CLUSTER-ANALYSIS - A TECHNIQUE FOR ESTIMATING THE SYNOPTIC METEOROLOGICAL CONTROLS ON AIR AND PRECIPITATION CHEMISTRY - METHOD AND APPLICATIONS

Combining the pattern recognition capabilities of cluster analysis with isobaric air trajectory data is a useful way of quantifying the influence of synoptic meteorology on the pollution climatology at a site. A non-hierarchial clustering of 1000 mb isobaric trajectories, using squared Euclidean distance as a similarity measure, leads to the identification of a finite number of distinct synoptic patterns. Typical airborne and aqueous pollutant concentrations associated with each of these patterns may then be established. By considering 3-day air trajectories in this study, the "history" of an air parcel is captured in an improved manner, when compared with attempts to use individual day weather 'types" to characterize meteorological situations.