A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research aircraft traces broad arcs across Texas skies, sampling the air above major cities, oil-producing regions, power plants and more. On the ground, scientists from Texas A&M University and its partners operate mobile laboratories and monitoring stations in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and the Permian Basin, collecting data at street level. Together, they are revisiting a question that researchers have not examined at this scale in two decades: What is in Texas air today?
The answer looks very different than it did during the last major Texas air-quality campaigns of the early 2000s. While scientists once mainly focused on vehicle exhaust and industrial smokestacks, they are now tracking a growing list of pollutants tied to life in 2026, from personal care products and airborne plastics to emissions associated with rapidly expanding data centers.
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The effort is part of NOAA’s Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS), a large-scale campaign spanning Texas and New Mexico. Texas A&M is helping investigate how the state’s pollution landscape has evolved as technologies, industries and daily habits have changed.
Persistent air-quality issues affect millions of people. Researchers want to understand air quality and pollution sources better to help reduce pollution levels and help communities benefit from cleaner air.
Dr. Yue Zhang
Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences
Why Texas air quality research needs a new look
Many of the studies that shaped scientists’ understanding of urban air pollution were conducted in northern metropolitan areas such as New York and Los Angeles. But Texas presents a different set of conditions, from higher temperatures and different weather patterns to distinct industries and consumer habits.
“Much of what we know about emerging urban air pollution comes from studies in places like New York, Los Angeles and Colorado,” said Dr. Yue Zhang, an atmospheric chemist in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, who is leading the project for A&M. “But Texas cities have different climates, different temperatures and different emission sources. We want to understand what air pollution looks like here rather than assume it behaves the same way.”
That question has become increasingly important as many traditional pollution sources have changed. Decades of regulations and technological improvements have reduced emissions from some combustion-related sources, but researchers are finding that other contributors to air pollution may be playing larger roles than previously recognized.
Everyday products are shaping urban air quality
One of those contributors is likely in your home right now.
Research from Zhang’s group has focused on volatile chemical products, or VCPs, a category that includes compounds released from perfumes, shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, cleaning agents and other everyday products. These emissions can differ significantly from those measured in cooler northern cities and may contribute to poor air quality.
Those emissions may seem insignificant on an individual level. But across metropolitan areas with millions of people, their cumulative impact becomes much more noticeable. “Historically, a lot of attention has focused on vehicle emissions or petrochemical facilities,” Zhang said. “But we’re learning that emissions from everyday products, including personal care products, may be more important than people realize.”
Once released, these compounds can react in sunlight and help form ground-level ozone, a pollutant linked to respiratory problems and other health impacts.
Interestingly, the researchers see spikes in VCPs at two specific points in the day. “Because these products are tied to daily routines, we often see two peaks during the day — one in the morning and another in the evening when people are showering,” Zhang said.
Airborne microplastics and nanoplastics across Texas
Most discussions about microplastics have focused on oceans, rivers and food supplies. More recently, researchers have begun finding evidence that tiny plastic particles are also present in the atmosphere.
Zhang’s laboratory has helped develop methods for detecting airborne microplastic and nanplastic particles in real time. Previous research from his group identified atmospheric nanoplastics in Texas and demonstrated new ways to measure them.
“We’re still trying to understand exactly how these particles get into the air,” Zhang said. “One possibility is trash burning, which appears to increase concentrations dramatically, but there are likely multiple sources.”
As researchers collect and analyze samples from across Texas, they hope to gain a clearer picture of where these particles originate, how they move through the environment and what role they may play in public health.
Data centers and other emerging pollution sources
Texas has experienced rapid growth in data centers, facilities that support cloud computing, artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure. Preliminary observations from the TexAQS campaign suggest these facilities may represent a source of pollutants that researchers are only beginning to understand.
“Data centers are often discussed in terms of their energy and water demands, but our preliminary measurements suggest they may also contribute to air pollution,” Zhang said, adding there are two suspected sources of data center air pollution: cooling liquids used to remove heat generated by servers and other equipment; and backup generators that run on diesel fuel.
“Even when there isn’t a power outage, backup generators must be run periodically for testing and maintenance, which can produce emissions,” Zhang said. “Generators can release organic vapors, soot and other pollutants, while chemicals used in cooling systems may also be released into the surrounding air over time.”
The team has also detected pharmaceutical compounds in the atmosphere and is investigating potential sources and pathways.
Building a complete picture of Texas air quality
Understanding those sources requires researchers to view the atmosphere from multiple perspectives.
The NOAA aircraft provides a regional picture, measuring pollutants across large areas and at multiple altitudes. Ground-based teams can then investigate specific locations in much greater detail.
“The aircraft can identify areas with elevated pollution levels across a broad and wider region,” said Dr. Carsten Wakene, chief of the NOAA TexaAQS project.
“NOAA’s aircraft gives us the statewide view, and our ground-based measurements help identify specific pollution hotspots and the sources producing those emissions,” Zhang said.
The campaign’s data will take time to analyze, and many of its findings may not be published for several years. But Zhang said the effort will help policymakers and communities better understand the state’s changing air-quality challenges and identify opportunities to reduce exposure to pollutants.
For Zhang, the goal is ultimately larger than understanding any single chemical or emission source.
“Persistent air-quality issues affect millions of people,” he said. “We want to understand air quality and pollution sources much better, so we can bring pollution levels down and communities can benefit from cleaner air.”
Additional collaborators on TexAQS are University of Houston, University of Texas at Austin, State University of New York, University of Colorado Boulder, Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas Tech University and the Environmental Defense Fund.
