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Access the Air Quality System Data Mart

It is important to remember that the AQS Data Mart is primarily a database and not a front end.  The provision of applications, processing systems, or analytical tools is beyond the scope of the Data Mart.  It was designed to provide data for download and processing by other applications.  We hope that many people will build their own access mechanisms and analytical tools and make them available to the interested community.  There are a few such projects in the works already, but we will leave it to the sponsors of those projects to describe them. 

There is one primary access mechanism available to the public: the AQS Data Mart Direct Interface. There are two versions of the Direct Interface, a web version and a downloadable version. To use either one you will need an Exchange Network* Node account. To get this account, send an email request to the EPA Node helpdesk at nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net with a subject line of “Node account request for AQS Data Mart”. Include the following information in your email:

Your name
The email address you would like data reports sent to

You will be sent a user ID and password.

External users may also request web service access to the Data Mart. EPA employees and on-site contractors may request SQL*Net access.

Note that, for large data pulls, the AQS Data Mart is not intended to be an interactive system.  Even though we are running a highly tuned database on a state-of-the art server, the database is very large and querying all raw data for a year can take several minutes or even hours. The process model is that you will make your request, and come back later to pick up your data. (We now email you a message when your query is complete.) For smaller queries (summary data or one-state + one-parameter) the response should be fast enough – minutes or seconds – for the user to wait on their data if they choose.

For information on the contents, query wait times, etc. of the Data mart, see the Basic Information section.

The AQS Data Mart Direct Interface – Web Version

The web version of the interface is a Java applet that runs within a web browser. System requirements are:

A web browser
JRE v1.5 or later
Exchange Network Node account for the Data Mart (see above)

Access the direct interface here:  Data Mart Direct Interface page

The “ AQS Data Mart Direct Interface User Instructions” (PDF) (14 pp, 628K, About PDF) will get you up and running. 


* External access to the AQS Data Mart is brokered by the Exchange Network, a joint project of the US EPA and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS).

AQS Data Mart | Technology Transfer Network | Air & Radiation


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