TCEQ air quality experts participate in NASA-led research project It’s no big news flash that scientists love their computer models. Modeling is an essential part of the modern scientific method in diverse pursuits such as medicine, economics, engineering, architecture, meteorology, and numerous other disciplines. Models create an abstract or ‘virtual’ version of something in the … Continue reading Ozone detection in Houston – by land, air and sea
Annual intrusion of Saharan dust has benefits, drawbacks If you’ve been wondering what’s behind the unusually hazy skies we’ve seen lately, just look to the east. No, not Florida – keep going – all the way across the Atlantic. The source is the Saharan Air Layer, or SAL – plumes of dust blown all the … Continue reading Dust in the Wind
As Hurricane Harvey made its destructive landfall on the Texas coast and then sat around dumping rain on homes and businesses, Texans pulled together to help each other out. This video is a look back at how people, including our own employees, managed to pull through one of the most significant weather events the state … Continue reading Looking back at TCEQ’s Hurricane Harvey response
Why dead fish follow a hurricane If you live near the Texas coast, you may have seen dead fish following a hurricane. Lots and lots of dead, smelly fish lining the coast. Or maybe you saw them gulping for air at the surface of the water. Perhaps you wondered if it was pollution that caused … Continue reading This smells … fishy
In August 2020 TCEQ took its stationary air monitors in Beaumont and Houston offline prior to Hurricane Laura’s landfall, triggering considerable criticism and a lot of questions. We’ve asked Cory Chism, Deputy Director of TCEQ’s Monitoring Division, to explain. Before getting into why TCEQ shuts off its air monitors in the path of a storm, … Continue reading Air monitoring during hurricanes
