DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS FOR AMBIENT AIR MONITORING APPLICATIONS.

Technological advances in recent years have provided environmental scientists with reliable, continuous analysers suited to measuring ambient concentrations of air pollutants. Instruments specific for the particular pollutant of interest and free of many of the problems associated with first generation continuously measuring analysers are in common usage. Paradoxically, the scientist is often still unable to devote the necessary time to interpretation of his results, since the benefits gained from reliable measuring equipment are offset by the sheer bulk of data produced and the requirement that it be assembled into a form from which required information can readily be retrieved. The system described represents a cost-effective approach to automatic data handling in situations where real-time data acquisition is not justified.