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

这个RAPID项目支持在夏威夷大岛部署一个低成本传感器网络，以测量当前k<e:1>劳厄火山喷发期间硫酸盐气溶胶的产生速度。硫酸盐气溶胶特别令人感兴趣，因为它们在地面作为一种空气污染物，对呼吸系统健康造成影响，而在高层大气中则对气候具有潜在的冷却作用。在k<e:1>劳埃亚火山周围的地面上建立一个低成本传感器网络，将测量一次气体（如二氧化硫）向二次空气污染物（如硫酸盐气溶胶）的化学转化率，并评估这些速率在不同大气条件下（如湿度、温度、阳光、多云与晴朗空气）的变化情况。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。由于火山喷发持续时间的不确定性，需要通过RAPID来支持这项工作，以便在火山喷发进行时进行研究。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。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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.