Planning: CIVIC-PG Track A: Pilot - Community Resilience through Engaging, Actionable, Timely, High-Resolution Air Quality Information (CREATE-AQI)

超过40%的美国人-超过1.37亿人-生活在由于颗粒物或臭氧而导致空气污染达到不健康水平的地区。空气质量差的社区主要分布在美国西部服务不足的地区。由于冬季逆温、野火和沙尘暴，美国西部定期经历全国最差的空气质量。这些地区的个人很难根据空气质量预报来限制污染暴露。这部分是因为许多地区没有空气质量预报;现有的预报仅限于臭氧和直径小于2.5微米的颗粒物。这些预测也没有考虑到可能导致不准确的地形和空气污染源的差异。这项研究通过提供可操作的，及时的，高分辨率的，在社区范围内的空气质量信息，以及决策者根据这些信息采取行动的可操作的空气质量信息和工具，使试点西部社区具有弹性。这项研究通过关注社区规模的自动化空气质量预报和具有成本效益的空气质量测量之间的联系，整合了工程创新和社区参与。它为决策者创造了工具和指导，以积极减少短期和长期暴露于空气质量危害（即臭氧和2.5至10微米的颗粒物）。利用具有成本效益的环境传感器和智能数据分析技术，这项工作使公民、科学家和政策制定者能够就空气质量及其危害做出数据驱动的决策。这对于那些在空气污染环境负担中承担不成比例份额的得不到充分服务的社区尤其重要。这项工作的更广泛影响不仅包括改善当地空气质量的可操作信息，这将有利于其所在社区的健康，而且还为学生教育和可持续就业机会提供了丰富的框架，有可能吸引学生进入科学，工程和数学领域。它还支持犹他州的基础设施和社区，这是一个EPSCoR的状态。这项研究建立在现有的传感和预测基础设施的创新，以及大学研究人员，犹他州空气质量司和犹他州卫生和人类服务部之间强大的公民伙伴关系。 该试点项目将技术、公民伙伴关系和团队建设目标交织在一起。项目交付成果包括对与臭氧和2.5微米和10微米大小的空气传播颗粒物有关的空气污染危害进行高分辨率（每小时、4公里、水平分辨率）和自动数值预报。后者主要与冬季逆温、野火和沙尘事件有关，所有这些都会导致严重的健康问题，如哮喘。这项工作将对城市和农村社区产生影响。该研究还包括一项新的、具有成本效益的空气质量传感器的技术开发和部署，这些传感器能够测量高达10微米大小的灰尘颗粒范围内的社区规模差异。这些数据可以纳入现有的社区监测网络。这项工作还提供了一个与公民合作伙伴共同开发的框架，可供决策者使用，以帮助将高分辨率的空气质量信息转化为行动，从而减少西部社区居民的空气污染暴露。如果成功的话，这种方法和技术有可能扩展到全国其他地方。生活在不断变化的气候中：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。

More than forty percent of all people in the United States — over 137 million people — live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution due to particulate matter or ozone. Communities with poor air quality are predominately found in the Western US in underserved areas. The Western US periodically experiences the worst air quality in the nation as a result of winter-time inversions, wildfires, and dust storms. It can be difficult for individuals in these locations to limit pollution exposure based on air-quality forecasts. This is, in part, because many areas do not have air quality forecasts; and available forecasts are limited to ozone and particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter. The forecasts also do not account for differences in terrain and air pollution sources that can lead to inaccuracies. This research enables resilience of pilot western communities by providing actionable, timely, high-resolution, air quality information on the neighborhood-scale with actionable air quality information and tools for decision makers to act on this information. This research integrates engineering innovations and community engagement by focusing on links between neighborhood-scale, automated, air quality forecasts and cost-effective, air quality measurements. It creates tools and guidance for decision makers to actively reduce short and long-term exposure to air quality hazards (i.e. ozone and particulate matter between 2.5 and 10 microns). Using cost-effective environmental sensors and smart data analysis techniques, this work empowers citizens, scientists, and policy makers to make data-driven decisions about air quality and its hazards. This is particularly relevant for under-served communities that bear a disproportionate share of air pollution environmental burdens. Broader impacts of the work not only include actionable information for improving local air quality which will benefit the health of the communities where it is employed, but also provides a rich framework for student education and sustainable job opportunities that have the potential for attracting students to fields in science, engineering, and mathematics. It also supports infrastructure and communities in Utah, which is an EPSCoR state.This research builds on existing innovations in sensing and forecasting infrastructure as well as strong civic partnerships between university researchers, the Utah Division of Air Quality, and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. This pilot has interwoven technical, civic partnership, and team-building goals. Project deliverables include high-resolution (hourly, 4-km, horizontal resolution) and automated numerical forecasts of air pollution hazards related to ozone and air borne particulate matter in the 2.5 and 10 micron size range. The latter particles are primarily associated with winter thermal inversions, wildfires, and dust events, all of which cause serious health issues like asthma. This work will impact both urban and rural communities. The research also includes a technology development and deployment piece of novel, cost-effective, air quality sensors that are able to measure community-scale differences in the up to 10 micron-sized dust particle ranges. The data can be integrated into existing community monitoring networks. The work also provides a framework, co-developed with civic partners, that can be used by decision makers to help translate high-resolution, air quality information into action that results in the reduction of air pollution exposure to those living in western communities. If successful, the approach and technology has the potential for scaling to other locations around the nation.This project is in response to the Civic Innovation Challenge program—Track A. Living in a changing climate: pre-disaster action around adaptation, resilience, and mitigation—and is a collaboration between NSF, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Energy.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.