Air Quality is influenced by both local sources and long-range transport of pollutants. In the Pioneer Valley, topographic features can channel air from distant urban areas in the south causing locally high summer ozone levels. In the winter, inversions can concentrate local pollutants such as wood smoke, especially at lower elevations.
Using inexpensive but sophisticated
monitoring equipment based on semiconductor (tungsten oxide) detectors from
Aeroqual, Inc., students will observe diurnal cycles in ozone concentrations and
meteorological variables. Students will use these measurements to study
pollutants and the resulting effects on air quality in their towns. They will
engage in a variety of activities with the ultimate goal of producing real data
that can be used to understand air quality in the Pioneer Valley.
The curriculum will begin with an age-appropriate introduction to air quality science, including the concepts of pollution, toxicity, meteorology, and parts per million/billion. Exploration of these concepts will be conducted using a number of web resources including those of UCAR (www.ucar.edu), the EPA (www.epa.gov), NASA’s Earth Observatory and NOAA (www.noaa.gov).
Moving from the theoretical to the
practical, students will be introduced to microcontrollers (e.g., Basic Stamp,
or Make), sensors, sampling rates and the difference between grab samples and
continuous monitoring. They will learn about calibration, zeroing, and sources
of error during the data collection process. Students will also use wind field
data to help them interpret their observations. By producing graphical displays
of the data and studying the correlation between the data collected by the
different sensors, students wi
ll
begin to understand the relationships between these parameters. From this
information, students will begin to appreciate the relationship between global
warming and ozone levels.
Participating schools range in elevation from approximately 50 to 400 meters. At least one school in the Valley and in the hill towns will use data collection systems simultaneously. Just as the scientists of the MILAGRO campaign who study air pollution in megacities (www.joss.ucar.edu/milagro), for example, collaborated by posting their data collected in Mexico last March, the data files collected by these young scientists will be shared via a web site. Using GPS coordinates, students will learn to plot their data using Google Earth, as is done in most major campaigns of this nature.
Another major component of this reseach project is the study of the effects of ozone on trees, especially white pines. The needles of white pines stay on the trees for three years, and offer a record of the effect of ozone damage over that period that can be accessed at any time of the year. The University of New Hampshire Forest Watch program at the University of New Hampshire connects schools all over New England that are participating in these studies. Clubs will work with Professor Barry Rock and his students in studying the impact of ozone in their areas.
Activities for STEM RAYS clubs Pax Analytics
The O-Zone
STEM
Connections Project
Ground
Level
Ozone Testing The Science Teacher Cycles of the
Earth
and Atmosphere Climate
change and issues related to both stratospheric and tropospheric ozone
Forest
Watch
Program at the University of New Hampshire Ozone damage to white
pines Materials from the September 28
workshop Note: Most of these files are quite large, and you will
need a
high speed connection to download them.
Forest Watch Multispec software and data files