WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Judd Gregg (R-NH) today announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a measure containing $4.5 million in federal funding to continue projects that measure and forecast air quality throughout New Hampshire and the Northeast Region.  The Fiscal Year 2007 budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, approved by the Committee today includes $3.8 million for the AIRMAP project; $350,000 for the High Elevation Air Study; and $350,000 for New England Weather Technology Initiative at Plymouth State University. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and former Chairman of the Subcommittee that oversees funding for NOAA, Senator Gregg was able to include the funding in the bill, which now awaits consideration by the full Senate.

Senator Gregg stated, “The researchers and students at UNH and Plymouth State undertaking this research continue to break new ground in the fields of air quality and weather.  They are adding national and global accolades to New Hampshire’s strong research reputation.  New Hampshire’s location on the East Coast affords its residents numerous benefits; however, New Hampshire also has become the tailpipe of the nation as pollution and smog settle over our state.  These research projects are using this unintended result to discover ways to improve the quality of our environment and weather forecasting models.”

Dr. Robert Talbot, AIRMAP Principal Investigator, stated, “In the past five years, UNH’s AIRMAP program has established a world-class atmospheric observing network in New England and hosted two air quality field campaigns with one being the largest ever world-wide.  These achievements by faculty and students, made possible by continued support from Senator Gregg, have lifted AIRMAP to national and international prominence in atmospheric sciences.”

Ken Kimball, the Appalachian Mountain Club's Director of Research said, "We are very pleased that Senator Gregg continues to support research into the impacts of climate change on the alpine resources of the White Mountain National Forest.  Alpine habitats are among the rarest ecosystems east of the Mississippi, with much of them found in New Hampshire's Presidential Range.  Climate change and air pollution pose great threats to these ecosystems.  This funding supports research that combines the AMC's expertise in alpine ecology with the expertise of the Mount Washington Observatory and the University of New Hampshire in climate change and air pollution.  Together, we seek to decipher how climate variability impacts these important resources.  We applaud the Senator for his continued leadership in supporting conservation of natural resources in New Hampshire.”

Sara Jayne Steen, President, Plymouth State University, stated, “We at Plymouth State University thank Senator Gregg for his support of this project. We are very proud to use the expertise of PSU faculty and students to bring increased safety and environmental benefits to the State of New Hampshire. The network of meteorological equipment to be installed will significantly improve weather forecasting, reduce unnecessary road salt usage, improve traffic safety, and assess air quality conditions throughout the state. We are enormously pleased to partner with Senator Gregg and the N.H. Department of Transportation on this important work.”

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Air Quality and Air Forecasting Programs

U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, Member
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science

$3.8 million – AIRMAP – AIRMAP is a cooperative program between the UNH and NOAA, created in 1999, designed to provide a detailed understanding of various sources of pollution by studying the dynamics of New England's atmosphere, air quality and weather.  The program combines NOAA’s atmospheric research with UNH-led systematic monitoring of the region’s atmospheric chemistry in order to develop the ability to predict air quality changes as an addition to daily weather forecasts.  Continued funding for the AIRMAP project will allow researchers to expand and improve the project by initiating climate-air quality assessment for the Northeast, including detailed measurements of mercury and other trace metals.  Researchers will also continue to validate their forecasts and models using the project’s detailed research.

 Since 1999, Senator Gregg has secured $29 million in federal funding for the AIRMAP program.

$350,000 - High Elevation Air Study -  In 2006, the Appalachian Mountain Club, in collaboration with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the White Mountain National Forest, the Mount Washington Observatory and UNH, launched an effort to study the Northeast’s alpine zones.  This study seeks to expand current understanding of how and at what rates climate variability and air pollutants impact the unique northeastern alpine ecosystems.   This area harbors some of the rarest biological community types in the eastern US and rare mountain top islands of flora and fauna.  More than half of all such habitat is located in the Presidential Range in NH.  However, project participants are concerned with changing climatic and chemical environments that could threaten their existence.  The study will help assess this region’s future and develop policies to protect it.  

In the past, Senator Gregg has secured $350,000 in federal funding for this study.


$350,000 - New England Weather Technology Initiative - This program, based at Plymouth State University, in conjunction with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation will provide the next generation of observational sites to measure, record, and transmit meteorological and air quality data. This initiative will expand and accelerate the present multipurpose New Hampshire “mesonet,” i.e., the establishment of additional ground-based, instrumented observational sites that will help to fill in the gaps between the current observational network, consisting of 13 airport weather reporting sites and also from another site at the summit of Mount Washington.  Meteorologists need these higher density observations to define smaller “mesoscale” weather features not seen with conventional networks.  These sites will be equipped to measure surface and subsurface temperatures, as well as atmospheric ozone.

In the past, Senator Gregg has secured a total of $2.6 million for this initiative.