RAPID: Measuring the Variable Composition and Chemistry of a Volcanic Plume Using a Distributed Sensor Network

该RAPID项目支持在夏威夷大岛上部署一个低成本传感器网络，以测量目前Kavlauea火山喷发期间硫酸盐气溶胶的产生率。硫酸盐气溶胶特别令人感兴趣，因为它们在地面上是一种空气污染物，对呼吸系统健康造成影响，在高层大气中对气候有潜在的冷却影响。在Kamplauea火山周围地面的低成本传感器网络将测量二氧化硫等主要气体向硫酸盐气溶胶等二次空气污染物的化学转化率，并评估这些速率在不同大气条件下的变化（例如，湿度、温度、阳光、多云与晴朗的空气）。这项研究还将证明在极端空气质量事件（如野火）期间使用低成本传感器作为监测和应急响应工作的一部分的可行性。由于无法确定Kamplauea火山喷发的持续时间，因此需要通过一个快速方案来支持这项工作，以便在火山喷发的同时进行研究。这项研究的结果将对人类健康、空气质量政策和排放法规以及气候产生影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This RAPID project supports the deployment of a network of low-cost sensors on the Big Island of Hawaii to measure the production rate of sulfate aerosols during the current eruption of the Kīlauea volcano. Sulfate aerosols are of particular interest due to their role as an air pollutant at ground level that causes respiratory health effects and their role in the upper atmosphere as having a potential cooling impact on climate. A network of low-cost sensors at ground level around the Kīlauea volcano will measure the chemical conversion rates of primary gases, such as sulfur dioxide, to secondary air pollutants, such as sulfate aerosols, and assess how these rates vary under different atmospheric conditions (e.g., humidity, temperature, sunlight, cloudy vs. clear air). This research also will demonstrate the feasibility of using low-cost sensors as part of monitoring and emergency response efforts during extreme air quality events, such as wildfires. The uncertainty about the duration of the volcanic eruption at Kīlauea requires that this work be supported through a RAPID so that the research can be conducted while the eruption is ongoing. The results of this study will have implications for human health, air quality policy and emissions regulation, and climate.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.