Satellites, Coding & Air Sensors: Air quality research using PurpleAir sensors, TEMPO and Python

Faculty Sponsor

Chris Iceman

College

Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Chemistry

ORCID Identifier(s)

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-5796-2952

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Summer 7-24-2024

Abstract

Air quality makes up a large portion of pollution. An important metric is particulate matter (PM), which can vary in sizes less than one micron and greater than ten microns and is measured in micrograms per cubic meter. Time was dedicated to measuring the concentration of PM using low-cost PurpleAir (PA) sensors in Northwest Indiana (NWI), locating the particles origins, reading articles and papers for appropriate conversion factors (CF), and running experiments on the PA sensors. The PA sensors take one data point every ten seconds. That equates to more than three million data points per sensor per year, while multiple PA sensors are operating in NWI. Previous work has relied on Excel for generating monthly and yearly plots and distributions of PM concentration. Utilizing Python for data processing has significantly reduced the time to get to the analyze step. Other issues surrounding the PA sensors is whether they are providing a correct and unbiased concentration to other commercial and scientific grade instruments. This has led to searching and optimizing for the best CF equation(s) and running high-grade sensors alongside PA sensors. Many questions surround the PA instruments for whether they are a high-quality tool for air quality research. Comparing PA data alongside the Indiana Department of Environmental Managements sensors is vital and has revealed issues in IDEMs lack of data points. Air quality is also being measured by TEMPO, a satellite currently measuring NO2, O3, and formaldehyde hourly across the US from Canada to Mexico.

Abstract Image

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Abraham Orozco is a rising senior who has worked for more than a year in this research project, presented research for Valparaiso University and the American Chemical Society (ACS), and is a member of ACS. Abrahams interests stem in inorganic, physical, and nuclear chemistry. Abraham is pursuing graduate school with an interest in nuclear chemistry.

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