A "swarm" of low-cost sensors showing differences in air quality

By -
Just as quickly as the air pollution tanked into the hazarous zone this past week, it has rebounded over the past few hours.

Here's an example from our network of PurpleAir sensors on Gabriola Island of this rapid improvement, and escape (perhaps temporarily) from the forest fire woodsmoke blanketing much of the province.


Is the air quality on Gabriola Island good right now? It depends on where you are. Note the air pollution stratification with parallel poor readings on Vancouver Island. This is only a difference of around 5km (North to South).



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PurpleAir sensor readings are virtually indistinguishable from government monitors according to new peer reviewed study

By -
In August of 2016, the Gabriola Island Clear Air Society brought online the first PurpleAir sensor network in Canada. Our sensor network has documented extensively the staggering amount of air pollution coming from wood stoves and fireplaces on our tiny island. As the number of PurpleAir sensors expanded across the province and elsewhere in Canada, many began to raise questions about the accuracy of these low-cost devices. There have been several studies to-date that all show the same thing: these devices work, are accurate, reliable, and fill in gaps in air quality monitoring. The newest study from Australia by Dr. Dorothy Robinson provides definitive evidence that should quash any concerns about using PurpleAir sensors. See the study here .  Gabriola Island Clean Air Society director Dr. Michael Mehta has the following to say about this study. This paper provides empirical evidence to show that the use of low-cost PM2.5 monitors for measuring air quality on a distributed basis has me
Read more

How clean are the emissions from a SUV?

By -
Image
In August 2015 we decided to test the PM 2.5 levels from a 2013 Ford Explorer with a V8 engine. The nephelometer (Radiance Research M90 )  was positioned 15cm away from the exhaust pipe on a calm day. After several minutes of readings on a warmed up engine, the PM 2.5 levels ranged between 8 and 11 with a modal response of approximately 8.5. Here's a photo of the experiment. This shows us how clean vehicles emissions are when compared to woodsmoke fires.   Paradoxically you would be safer (at least from a PM 2.5 perspective) breathing off this tailpipe like a snorkel than  living near a wood fire like this where readings have sometimes hit 200 (ten times the provincial limit).
Read more