Beginning with Team Salamander, transitioning to River Zillas, and concluding with our current group that remains unnamed, our journey through the depths of pollution has been an interesting one. Our group originally sought to measure water pollution through identifying its source and the technologies possible to rid the Chesapeake Bay Watershed of impairments.
As it was hard to develop this idea further, by the third week of classes we shifted gears a bit. After Mindy renamed Patrice “Patricia” and our pollution idea lost its glimmer, we were brought into a room separate from the other groups to reconvene. Shaken but not defeated, we backtracked to the earliest stage of mind mapping in order to console our heavy hearts (and pick a new topic).
Our current focus involves surveying and mapping air quality using UAVs. The information we are seeking includes taking samples of CO2, CO, NO2, and SO2. Our hope is to create a higher resolution heat map of various pollutants in order to gain a greater understanding of the environmental quality of Virginia. Although our country’s air is far from China’s toxic state, where 1.4 million are dying annually from air pollution, reducing the pollution is vital to the survival of many dominant species on Earth.
Bug’s Eye View of Drone
Virginia’s current state of air quality is reportedly better than the national average of 9.9 micrograms per cubic meter. Residents’ exposure to the fine particulate matter––particles that include dust, soot and aerosols––have decreased every year for the past decade. Average exposure in Virginia was around 8.7 micrograms as of 2014 and continues to drop according to the Virginia Performs Agency (2015). With the help of Richmond DEQ we can help both the state of Virginia and other areas of the country.
According to an article on the Mother Nature Network titled “Air pollution kills more than 3 million a year” that addresses our topic in greater detail, “Overall, outdoor air pollution — mostly by fine particulate matter and to a lesser extent by ozone — leads to 3.3 million premature deaths per year worldwide” (Choi).
We contacted Chuck Turner, the Director of Air Quality Monitoring for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Since we want to focus specifically on the air quality of Harrisonburg, the DEQ website’s Air Quality in Virginia and Air Monitoring Data Report pages contain information crucial to our project.
For example, the Harrisonburg Metropolitan Area contains ozone, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide pollutants (Air Quality in Virginia). The site then details the pollutants you can monitor using the Air Quality Index (AQI). Below this, there is a chart that actually interprets the AQI.
Following this research, we consulted the EPA website to identify air quality analyses, mapping, and trends. Expanding on this, we backed our research with an atmospheric pollution experiment funded this past July (linked below).
A team of researchers from Eastern Michigan University utilized a UAV device to “build vertical atmospheric profiles of pollution in the urban area surrounding Detroit, Michigan” (Edwards & Haskin). Identifying with this source, we now have proof that a project similar to ours has been successfully funded and completed.
Our goal is to draft an expense report for the integration of sensors and other materials. Additionally, we will contact the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the State and Local Air Monitoring Station to develop a more specific game plan.
Group photo attempt one
Works Cited
“Air Quality Analysis.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 7 Aug. 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015
“Air Quality in Virginia.” Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.
“Assessing Air Quality in Virginia” Virginia Performs. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
Choi, Charles. “Air Pollution Kills More than 3 Million a Year.” Mother Nature Network. Narrative Content Group, 17 Sept. 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Cromer, Greg. 10 Places to Launch a Second Career in Retirement. Digital image. U.S. News. Gazette Review, 24 July 2015. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.
Edwards, Gavin, and Christopher Haskin. “Measurement of Atmospheric Pollution Profiles Using Drones.” Measurement of Atmospheric Pollution Profiles Using Drones. 2016. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.
Farlow, Sean. Google Inc Wants To Be Part of The Air Traffic Control For Drones. Digital image. Gazette Review. Gazette Review, 24 July 2015. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.
Paylor, David. Virginia Ambient Air Monitoring 2013 Data Report. Rep. Glen Allen: n.p., 2013. Print.
By Taylor Kahny