green II Deployment: Deployment of up to 7 new VG stations (national and
international)
FY16 - CAIRSENSE Project Data Collection Completion: Region 4 Sensor Evaluation at NCOR sites
(Atlanta and Denver)
FY17 - Review of fenceline measurement technologies
FY17 - Develop a community of practice for remote sensing techniques and data collection
FY17 - Use of surface and satellite based observations to better quantify regional and global NH3
emissions
FY18 - Synthesis of new methods developed for measurement of particulate matter, air toxics,
and volatile organic compounds
FY18 - Summary of test methods and measurement technologies for stationary combustion
sources
FY18 - Improvements to mobile source emissions factors to inform MOVES model and evaluate
and assess data gaps
FY18 - Deliver new and improved analytical methods to better analyze toxic organic particulates
FY19 - Synthesis of new technologies used for source emissions and ambient measurement
FY19 - Produce source emissions profiles for key non-point source categories
FY19 - Evaluating the value of data from small sensors, developing the technology necessary to
combine data
Climate Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation (CIVA)
FY17 - Near-term needs for climate-resilient communities: Online compilation of communities'
key vulnerabilities to climate change and potential responses that maintain economic and
environmental resilience
FY19 - Global Change Explorer: Set of population, socio-economic, and land use scenarios
consistent with global storylines and EPA-specific scenarios (e.g., air quality scenarios), climate
change visualization tools, Community Resilience ID tool, and other global change modeling tools
and data
FY19 - Decision support tool for assessing AQ and climate impacts
FY19 - Climate impacts on air quality, air pollution exposure, and deposition to sensitive
ecosystems
FY19 - The vulnerability of watersheds and near-shore environments to climate change
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Atmospheric and Integrated Modeling Systems (AIMS)
FY16 - A modeling framework to examine the role of inter-continental transport on U.S. air quality
and to study air quality-climate interactions
FY17 - Improved atmospheric system for nitrogen and a fully linked multimedia model set for
aquatic acidification and coastal estuary air-water management analysis with a demonstration of
ability to address climate change
FY18 - Demonstration and evaluation of prototype Next Generation Air Quality Modeling System
for potential application in regulatory development and assessments
FY19 - Advanced atmospheric system with full terrestrial hydrosphere and linked or coupled
multimedia modeling set for air-terrestrial and air-water management analysis with climate
change and ecosystem service analysis capability fully incorporated
Protecting Environmental Public Health and Well-being (PEP)
FY16 - HEI report - Multicenter Ozone Study in Elderly Subjects (MOSES)
FY18 - Identify and characterize intervention strategies (e.g., nutritional, pharmaceutical, behavior
to minimize exposure) that can provide additional protection for healthy and at-risk individuals
and communities from the adverse effects of air pollution
FY18 - HEI report summarizing response from Enhanced Traffic Exposure and Accountability
Studies
FY19 - Synthesize ORD research with respect to the public health impacts of exposure to air
pollution in healthy and at-risk populations and across lifestages and the development of models,
tools, and analyses to improve exposure estimates for determining health risk estimates.
FY19 - Synthesize ORD research with respect to characterization of modifiable factors relating
to exposure and human health that can be altered to improve the public health of individuals,
communities, and regions
FY19 - Synthesize ORD research with respect to development of deposition budgets for North
America and identify remaining critical knowledge gaps related to nitrogen deposition and options
for future research directions
FY19 - Advance tools and communication strategies for translating research results into
recommendations that can be used by individuals, communities, and public health officials to
increase communication of these results and environmental health literacy overall
Sustainable Energy and Mitigation (SEM)
FY16 - Synthesis of the environmental implications of a transformed energy infrastructure from
resource supply/extraction through conversion and end use
FY16 - An assessment of the variability of emissions from bituminous coal as compared to
bituminous coal blended with biomass/biofuel products at varying levels with a focus on organic
HAPs and PM emissions
FY16 - Synthesis report on integrated cookstove research program summarizing standardized stove
testing methods, guidance documents for regional stove testing centers, and environmental and
health impacts of stove and fuel choices for home energy use
FY17 - Synthesis of findings from assessments and laboratory studies of the co-combustion of
various biomass materials and coal
FY19 - Identification and analysis of long-range energy pathways for addressing climate mitigation,
air quality and other environmental and health goals
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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
PRESORTED STANDARD
POSTAGES FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT NO. G-35
Office of Research and Development (8101R)
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
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