Andres Munevar Marwa El-Sayed Kevin A. Adkins Marc Compere Leah G. Smith David A. Benning Erik Liebergall Gabriel M. Alkire
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Atmospheric pollution is responsible for killing more than seven million people around the globe, according to the World Health Organization. Among the pollutants that contribute to air pollution, aer..
Atmospheric pollution is responsible for killing more than seven million people around the globe, according to the World Health Organization. Among the pollutants that contribute to air pollution, aerosols, defined as any liquid or solid particulate matter suspended or dispersed in the atmosphere, are a significant contributor to human morbidity and mortality. Current attempts to measure atmospheric PM are not only cumbersome and costly but also lack high spatiotemporal resolution. Recently, low cost sensors have been used to address these economic, practical, and technological shortcomings. This research aims at using LCSs in diverse environments and across different seasons in order to address the existing infrastructure’s spatial and temporal limitations. Commercial Low-cost sensors will be placed in three different operational modes in order to characterize the horizontal and vertical profiles of atmospheric PM. These modes vary in the dimensions that they sample: (1) stationary 1D collocated with a PM monitor based on the federal equivalent method at a suburban site, (2) mobile on a manned vehicle 2D touring the ERAU campus, and (3) mobile on unmanned vehicle 3D flying at urban, suburban, and rural sites. The different commercial LCSs will be used in this effort, relying on light scattering techniques or optical particle counters. Validation will take place by: (1) collocating LCSs with EPA monitoring stations, (2) comparing data to several other PM measurement devices, and (3) mounting a PM measurement device to a tethered balloon.