Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua
Gas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, cause substantial regional volcanic air pollution (VAP). We evaluate the suitability of low-cost SO2 and PM sensors for a continuous air-quality network. The network was deployed for six months in five populated areas (4-16 km...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Volcanica
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Volcanica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.jvolcanica.org/ojs/index.php/volcanica/article/view/124 |
| _version_ | 1798023771416690688 |
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| author | Rachel Whitty Melissa Pfeffer Evgenia Ilyinskaya Tjarda Roberts Anja Schmidt Sara Barsotti Wilfried Strauch Leigh Crilley Francis Pope Harold Bellanger Elvis Mendoza Tamsin Mather Emma Liu Nial Peters Isabelle Taylor Hilary Francis Xochilt Hernández Leiva Dave Lynch Sébastien Nobert Peter Baxter |
| author_facet | Rachel Whitty Melissa Pfeffer Evgenia Ilyinskaya Tjarda Roberts Anja Schmidt Sara Barsotti Wilfried Strauch Leigh Crilley Francis Pope Harold Bellanger Elvis Mendoza Tamsin Mather Emma Liu Nial Peters Isabelle Taylor Hilary Francis Xochilt Hernández Leiva Dave Lynch Sébastien Nobert Peter Baxter |
| author_sort | Rachel Whitty |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Gas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, cause substantial regional volcanic air pollution (VAP). We evaluate the suitability of low-cost SO2 and PM sensors for a continuous air-quality network. The network was deployed for six months in five populated areas (4-16 km from crater). The SO2 sensors failed and recorded erroneous values on multiple occasions, likely due to corrosion, requiring significant maintenance commitment. The PM sensors were found to be robust but data required correction for humidity. SO2 measurements could not be used as stand-alone tools to detect occurrence of VAP episodes (VAPE), but SO2/PM correlation reliably achieved this at near-field stations, as confirmed by meteorological forecasts and satellite imagery. Above-background PM concentrations reliably identified VAPE at both near-field and far-field stations. We suggest that a continuous network can be built from a combination of low-cost PM and SO2 sensors with a greater number of PM-only sensors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:51:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-23ebb0c60de540b88d520a3225ded503 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2610-3540 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:51:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | Volcanica |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Volcanica |
| spelling | doaj.art-23ebb0c60de540b88d520a3225ded5032022-12-22T04:11:03ZengVolcanicaVolcanica2610-35402022-02-0151335910.30909/vol.05.01.3359108Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, NicaraguaRachel Whitty0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0192-0960Melissa Pfeffer1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1689-1739Evgenia Ilyinskaya2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3663-9506Tjarda Roberts3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0745-895XAnja Schmidt4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8759-2843Sara Barsotti5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5750-0872Wilfried Strauch6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4074-9780Leigh Crilley7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2268-9956Francis Pope8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6583-8347Harold Bellanger9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4574-8026Elvis Mendoza10Tamsin Mather11https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4259-7303Emma Liu12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1749-9285Nial Peters13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6817-6262Isabelle Taylor14https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6824-893XHilary Francis15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4213-2613Xochilt Hernández Leiva16Dave Lynch17https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0123-8788Sébastien Nobert18https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9282-8184Peter Baxter19https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8700-1249Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomIcelandic Meteorological Office, Reykjavik, IcelandInstitute of Geophysics and Tectonics, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomCNRS UMR7328, Laboratoire de Physique et de Chimie de l’Environnement et de l’Espace, Université d’Orléans, Orléans, FranceDepartment of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom AND Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomIcelandic Meteorological Office, Reykjavik, IcelandInstituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER), Managua, NicaraguaDepartment of Chemistry, York University, Toronto, CanadaSchool of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United KingdomDepartment of Geography, University of Montreal, Quebec, CanadaInstituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales (INETER), Managua, NicaraguaDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomDepartment of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, United KingdomDepartment of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, London, United KingdomCOMET, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United KingdomDepartment of Humanities, University of Northumbria, Newcastle, United KingdomIndependent social research consultant, Managua, Nicaragua; formerly at Universidad Americana, Managua, Nicaragua, and Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomCultural Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomDepartment of Geography, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada AND Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds, United KingdomDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomGas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, cause substantial regional volcanic air pollution (VAP). We evaluate the suitability of low-cost SO2 and PM sensors for a continuous air-quality network. The network was deployed for six months in five populated areas (4-16 km from crater). The SO2 sensors failed and recorded erroneous values on multiple occasions, likely due to corrosion, requiring significant maintenance commitment. The PM sensors were found to be robust but data required correction for humidity. SO2 measurements could not be used as stand-alone tools to detect occurrence of VAP episodes (VAPE), but SO2/PM correlation reliably achieved this at near-field stations, as confirmed by meteorological forecasts and satellite imagery. Above-background PM concentrations reliably identified VAPE at both near-field and far-field stations. We suggest that a continuous network can be built from a combination of low-cost PM and SO2 sensors with a greater number of PM-only sensors.https://www.jvolcanica.org/ojs/index.php/volcanica/article/view/124so2pmmasayavolcanonicaragualow-costair-quality |
| spellingShingle | Rachel Whitty Melissa Pfeffer Evgenia Ilyinskaya Tjarda Roberts Anja Schmidt Sara Barsotti Wilfried Strauch Leigh Crilley Francis Pope Harold Bellanger Elvis Mendoza Tamsin Mather Emma Liu Nial Peters Isabelle Taylor Hilary Francis Xochilt Hernández Leiva Dave Lynch Sébastien Nobert Peter Baxter Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua Volcanica so2 pm masaya volcano nicaragua low-cost air-quality |
| title | Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua |
| title_full | Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua |
| title_fullStr | Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua |
| title_short | Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua |
| title_sort | effectiveness of low cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic so₂ and pm downwind from masaya volcano nicaragua |
| topic | so2 pm masaya volcano nicaragua low-cost air-quality |
| url | https://www.jvolcanica.org/ojs/index.php/volcanica/article/view/124 |
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