Articles | Volume 15, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3353-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3353-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Performance characterization of low-cost air quality sensors for off-grid deployment in rural Malawi
Ashley S. Bittner
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, North
Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA
Eben S. Cross
QuantAQ, Inc., Somerville, MA 02143, USA
David H. Hagan
QuantAQ, Inc., Somerville, MA 02143, USA
Carl Malings
NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow, Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Eric Lipsky
Department of Energy Engineering, Penn State Greater Allegheny
University, McKeesport, PA 15132, USA
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, North
Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606, USA
Related authors
Carl Malings, Daniel M. Westervelt, Aliaksei Hauryliuk, Albert A. Presto, Andrew Grieshop, Ashley Bittner, Matthias Beekmann, and R. Subramanian
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3873–3892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3873-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3873-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Most air quality information comes from accurate but expensive instruments. These can be supplemented by lower-cost sensors to increase the density of ground data and expand monitoring into less well-instrumented areas, like sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper, we look at how low-cost sensor data can be combined with satellite information on air quality (which requires ground data to properly calibrate measurements) and assess the benefits these low-cost sensors provide in this context.
Martine E. Mathieu-Campbell, Chuqi Guo, Andrew P. Grieshop, and Jennifer Richmond-Bryant
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1142, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1142, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
PurpleAir samples are widely used by scientists and members of the general public to monitor PM2.5. However, the accuracy of those measurements is very sensitive to relative humidity. Recently, the EPA developed a national low-cost sensor error correction model, but that model did not include much data from the humid Southeastern portion of the United States. Hence, this article aims to present a data correction model that was trained and validated with data from the Southeastern United States.
Eric A. Wendt, Casey Quinn, Christian L'Orange, Daniel D. Miller-Lionberg, Bonne Ford, Jeffrey R. Pierce, John Mehaffy, Michael Cheeseman, Shantanu H. Jathar, David H. Hagan, Zoey Rosen, Marilee Long, and John Volckens
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6023–6038, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6023-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6023-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Fine particulate matter air pollution is one of the leading contributors to adverse health outcomes on the planet. Here, we describe the design and validation of a low-cost, compact, and autonomous instrument capable of measuring particulate matter levels directly, via mass sampling, and optically, via mass and sunlight extinction measurements. We demonstrate the instrument's accuracy relative to reference measurements and its potential for community-level sampling.
David H. Hagan and Jesse H. Kroll
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6343–6355, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6343-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6343-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Assessing the error of low-cost particulate matter (PM) sensors has been difficult as each empirical study presents unique limitations. Here, we present a new, open-sourced, physics-based model (opcsim) and use it to understand how the properties of different particle sensors alter their accuracy. We offer a summary of likely sources of error for different sensor types, environmental conditions, and particle classes and offer recommendations for the choice of optimal calibrant.
Carl Malings, Daniel M. Westervelt, Aliaksei Hauryliuk, Albert A. Presto, Andrew Grieshop, Ashley Bittner, Matthias Beekmann, and R. Subramanian
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3873–3892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3873-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3873-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Most air quality information comes from accurate but expensive instruments. These can be supplemented by lower-cost sensors to increase the density of ground data and expand monitoring into less well-instrumented areas, like sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper, we look at how low-cost sensor data can be combined with satellite information on air quality (which requires ground data to properly calibrate measurements) and assess the benefits these low-cost sensors provide in this context.
Carl Malings, Rebecca Tanzer, Aliaksei Hauryliuk, Sriniwasa P. N. Kumar, Naomi Zimmerman, Levent B. Kara, Albert A. Presto, and R. Subramanian
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 903–920, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-903-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-903-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper compares several methods for calibrating data from low-cost air quality monitors to reflect the concentrations of various gaseous pollutants in the atmosphere, identifying the best-performing approaches. With these calibration methods, such monitors can be used to gather information on air quality at a higher spatial resolution than is possible using traditional technologies and can be deployed to areas (e.g. developing countries) where there are no existing monitor networks.
Provat K. Saha, Andrey Khlystov, and Andrew P. Grieshop
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2139–2154, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2139-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2139-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
We present spatial measurements of particle volatility and mixing state near a US interstate highway. We find that the relative abundance of semi-volatile species in ultrafine particles decreases with downwind distance and the mixing state of roadside aerosols does not change significantly within a few hundred meters from the highway. The results from our study show that exposures and impacts of near-road particles may differ across seasons and under changing ambient conditions.
Provat K. Saha, Andrey Khlystov, Khairunnisa Yahya, Yang Zhang, Lu Xu, Nga L. Ng, and Andrew P. Grieshop
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 501–520, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-501-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-501-2017, 2017
T. D. Gordon, A. A. Presto, A. A. May, N. T. Nguyen, E. M. Lipsky, N. M. Donahue, A. Gutierrez, M. Zhang, C. Maddox, P. Rieger, S. Chattopadhyay, H. Maldonado, M. M. Maricq, and A. L. Robinson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4661–4678, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4661-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4661-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Technique: In Situ Measurement | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
Evaluation of optimized flux chamber design for measurement of ammonia emission after field application of slurry with full-scale farm machinery
Preparation of low-concentration H2 test gas mixtures in ambient air for calibration of H2 sensors
Alternate materials for the capture and quantification of gaseous oxidized mercury in the atmosphere
Pico-Light H2O: intercomparison of in situ water vapour measurements during the AsA 2022 campaign
Mobile air quality monitoring and comparison to fixed monitoring sites for instrument performance assessment
Intercomparison of eddy-covariance software for urban tall-tower sites
Assessment of current methane emission quantification techniques for natural gas midstream applications
Lower-cost eddy covariance for CO2 and H2O fluxes over grassland and agroforestry
Performance assessment of state-of-the-art and novel methods for remote compliance monitoring of sulfur emissions from shipping
Intercomparison of detection and quantification methods for methane emissions from the natural gas distribution network in Hamburg, Germany
Comparison of photoacoustic spectroscopy and cavity ring-down spectroscopy for ambient methane monitoring at Hohenpeißenberg
Comparison of atmospheric CO, CO2 and CH4 measurements at the Schneefernerhaus and the mountain ridge at Zugspitze
Intercomparison of commercial analyzers for atmospheric ethane and methane observations
Real-time measurement of phase partitioning of organic compounds using a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer coupled to a CHARON inlet
A quantitative comparison of methods used to measure smaller methane emissions typically observed from superannuated oil and gas infrastructure
Comparing airborne algorithms for greenhouse gas flux measurements over the Alberta oil sands
Characterization of inexpensive metal oxide sensor performance for trace methane detection
Intercomparison of upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric water vapor measurements over the Asian Summer Monsoon during the StratoClim campaign
Air pollution measurement errors: is your data fit for purpose?
Comment on “Comparison of ozone measurement methods in biomass burning smoke: an evaluation under field and laboratory conditions” by Long et al. (2021)
Homogenization of the Observatoire de Haute Provence electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozonesonde data record: comparison with lidar and satellite observations
Long-term behavior and stability of calibration models for NO and NO2 low-cost sensors
Controlled-release experiment to investigate uncertainties in UAV-based emission quantification for methane point sources
Ozone formation sensitivity study using machine learning coupled with the reactivity of volatile organic compound species
Evaluating uncertainty in sensor networks for urban air pollution insights
Estimating oil sands emissions using horizontal path-integrated column measurements
Global evaluation of the precipitable-water-vapor product from MERSI-II (Medium Resolution Spectral Imager) on board the Fengyun-3D satellite
Field testing two flux footprint models
Validation of a new cavity ring-down spectrometer for measuring tropospheric gaseous hydrogen chloride
Comparison of formaldehyde measurements by Hantzsch, CRDS and DOAS in the SAPHIR chamber
A field intercomparison of three passive air samplers for gaseous mercury in ambient air
Beef cattle methane emissions measured with tracer-ratio and inverse dispersion modelling techniques
Methane emissions from an oil sands tailings pond: a quantitative comparison of fluxes derived by different methods
Performance of open-path GasFinder3 devices for CH4 concentration measurements close to ambient levels
Water vapor density and turbulent fluxes from three generations of infrared gas analyzers
Quantifying fugitive gas emissions from an oil sands tailings pond with open-path Fourier transform infrared measurements
Robust statistical calibration and characterization of portable low-cost air quality monitoring sensors to quantify real-time O3 and NO2 concentrations in diverse environments
A miniature Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) for real-driving monitoring of motorcycles
In situ measurement of CO2 and CH4 from aircraft over northeast China and comparison with OCO-2 data
Mobile-platform measurement of air pollutant concentrations in California: performance assessment, statistical methods for evaluating spatial variations, and spatial representativeness
Continuous methane concentration measurements at the Greenland ice sheet–atmosphere interface using a low-cost, low-power metal oxide sensor system
The development of the Atmospheric Measurements by Ultra-Light Spectrometer (AMULSE) greenhouse gas profiling system and application for satellite retrieval validation
Atmospheric observations of the water vapour continuum in the near-infrared windows between 2500 and 6600 cm−1
Intercomparison study of atmospheric 222Rn and 222Rn progeny monitors
Sources of error in open-path FTIR measurements of N2O and CO2 emitted from agricultural fields
Constraining the accuracy of flux estimates using OTM 33A
Evaluating the measurement interference of wet rotating-denuder–ion chromatography in measuring atmospheric HONO in a highly polluted area
Intercomparison of nitrous acid (HONO) measurement techniques in a megacity (Beijing)
Validity and limitations of simple reaction kinetics to calculate concentrations of organic compounds from ion counts in PTR-MS
Recent advances in measurement techniques for atmospheric carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide observations
Johanna Pedersen, Sasha D. Hafner, Andreas Pacholski, Valthor I. Karlsson, Li Rong, Rodrigo Labouriau, and Jesper N. Kamp
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4493–4505, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4493-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4493-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Field-applied animal slurry is a significant source of NH3 emission. A new system of dynamic flux chambers for NH3 measurements was developed and validated using three field trials in order to assess the variability after application with a trailing hose at different scales: manual (handheld) application, a 3 m slurry boom, and a 30 m slurry boom. The system facilitates NH3 emission measurement with replication after both manual and farm-scale slurry application with relatively high precision.
Niklas Karbach, Lisa Höhler, Peter Hoor, Heiko Bozem, Nicole Bobrowski, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4081–4086, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4081-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
The system presented here can accurately generate and reproduce a stable flow of gas mixtures of known concentrations over several days using ambient air as a dilution medium. In combination with the small size and low weight of the system, this enables the calibration of hydrogen sensors in the field, reducing the influence of matrix effects on the accuracy of the sensor. The system is inexpensive to assemble and easy to maintain, which is the key to reliable measurement results.
Livia Lown, Sarrah M. Dunham-Cheatham, Seth N. Lyman, and Mae S. Gustin
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-50, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-50, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
New sorbent materials are needed to preconcentrate atmospheric oxidized mercury for analysis by developing mass spectrometry methods. Chitosan, α-Al2O3, and γ-Al2O3 were tested for quantitative gaseous oxidized mercury sorption in ambient air under laboratory and field conditions. Although these materials sorbed gaseous oxidized mercury without sorbing elemental mercury, less oxidized mercury was recovered from these materials compared to cation exchange membranes.
Mélanie Ghysels, Georges Durry, Nadir Amarouche, Dale Hurst, Emrys Hall, Kensy Xiong, Jean-Charles Dupont, Jean-Christophe Samake, Fabien Frérot, Raghed Bejjani, and Emmanuel D. Riviere
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3495–3513, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3495-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3495-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
A tunable diode laser hygrometer, “Pico-Light H2O”, is presented and its performances are evaluated during the AsA 2022 balloon-borne intercomparison campaign from Aire-sur-l'Adour (France) in September 2022. A total of 15 balloons were launched within the framework of the EU-funded HEMERA project. Pico-Light H2O has been compared in situ with the NOAA Frost Point Hygrometer in the upper troposphere and stratosphere, as well as with meteorological sondes (iMet-4 and M20) in the troposphere.
Andrew R. Whitehill, Melissa Lunden, Brian LaFranchi, Surender Kaushik, and Paul A. Solomon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2991–3009, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2991-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2991-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We present an analysis from two large-scale mobile air quality monitoring campaigns in Colorado and California. We compare mobile measurements of air quality to measurements from nearby regulatory sites. The goal of this paper is to explore how fixed-site measurements (such as regulatory site measurements) can be used for ongoing instrument performance assessment of mobile monitoring platforms over extended measurement campaigns.
Changxing Lan, Matthias Mauder, Stavros Stagakis, Benjamin Loubet, Claudio D'Onofrio, Stefan Metzger, David Durden, and Pedro-Henrique Herig-Coimbra
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2649–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2649-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2649-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Using eddy-covariance systems deployed in three cities, we aimed to elucidate the sources of discrepancies in flux estimations from different software packages. One crucial finding is the impact of low-frequency spectral loss corrections on tall-tower flux estimations. Our findings emphasize the significance of a standardized measurement setup and consistent postprocessing configurations in minimizing the systematic flux uncertainty resulting from the usage of different software packages.
Yunsong Liu, Jean-Daniel Paris, Gregoire Broquet, Violeta Bescós Roy, Tania Meixus Fernandez, Rasmus Andersen, Andrés Russu Berlanga, Emil Christensen, Yann Courtois, Sebastian Dominok, Corentin Dussenne, Travis Eckert, Andrew Finlayson, Aurora Fernández de la Fuente, Catlin Gunn, Ram Hashmonay, Juliano Grigoleto Hayashi, Jonathan Helmore, Soeren Honsel, Fabrizio Innocenti, Matti Irjala, Torgrim Log, Cristina Lopez, Francisco Cortés Martínez, Jonathan Martinez, Adrien Massardier, Helle Gottschalk Nygaard, Paula Agregan Reboredo, Elodie Rousset, Axel Scherello, Matthias Ulbricht, Damien Weidmann, Oliver Williams, Nigel Yarrow, Murès Zarea, Robert Ziegler, Jean Sciare, Mihalis Vrekoussis, and Philippe Bousquet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1633–1649, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1633-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1633-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
We investigated the performance of 10 methane emission quantification techniques in a blind controlled-release experiment at an inerted natural gas compressor station. We reported their respective strengths, weaknesses, and potential complementarity depending on the emission rates and atmospheric conditions. Additionally, we assess the dependence of emission quantification performance on key parameters such as wind speed, deployment constraints, and measurement duration.
Justus G. V. van Ramshorst, Alexander Knohl, José Ángel Callejas-Rodelas, Robert Clement, Timothy C. Hill, Lukas Siebicke, and Christian Markwitz
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-30, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-30, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
Short summary
Short summary
In this work we present experimental field results of a lower-cost eddy covariance (LC-EC) system, which can measure the ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide and water vapour with the atmosphere. During three field campaigns on a grassland and agroforestry grassland we compared the LC-EC with a conventional eddy covariance (CON-EC) system. Our results show that LC-EC has the potential to measure EC fluxes for only approximately 25 % of the costs of a CON-EC system.
Jörg Beecken, Andreas Weigelt, Simone Griesel, Johan Mellqvist, Alexander V. Conde Jacobo, Daniëlle van Dinther, Jan Duyzer, Jon Knudsen, Bettina Knudsen, and Leonidas Ntziachristos
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5883–5895, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5883-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5883-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Air pollution from shipping is a debated topic in science and politics. We compare different monitoring systems currently used in different European countries for the enforcement of emission limits regarding air pollution from ships according to regulation. The system performances were individually assessed in the field by comparison with true values. Non-compliant vessels with actual fuel sulfur contents > 0.15–0.19 % Sm/m can be detected by the compared systems with 95 % confidence.
Hossein Maazallahi, Antonio Delre, Charlotte Scheutz, Anders M. Fredenslund, Stefan Schwietzke, Hugo Denier van der Gon, and Thomas Röckmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5051–5073, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5051-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5051-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Measurement methods are increasingly deployed to verify reported methane emissions of gas leaks. This study describes unique advantages and limitations of three methods. Two methods are rapidly deployed, but uncertainties and biases exist for some leak locations. In contrast, the suction method could accurately determine leak rates in principle. However, this method, which provides data for the German emission inventory, creates an overall low bias in our study due to non-random site selection.
Max Müller, Stefan Weigl, Jennifer Müller-Williams, Matthias Lindauer, Thomas Rück, Simon Jobst, Rudolf Bierl, and Frank-Michael Matysik
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4263–4270, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4263-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4263-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Over a period of 5 d, a photoacoustic methane sensor was compared with a Picarro cavity ring-down (G2301) spectrometer. Both devices measured the ambient methane concentration at the meteorological observatory Hohenpeißenberg. Cross-sensitivities on the photoacoustic signal, due to fluctuating ambient humidity, were compensated by applying the CoNRad algorithm. The results show that photoacoustic sensors have the potential for accurate and precise greenhouse gas monitoring.
Antje Hoheisel, Cedric Couret, Bryan Hellack, and Martina Schmidt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2399–2413, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2399-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2399-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
High-precision CO2, CH4 and CO measurements have been carried out at Zugspitze for decades. New technologies make it possible to analyse these gases with high temporal resolution. This allows the detection of local pollution. To this end, measurements have been performed on the mountain ridge (ZGR) and are compared to routine measurements at the Schneefernerhaus (ZSF). Careful manual flagging of pollution events in the ZSF data leads to consistency with the little influenced ZGR time series.
Róisín Commane, Andrew Hallward-Driemeier, and Lee T. Murray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1431–1441, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1431-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1431-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
Methane / ethane ratios can be used to identify and partition the different sources of methane, especially in areas with natural gas mixed with biogenic methane emissions, such as cities. We tested three commercially available laser-based analyzers for sensitivity, precision, size, power requirement, ease of use on mobile platforms, and expertise needed to operate the instrument, and we make recommendations for use in various situations.
Yarong Peng, Hongli Wang, Yaqin Gao, Shengao Jing, Shuhui Zhu, Dandan Huang, Peizhi Hao, Shengrong Lou, Tiantao Cheng, Cheng Huang, and Xuan Zhang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 15–28, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-15-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-15-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This work examined the phase partitioning behaviors of organic compounds at hourly resolution in ambient conditions with the use of the CHemical Analysis of aeRosols ONline (CHARON) inlet coupled to a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS). Properly accounting for the neutral losses of small moieties during the molecular feature extraction from PTR mass spectra could significantly reduce uncertainties associated with the gas–particle partitioning measurements.
Stuart N. Riddick, Riley Ancona, Mercy Mbua, Clay S. Bell, Aidan Duggan, Timothy L. Vaughn, Kristine Bennett, and Daniel J. Zimmerle
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6285–6296, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6285-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6285-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This describes controlled release experiments at the METEC facility in Fort Collins, USA, that investigates the accuracy and precision of five methods commonly used to measure methane emissions. Methods include static/dynamic chambers, hi flow sampling, a backward Lagrangian stochastic method, and a Gaussian plume method. This is the first time that methods for measuring CH4 emissions from point sources less than 200 g CH4 h−1 have been quantitively assessed against references and each other.
Broghan M. Erland, Cristen Adams, Andrea Darlington, Mackenzie L. Smith, Andrew K. Thorpe, Gregory R. Wentworth, Steve Conley, John Liggio, Shao-Meng Li, Charles E. Miller, and John A. Gamon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5841–5859, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5841-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5841-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Accurately estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is essential to reaching net-zero goals to combat the climate crisis. Airborne box-flights are ideal for assessing regional GHG emissions, as they can attain small error. We compare two box-flight algorithms and found they produce similar results, but daily variability must be considered when deriving emissions inventories. Increasing the consistency and agreement between airborne methods moves us closer to achieving more accurate estimates.
Daniel Furuta, Tofigh Sayahi, Jinsheng Li, Bruce Wilson, Albert A. Presto, and Jiayu Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5117–5128, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5117-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5117-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Methane is a major greenhouse gas and contributor to climate change with various human-caused and natural sources. Currently, atmospheric methane is expensive to sense. We investigate repurposing cheap methane safety sensors for atmospheric sensing, finding several promising sensors and identifying some of the challenges in this approach. This work will help in developing inexpensive sensor networks for methane monitoring, which will aid in reducing methane leaks and emissions.
Clare E. Singer, Benjamin W. Clouser, Sergey M. Khaykin, Martina Krämer, Francesco Cairo, Thomas Peter, Alexey Lykov, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Armin Afchine, Simone Brunamonti, and Elisabeth J. Moyer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4767–4783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4767-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In situ measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere are necessary to study cloud formation and hydration of the stratosphere but challenging due to cold–dry conditions. We compare measurements from three water vapor instruments from the StratoClim campaign in 2017. In clear sky (clouds), point-by-point differences were <1.5±8 % (<1±8 %). This excellent agreement allows detection of fine-scale structures required to understand the impact of convection on stratospheric water vapor.
Sebastian Diez, Stuart E. Lacy, Thomas J. Bannan, Michael Flynn, Tom Gardiner, David Harrison, Nicholas Marsden, Nicholas A. Martin, Katie Read, and Pete M. Edwards
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4091–4105, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4091-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4091-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Regardless of the cost of the measuring instrument, there are no perfect measurements. For this reason, we compare the quality of the information provided by cheap devices when they are used to measure air pollutants and we try to emphasise that before judging the potential usefulness of the devices, the user must specify his own needs. Since commonly used performance indices/metrics can be misleading in qualifying this, we propose complementary visual analysis to the more commonly used metrics.
Noah Bernays, Daniel A. Jaffe, Irina Petropavlovskikh, and Peter Effertz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3189–3192, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3189-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3189-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Ozone is an important pollutant that impacts millions of people worldwide. It is therefore important to ensure accurate measurements. A recent surge in wildfire activity in the USA has resulted in significant enhancements in ozone concentration. However given the nature of wildfire smoke, there are questions about our ability to accurately measure ozone. In this comment, we discuss possible biases in the UV measurements of ozone in the presence of smoke.
Gérard Ancellet, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Herman G. J. Smit, Ryan M. Stauffer, Roeland Van Malderen, Renaud Bodichon, and Andrea Pazmiño
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3105–3120, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3105-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3105-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The 1991–2021 Observatoire de Haute Provence electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozonesonde data have been homogenized according to the recommendations of the Ozonesonde Data Quality Assessment panel. Comparisons with ground-based instruments also measuring ozone at the same station (lidar, surface measurements) and with colocated satellite observations show the benefits of this homogenization. Remaining differences between ECC and other observations in the stratosphere are also discussed.
Horim Kim, Michael Müller, Stephan Henne, and Christoph Hüglin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2979–2992, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2979-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2979-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
In this study, the performance of electrochemical sensors for NO and NO2 for measuring air quality was determined over a longer operating period. The performance of NO sensors remained reliable for more than 18 months. However, the NO2 sensors showed decreasing performance over time. During deployment, we found that the NO2 sensors can distinguish general pollution levels, but they proved unsuitable for accurate measurements due to significant biases.
Randulph Morales, Jonas Ravelid, Katarina Vinkovic, Piotr Korbeń, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Huilin Chen, Martina Schmidt, Sebastian Humbel, and Dominik Brunner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2177–2198, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2177-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2177-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Mapping trace gas emission plumes using in situ measurements from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is an emerging and attractive possibility to quantify emissions from localized sources. We performed an extensive controlled-release experiment to develop an optimal quantification method and to determine the related uncertainties under various environmental and sampling conditions. Our approach was successful in quantifying local methane sources from drone-based measurements.
Junlei Zhan, Yongchun Liu, Wei Ma, Xin Zhang, Xuezhong Wang, Fang Bi, Yujie Zhang, Zhenhai Wu, and Hong Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1511–1520, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1511-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1511-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Our study investigated the O3 formation sensitivity in Beijing using a random forest model coupled with the reactivity of volatile organic
compound (VOC) species. Results found that random forest accurately predicted O3 concentration when initial VOCs were considered, and relative importance correlated well with O3 formation potential. The O3 isopleth curves calculated by the random forest model were generally comparable with those calculated by the box model.
Daniel R. Peters, Olalekan A. M. Popoola, Roderic L. Jones, Nicholas A. Martin, Jim Mills, Elizabeth R. Fonseca, Amy Stidworthy, Ella Forsyth, David Carruthers, Megan Dupuy-Todd, Felicia Douglas, Katie Moore, Rishabh U. Shah, Lauren E. Padilla, and Ramón A. Alvarez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 321–334, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-321-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-321-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We present more than 2 years of NO2 pollution measurements from a sensor network in Greater London and compare results to an extensive network of expensive reference-grade monitors. We show the ability of our lower-cost network to generate robust insights about local air pollution. We also show how irregularities in sensor performance lead to some uncertainty in results and demonstrate ways that future users can characterize and mitigate uncertainties to get the most value from sensor data.
Timothy G. Pernini, T. Scott Zaccheo, Jeremy Dobler, and Nathan Blume
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 225–240, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-225-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-225-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We demonstrate a novel approach to estimating emissions from oil sands operations that utilizes the GreenLITE™ gas concentration measurement system and an atmospheric model. While deployed at a facility in the Athabasca region of Alberta, Canada, CH4 emissions from a tailings pond were estimated to be 7.2 t/d for July–October 2019, and 5.1 t/d for March–July 2020. CH4 emissions from an open-pit mine were estimated to be 24.6 t/d for September–October 2019.
Wengang Zhang, Ling Wang, Yang Yu, Guirong Xu, Xiuqing Hu, Zhikang Fu, and Chunguang Cui
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7821–7834, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7821-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7821-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Global precipitable water vapor (PWV) derived from MERSI-II (Medium Resolution Spectral Imager) is compared with PWV from the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA). Our results show a good agreement between PWV from MERSI-II and IGRA and that MERSI-II PWV is slightly underestimated on the whole, especially in summer. The bias between MERSI-II and IGRA grows with a larger spatial distance between the footprint of the satellite and the IGRA station, as well as increasing PWV.
Trevor W. Coates, Monzurul Alam, Thomas K. Flesch, and Guillermo Hernandez-Ramirez
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7147–7152, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7147-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7147-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A field study tested two footprint models for calculating surface emissions from downwind flux measurements. Emission rates from a 10 × 10 m synthetic source were estimated with the simple Kormann–Meixner model and a sophisticated Lagrangian stochastic model. Both models underestimated emissions by approximately 30 %, and no statistical differences were observed between the models. Footprint models are critically important for interpreting eddy covariance measurements.
Teles C. Furlani, Patrick R. Veres, Kathryn E. R. Dawe, J. Andrew Neuman, Steven S. Brown, Trevor C. VandenBoer, and Cora J. Young
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5859–5871, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5859-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5859-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
This study characterized and validated a commercial spectroscopic instrument for the measurement of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the atmosphere. Near the Earth’s surface, HCl acts as the dominant reservoir for other chlorine-containing reactive chemicals that play an important role in atmospheric chemistry. The properties of HCl make it challenging to measure. This instrument can overcome many of these challenges, enabling reliable HCl measurements.
Marvin Glowania, Franz Rohrer, Hans-Peter Dorn, Andreas Hofzumahaus, Frank Holland, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Andreas Wahner, and Hendrik Fuchs
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4239–4253, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4239-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4239-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Three instruments that use different techniques to measure gaseous formaldehyde concentrations were compared in experiments in the atmospheric simulation chamber SAPHIR at Forschungszentrum Jülich. The results demonstrated the need to correct the baseline in measurements by instruments that use the Hantzsch reaction or make use of cavity ring-down spectroscopy. After applying corrections, all three methods gave accurate and precise measurements within their specifications.
Attilio Naccarato, Antonella Tassone, Maria Martino, Sacha Moretti, Antonella Macagnano, Emiliano Zampetti, Paolo Papa, Joshua Avossa, Nicola Pirrone, Michelle Nerentorp, John Munthe, Ingvar Wängberg, Geoff W. Stupple, Carl P. J. Mitchell, Adam R. Martin, Alexandra Steffen, Diana Babi, Eric M. Prestbo, Francesca Sprovieri, and Frank Wania
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3657–3672, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3657-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3657-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Mercury monitoring in support of the Minamata Convention requires effective and reliable analytical tools. Passive sampling is a promising approach for creating a sustainable long-term network for atmospheric mercury with improved spatial resolution and global coverage. In this study the analytical performance of three passive air samplers (CNR-PAS, IVL-PAS, and MerPAS) was assessed over extended deployment periods and the accuracy of concentrations was judged by comparison with active sampling.
Mei Bai, José I. Velazco, Trevor W. Coates, Frances A. Phillips, Thomas K. Flesch, Julian Hill, David G. Mayer, Nigel W. Tomkins, Roger S. Hegarty, and Deli Chen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3469–3479, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3469-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3469-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The development and validation of management practices to mitigate methane (CH4) emissions from livestock require accurate emission measurements. We compared the inverse dispersion modelling (IDM) and tracer-ratio techniques to measure CH4 emissions from cattle. Both measurements agreed well but were higher than IPCC estimates. We suggest that the IDM approach can provide an accurate method of estimating cattle emissions, and IPCC estimates may have larger uncertainties.
Yuan You, Ralf M. Staebler, Samar G. Moussa, James Beck, and Richard L. Mittermeier
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1879–1892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1879-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Tailings ponds in the Alberta oil sands can be significant sources of methane, an important greenhouse gas. This paper describes a 1-month study conducted in 2017 to measure methane emissions from a pond using a variety of micrometeorological flux methods and demonstrates some advantages of these methods over flux chambers.
Christoph Häni, Marcel Bühler, Albrecht Neftel, Christof Ammann, and Thomas Kupper
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1733–1741, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1733-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1733-2021, 2021
Seth Kutikoff, Xiaomao Lin, Steven R. Evett, Prasanna Gowda, David Brauer, Jerry Moorhead, Gary Marek, Paul Colaizzi, Robert Aiken, Liukang Xu, and Clenton Owensby
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 1253–1266, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1253-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1253-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Fast-response infrared gas sensors have been used over 3 decades for long-term monitoring of water vapor fluxes. As optically improved infrared gas sensors are newly employed, we evaluated the performance of water vapor density and water vapor flux from three generations of infrared gas sensors in Bushland, Texas, USA. From our experiments, fluxes from the old sensors were best representative of evapotranspiration based on a world-class lysimeter reference measurement.
Yuan You, Samar G. Moussa, Lucas Zhang, Long Fu, James Beck, and Ralf M. Staebler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 945–959, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-945-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-945-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Tailings ponds in the Alberta oil sands represent an insufficiently characterized source of fugitive emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere. In this study, a novel approach of using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer along with measurements of atmospheric turbulence is shown to present a practical, non-intrusive method of quantifying emission rates for ammonia, alkanes, and methane. Results from a 1-month field study are presented and discussed.
Ravi Sahu, Ayush Nagal, Kuldeep Kumar Dixit, Harshavardhan Unnibhavi, Srikanth Mantravadi, Srijith Nair, Yogesh Simmhan, Brijesh Mishra, Rajesh Zele, Ronak Sutaria, Vidyanand Motiram Motghare, Purushottam Kar, and Sachchida Nand Tripathi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 37–52, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-37-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-37-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
A unique feature of our low-cost sensor deployment is a swap-out experiment wherein four of the six sensors were relocated to different sites in the two phases. The swap-out experiment is crucial in investigating the efficacy of calibration models when applied to weather and air quality conditions vastly different from those present during calibration. We developed a novel local calibration algorithm based on metric learning that offers stable and accurate calibration performance.
Michal Vojtisek-Lom, Alessandro A. Zardini, Martin Pechout, Lubos Dittrich, Fausto Forni, François Montigny, Massimo Carriero, Barouch Giechaskiel, and Giorgio Martini
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 5827–5843, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5827-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-5827-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The feasibility of monitoring on-road emissions from small motorcycles with two highly compact portable emissions monitoring systems was evaluated on three motorcycles, with positive results. Mass emissions measured on the road were consistent among repeated runs, with differences between laboratory and on-road tests much larger than those between portable and laboratory systems, which were, on the average, within units of percent over standard test cycles.
Xiaoyu Sun, Minzheng Duan, Yang Gao, Rui Han, Denghui Ji, Wenxing Zhang, Nong Chen, Xiangao Xia, Hailei Liu, and Yanfeng Huo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3595–3607, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3595-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3595-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The accurate measurement of greenhouse gases and their vertical distribution in the atmosphere is significant to the study of climate change and satellite remote sensing. Carbon dioxide and methane between 0.6 and 7 km were measured by the aircraft King Air 350ER in Jiansanjiang, northeast China, on 7–11 August 2018. The profiles show strong variation with the altitude and time, so the vertical structure of gases should be taken into account in the current satellite retrieval algorithm.
Paul A. Solomon, Dena Vallano, Melissa Lunden, Brian LaFranchi, Charles L. Blanchard, and Stephanie L. Shaw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3277–3301, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3277-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3277-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Analyzing street-level air pollutants (2016–2017), this assessment indicates that mobile measurement is precise and accurate (5 % to 25 % bias) relative to regulatory sites, with higher spatial resolution. Collocated sensor measurements in California showed differences less than 20 %, suggesting that greater differences represent spatial variability. Mobile data confirm regulatory-site spatial representation and that pollutant levels can also be 6 to 8 times higher just blocks apart.
Christian Juncher Jørgensen, Jacob Mønster, Karsten Fuglsang, and Jesper Riis Christiansen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3319–3328, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3319-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3319-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Recent discoveries have shown large emissions of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere from meltwater at the Greenland ice sheet (GrIS). Low-cost and low-power gas sensor technology offers great potential to supplement CH4 measurements using very expensive reference analyzers under harsh and remote conditions. In this paper we evaluate the in situ performance at the GrIS of a low-cost CH4 sensor to a state-of-the-art analyzer and find very excellent agreement between the two methods.
Lilian Joly, Olivier Coopmann, Vincent Guidard, Thomas Decarpenterie, Nicolas Dumelié, Julien Cousin, Jérémie Burgalat, Nicolas Chauvin, Grégory Albora, Rabih Maamary, Zineb Miftah El Khair, Diane Tzanos, Joël Barrié, Éric Moulin, Patrick Aressy, and Anne Belleudy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3099–3118, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3099-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3099-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This article presents an instrument weighing less than 3 kg for accurate and rapid measurement of greenhouse gases between 0 and 30 km altitude using a meteorological balloon. This article shows the interest of these measurements for the validation of simulations of infrared satellite observations.
Jonathan Elsey, Marc D. Coleman, Tom D. Gardiner, Kaah P. Menang, and Keith P. Shine
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2335–2361, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2335-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2335-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Water vapour is an important component in trying to understand the flows of energy between the Sun and Earth, since it is opaque to radiation emitted by both the surface and the Sun. In this paper, we study how it absorbs sunlight by way of its
continuum, a property which is poorly understood and with few measurements. Our results indicate that this continuum absorption may be more significant than previously thought, potentially impacting satellite observations and climate studies.
Claudia Grossi, Scott D. Chambers, Olivier Llido, Felix R. Vogel, Victor Kazan, Alessandro Capuana, Sylvester Werczynski, Roger Curcoll, Marc Delmotte, Arturo Vargas, Josep-Anton Morguí, Ingeborg Levin, and Michel Ramonet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2241–2255, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2241-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2241-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The sustainable support of radon metrology at the environmental level offers new scientific possibilities for the quantification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the determination of their source terms as well as for the identification of radioactive sources for the assessment of radiation exposure. This study helps to harmonize the techniques commonly used for atmospheric radon and radon progeny activity concentration measurements.
Cheng-Hsien Lin, Richard H. Grant, Albert J. Heber, and Cliff T. Johnston
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2001–2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2001-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2001-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Gas quantification using the open-path Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (OP-FTIR) is subject to interferences of environmental variables, leading to errors in gas concentration calculations. This study investigated the effects of ambient water vapour content, temperature, path lengths, and wind speed on the quantification of N2O and CO2 concentrations, which can help the OP-FTIR users to avoid these errors and improve the precision and accuracy of the atmospheric gas quantification.
Rachel Edie, Anna M. Robertson, Robert A. Field, Jeffrey Soltis, Dustin A. Snare, Daniel Zimmerle, Clay S. Bell, Timothy L. Vaughn, and Shane M. Murphy
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 341–353, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-341-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-341-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Ground-based measurements of emissions from oil and natural gas production are important for understanding emission distributions and improving emission inventories. Here, measurement technique Other Test Method 33A (OTM 33A) is validated through several test releases staged at the Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center. These tests suggest OTM 33A has no inherent bias and that a group of OTM measurements is within 5 % of the known mean emission rate.
Zheng Xu, Yuliang Liu, Wei Nie, Peng Sun, Xuguang Chi, and Aijun Ding
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6737–6748, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6737-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6737-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We evaluated the performance of HONO measurement by a wet-denuder--ion0chromatography system (WD/IC, MARGA). We found significant artificial HONO formed from the reaction of NO2 oxidizing SO2 in the denuder solution. High ambient NH3 would elevate the pH of the denuder solution and promote the overestimation of HONO. A method was established to correct the HONO measurement by WD/IC instruments.
Leigh R. Crilley, Louisa J. Kramer, Bin Ouyang, Jun Duan, Wenqian Zhang, Shengrui Tong, Maofa Ge, Ke Tang, Min Qin, Pinhua Xie, Marvin D. Shaw, Alastair C. Lewis, Archit Mehra, Thomas J. Bannan, Stephen D. Worrall, Michael Priestley, Asan Bacak, Hugh Coe, James Allan, Carl J. Percival, Olalekan A. M. Popoola, Roderic L. Jones, and William J. Bloss
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6449–6463, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6449-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6449-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Nitrous acid (HONO) is key species for understanding tropospheric chemistry, yet accurate and precise measurements are challenging. Here we report an inter–comparison exercise of a number of instruments that measured HONO in a highly polluted location (Beijing). All instruments agreed on the temporal trends yet displayed divergence in absolute concentrations. The cause of this divergence was unclear, but it may in part be due to spatial variability in instrument location.
Rupert Holzinger, W. Joe F. Acton, William J. Bloss, Martin Breitenlechner, Leigh R. Crilley, Sébastien Dusanter, Marc Gonin, Valerie Gros, Frank N. Keutsch, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Louisa J. Kramer, Jordan E. Krechmer, Baptiste Languille, Nadine Locoge, Felipe Lopez-Hilfiker, Dušan Materić, Sergi Moreno, Eiko Nemitz, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Roland Sarda Esteve, Stéphane Sauvage, Simon Schallhart, Roberto Sommariva, Ralf Tillmann, Sergej Wedel, David R. Worton, Kangming Xu, and Alexander Zaytsev
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 6193–6208, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6193-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-6193-2019, 2019
Christoph Zellweger, Rainer Steinbrecher, Olivier Laurent, Haeyoung Lee, Sumin Kim, Lukas Emmenegger, Martin Steinbacher, and Brigitte Buchmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 5863–5878, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5863-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-5863-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
We analysed results obtained through CO and N2O performance audits conducted within the framework of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) quality management system of the World Meteorology Organization (WMO). The results reveal that current spectroscopic measurement techniques have clear advantages with respect to data quality objectives compared to more traditional methods. Further, they allow for a smooth continuation of historic CO and N2O time series.
Cited articles
Alphasense, Ltd.: CO-B4 Carbon Monoxide Sensor Technical Specification, Doc. Ref. COB4/JUL19 datasheet, https://www.alphasense.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/CO-B4.pdf (last access: 2 June 2022), 2019.
Alphasense FAQs: https://www.alphasense.com/faqs/, last access: 11 October 2021.
Amegah, A. K.: Proliferation of low-cost sensors. What prospects for air
pollution epidemiologic research in Sub-Saharan Africa?, Environ. Pollut.,
241, 1132–1137, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.06.044, 2018.
Amegah, A. K. and Agyei-Mensah, S.: Urban air pollution in Sub-Saharan
Africa: Time for action, Environ. Pollut., 220, 738–743,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.09.042, 2017.
Aung, T. W., Jain, G., Sethuraman, K., Baumgartner, J., Reynolds, C. C.,
Grieshop, A. P., Marshall, J. D., and Brauer, M.: Health and
Climate-Relevant Pollutant Concentrations from a Carbon-Finance Approved
Cookstove Intervention in Rural India, Environ. Sci. Technol., 50,
7228–7238, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b06208, 2016.
Awokola, B. I., Okello, G., Mortimer, K. J., Jewell, C. P., Erhart, A., and
Semple, S.: Measuring Air Quality for Advocacy in Africa (MA3): Feasibility
and Practicality of Longitudinal Ambient PM2.5 Measurement Using Low-Cost
Sensors, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17, 7243,
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197243, 2020.
Badura, M., Batog, P., Drzeniecka-Osiadacz, A., and Modzel, P.: Evaluation
of Low-Cost Sensors for Ambient PM2.5 Monitoring, J. Sensors, 2018, 5096540, https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5096540, 2018.
Bean, J. K.: Evaluation methods for low-cost particulate matter sensors, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7369–7379, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7369-2021, 2021.
Bittner, A., Cross, E. S., Hagan, D. H., Malings, C., Lipsky, E., and
Grieshop, A.: Data accompanying “Data accompanying: Performance characterization of low-cost air quality sensors for off-grid deployment in rural Malaw”, Dryad [data set],
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cz8w9gj4n, 2022.
Box, G. E. P. and Cox, D. R.: An Analysis of Transformations, J. Roy. Stat.
Soc. B Met., 26, 211–252, 1964.
Buchholz, R. R., Deeter, M. N., Worden, H. M., Gille, J., Edwards, D. P., Hannigan, J. W., Jones, N. B., Paton-Walsh, C., Griffith, D. W. T., Smale, D., Robinson, J., Strong, K., Conway, S., Sussmann, R., Hase, F., Blumenstock, T., Mahieu, E., and Langerock, B.: Validation of MOPITT carbon monoxide using ground-based Fourier transform infrared spectrometer data from NDACC, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 1927–1956, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-1927-2017, 2017.
Buehler, C., Xiong, F., Zamora, M. L., Skog, K. M., Kohrman-Glaser, J., Colton, S., McNamara, M., Ryan, K., Redlich, C., Bartos, M., Wong, B., Kerkez, B., Koehler, K., and Gentner, D. R.: Stationary and portable multipollutant monitors for high-spatiotemporal-resolution air quality studies including online calibration, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 995–1013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-995-2021, 2021.
Bulot, F. M. J., Johnston, S. J., Basford, P. J., Easton, N. H. C.,
Apetroaie-Cristea, M., Foster, G. L., Morris, A. K. R., Cox, S. J., and
Loxham, M.: Long-term field comparison of multiple low-cost particulate
matter sensors in an outdoor urban environment, Sci. Rep-UK, 9, 7497,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43716-3, 2019.
Castell, N., Dauge, F. R., Schneider, P., Vogt, M., Lerner, U., Fishbain,
B., Broday, D., and Bartonova, A.: Can commercial low-cost sensor platforms
contribute to air quality monitoring and exposure estimates?, Environ.
Int., 99, 293–302, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2016.12.007,
2017.
Chatzidiakou, L., Krause, A., Popoola, O. A. M., Di Antonio, A., Kellaway, M., Han, Y., Squires, F. A., Wang, T., Zhang, H., Wang, Q., Fan, Y., Chen, S., Hu, M., Quint, J. K., Barratt, B., Kelly, F. J., Zhu, T., and Jones, R. L.: Characterising low-cost sensors in highly portable platforms to quantify personal exposure in diverse environments, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 4643–4657, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4643-2019, 2019.
Considine, E. M., Reid, C. E., Ogletree, M. R., and Dye, T.: Improving
accuracy of air pollution exposure measurements: Statistical correction of a
municipal low-cost airborne particulate matter sensor network, Environ.
Pollut., 268, 115833, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115833, 2021.
Crilley, L. R., Shaw, M., Pound, R., Kramer, L. J., Price, R., Young, S., Lewis, A. C., and Pope, F. D.: Evaluation of a low-cost optical particle counter (Alphasense OPC-N2) for ambient air monitoring, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 709–720, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-709-2018, 2018.
Cross, E. S., Williams, L. R., Lewis, D. K., Magoon, G. R., Onasch, T. B., Kaminsky, M. L., Worsnop, D. R., and Jayne, J. T.: Use of electrochemical sensors for measurement of air pollution: correcting interference response and validating measurements, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3575–3588, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3575-2017, 2017.
Delmas, R. A., Druilhet, A., Cros, B., Durand, P., Delon, C., Lacaux, J. P.,
Brustet, J. M., Serça, D., Affre, C., Guenther, A., Greenberg, J.,
Baugh, W., Harley, P., Klinger, L., Ginoux, P., Brasseur, G., Zimmerman, P.
R., Grégoire, J. M., Janodet, E., Tournier, A., Perros, P., Marion, Th.,
Gaudichet, A., Cachier, H., Ruellan, S., Masclet, P., Cautenet, S., Poulet,
D., Biona, C. B., Nganga, D., Tathy, J. P., Minga, A., Loemba-Ndembi, J.,
and Ceccato, P.: Experiment for Regional Sources and Sinks of Oxidants
(EXPRESSO): An overview, J. Geophys. Res., 104, 30609–30624,
https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900291, 1999.
DeWitt, H. L., Gasore, J., Rupakheti, M., Potter, K. E., Prinn, R. G., Ndikubwimana, J. D. D., Nkusi, J., and Safari, B.: Seasonal and diurnal variability in O3, black carbon, and CO measured at the Rwanda Climate Observatory, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2063–2078, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2063-2019, 2019.
Di Antonio, A., Popoola, O. A. M., Ouyang, B., Saffell, J., and Jones, R.
L.: Developing a Relative Humidity Correction for Low-Cost Sensors Measuring
Ambient Particulate Matter, Sensors-Basel, 18, 2790,
https://doi.org/10.3390/s18092790, 2018.
Dionisio, K. L., Arku, R. E., Hughes, A. F., Vallarino, J., Carmichael, H.,
Spengler, J. D., Agyei-Mensah, S., and Ezzati, M.: Air Pollution in Accra
Neighborhoods: Spatial, Socioeconomic, and Temporal Patterns, Environ. Sci. Technol., 44,
2270–2276, https://doi.org/10.1021/es903276s, 2010.
Duvall, R., Clements, A., Hagler, G., Kamal, A., Vasu Kilar, Goodman, L.,
Frederick, S., Johnson Barkjohn K., VonWald, I., Greene, D., and Dye, T.:
Performance Testing Protocols, Metrics, and Target Values for Fine
Particulate Matter Air Sensors: Use in Ambient, Outdoor, Fixed Site,
Non-Regulatory Supplemental and Informational Monitoring Applications, U.S.
EPA Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-20/280, 2021a.
Duvall, R., Clements, A., Hagler, G., Kamal, A., Vasu Kilar, Goodman, L.,
Frederick, S., Johnson Barkjohn K., VonWald, I., Greene, D., and Dye, T.:
Performance Testing Protocols, Metrics, and Target Values for Ozone Air
Sensors: Use in Ambient, Outdoor, Fixed Site, Non-Regulatory and
Informational Monitoring Applications, U.S. EPA Office of Research and
Development, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-20/279, 2021b.
Du, Y., Wang, Q., Sun, Q., Zhang, T., Li, T., and Yan, B.: Assessment of
PM2.5 monitoring using MicroPEM: A validation study in a city with elevated
PM2.5 levels, Ecotox. Environ. Safe., 171, 518–522,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.01.002, 2019.
El-Nadry, M., Li, W., El-Askary, H., Awad, M. A., and Mostafa, A. R.: Urban
Health Related Air Quality Indicators over the Middle East and North Africa
Countries Using Multiple Satellites and AERONET Data, Remote Sens., 11, 2096,
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11182096, 2019.
Emmons, L. K., Deeter, M. N., Gille, J. C., Edwards, D. P., Attié,
J.-L., Warner, J., Ziskin, D., Francis, G., Khattatov, B., Yudin, V.,
Lamarque, J.-F., Ho, S.-P., Mao, D., Chen, J. S., Drummond, J., Novelli, P.,
Sachse, G., Coffey, M. T., Hannigan, J. W., Gerbig, C., Kawakami, S., Kondo,
Y., Takegawa, N., Schlager, H., Baehr, J., and Ziereis, H.: Validation of
Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) CO retrievals with
aircraft in situ profiles, J. Geophys. Res-Atmos., 109, D03309, https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD004101, 2004.
Emmons, L. K., Edwards, D. P., Deeter, M. N., Gille, J. C., Campos, T., Nédélec, P., Novelli, P., and Sachse, G.: Measurements of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) validation through 2006, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 1795–1803, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-1795-2009, 2009.
Fullerton, D. G., Semple, S., Kalambo, F., Suseno, A., Malamba, R.,
Henderson, G., Ayres, J. G., and Gordon, S. B.: Biomass fuel use and indoor
air pollution in homes in Malawi, Occup. Environ. Med., 66, 777–783,
https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2008.045013, 2009.
Fullerton, D. G., Suseno, A., Semple, S., Kalambo, F., Malamba, R., White,
S., Jack, S., Calverley, P. M., and Gordon, S. B.: Wood smoke exposure,
poverty and impaired lung function in Malawian adults, Int. J. Tuberc. Lung D., 15, 391–398, 2011.
Giordano, M. R., Malings, C., Pandis, S. N., Presto, A. A., McNeill, V. F.,
Westervelt, D. M., Beekmann, M., and Subramanian, R.: From low-cost sensors
to high-quality data: A summary of challenges and best practices for
effectively calibrating low-cost particulate matter mass sensors, J. Aerosol
Sci., 158, 105833, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2021.105833, 2021.
Gulia, S., Khanna, I., Shukla, K., and Khare, M.: Ambient air pollutant
monitoring and analysis protocol for low and middle income countries: An
element of comprehensive urban air quality management framework, Atmos.
Environ., 222, 117120, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.117120, 2020.
Hagan, D. H. and Kroll, J. H.: Assessing the accuracy of low-cost optical particle sensors using a physics-based approach, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6343–6355, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6343-2020, 2020.
Hagan, D. H., Isaacman-VanWertz, G., Franklin, J. P., Wallace, L. M. M., Kocar, B. D., Heald, C. L., and Kroll, J. H.: Calibration and assessment of electrochemical air quality sensors by co-location with regulatory-grade instruments, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 315–328, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-315-2018, 2018.
Hagan, D. H., Gani, S., Bhandari, S., Patel, K., Habib, G., Apte, J. S.,
Hildebrandt Ruiz, L., and Kroll, J. H.: Inferring Aerosol Sources from
Low-Cost Air Quality Sensor Measurements: A Case Study in Delhi, India,
Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett., 6, 467–472,
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.9b00393, 2019.
Hersey, S. P., Garland, R. M., Crosbie, E., Shingler, T., Sorooshian, A., Piketh, S., and Burger, R.: An overview of regional and local characteristics of aerosols in South Africa using satellite, ground, and modeling data, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 4259–4278, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-4259-2015, 2015.
Jary, H. R., Aston, S., Ho, A., Giorgi, E., Kalata, N., Nyirenda, M.,
Mallewa, J., Peterson, I., Gordon, S. B., and Mortimer, K.: Household air
pollution, chronic respiratory disease and pneumonia in Malawian adults: A
case-control study, Wellcome Open Res., 2, 103, https://doi.org/10.12688/wellcomeopenres.12621.1, 2017.
Kelly, K. E., Xing, W. W., Sayahi, T., Mitchell, L., Becnel, T., Gaillardon,
P.-E., Meyer, M., and Whitaker, R. T.: Community-Based Measurements Reveal
Unseen Differences during Air Pollution Episodes, Environ. Sci. Technol.,
55, 120–128, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c02341, 2021.
Laakso, L., Laakso, H., Aalto, P. P., Keronen, P., Petäjä, T., Nieminen, T., Pohja, T., Siivola, E., Kulmala, M., Kgabi, N., Molefe, M., Mabaso, D., Phalatse, D., Pienaar, K., and Kerminen, V.-M.: Basic characteristics of atmospheric particles, trace gases and meteorology in a relatively clean Southern African Savannah environment, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 4823–4839, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-4823-2008, 2008.
Lewis, A. and Edwards, P.: Validate personal air-pollution sensors, Nature, 535, 29–31, https://doi.org/10.1038/535029a, 2016.
Lewis, A. C., Lee, J. D., Edwards, P. M., Shaw, M. D., Evans, M. J., Moller,
S. J., Smith, K. R., Buckley, J. W., Ellis, M., Gillot, S. R., and White,
A.: Evaluating the performance of low cost chemical sensors for air
pollution research, Faraday Discuss., 189, 85–103,
https://doi.org/10.1039/C5FD00201J, 2016.
Li, J., Hauryliuk, A., Malings, C., Eilenberg, S. R., Subramanian, R., and
Presto, A. A.: Characterizing the Aging of Alphasense NO2 Sensors in
Long-Term Field Deployments, ACS Sens., 6, 2952–2959, https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.1c00729, 2021.
Liousse, C., Assamoi, E., Criqui, P., Granier, C., and Rosset, R.: Explosive
growth in African combustion emissions from 2005 to 2030, Environ. Res.
Lett., 9, 035003, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/3/035003, 2014.
Malawi Bureau of Standards: Malawi Standard: Industrial Emissions, Emissions Limits for Stationary and Mobile Sources-Specification, MS737: 2011, Blantyre, p. 73, http://mbsmw.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/2017-Malawi-Standards-Catalogue.pdf (last access: 3 June 2022), 2005.
Malings, C., Tanzer, R., Hauryliuk, A., Kumar, S. P. N., Zimmerman, N.,
Kara, L. B., Presto, A. A., and Subramanian, R.: Supplementary Data for
“Development of a General Calibration Model and Long-Term Performance
Evaluation of Low-Cost Sensors for Air Pollutant Gas Monitoring” (abridged
version) (2.0), Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1482011,
2018.
Malings, C., Tanzer, R., Hauryliuk, A., Kumar, S. P. N., Zimmerman, N., Kara, L. B., Presto, A. A., and R. Subramanian: Development of a general calibration model and long-term performance evaluation of low-cost sensors for air pollutant gas monitoring, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 903–920, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-903-2019, 2019a.
Malings, C., Tanzer, R., Hauryliuk, A., Saha, P. K., Robinson, A. L.,
Presto, A. A., and Subramanian, R.: Fine particle mass monitoring with
low-cost sensors: Corrections and long-term performance evaluation, Aerosol
Sci. Tech., 0, 1–15, https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2019.1623863, 2019b.
Malings, C., Westervelt, D. M., Hauryliuk, A., Presto, A. A., Grieshop, A., Bittner, A., Beekmann, M., and R. Subramanian: Application of low-cost fine particulate mass monitors to convert satellite aerosol optical depth to surface concentrations in North America and Africa, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3873–3892, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3873-2020, 2020.
Mapoma, H. and Xie, X.: State of Air Quality in Malawi, J. Environ. Prot.,
4, 1258–1264, https://doi.org/10.4236/jep.2013.411146, 2013.
Marais, E. A. and Wiedinmyer, C.: Air Quality Impact of Diffuse and
Inefficient Combustion Emissions in Africa (DICE-Africa), Environ. Sci.
Technol., 50, 10739–10745, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b02602, 2016.
Martin, R. V., Brauer, M., van Donkelaar, A., Shaddick, G., Narain, U., and
Dey, S.: No one knows which city has the highest concentration of fine
particulate matter, Atmos. Environ.: X, 3, 100040,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2019.100040, 2019.
McFarlane, C., Isevulambire, P. K., Lumbuenamo, R. S., Ndinga, A. M. E.,
Dhammapala, R., Jin, X., McNeill, V. F., Malings, C., Subramanian, R., and
Westervelt, D. M.: First Measurements of Ambient PM2.5 in Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazzaville, Republic of Congo Using
Field-calibrated Low-cost Sensors, Aerosol Air Qual. Res., 21,
200619–200619, https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.200619, 2021.
Mead, M. I., Popoola, O. A. M., Stewart, G. B., Landshoff, P., Calleja, M.,
Hayes, M., Baldovi, J. J., McLeod, M. W., Hodgson, T. F., Dicks, J., Lewis,
A., Cohen, J., Baron, R., Saffell, J. R., and Jones, R. L.: The use of
electrochemical sensors for monitoring urban air quality in low-cost,
high-density networks, Atmos. Environ., 70, 186–203,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.11.060, 2013.
Morawska, L., Thai, P. K., Liu, X., Asumadu-Sakyi, A., Ayoko, G., Bartonova, A., Bedini, A., Chai, F., Christensen, B., Dunbabin, M., Gao, J., Hagler, G. S. W., Jayaratne, R., Kumar, P., Lau, A. K. H., Louie, P. K. K., Mazaheri, M., Ning, Z., Motta, N., Mullins, B., Rahman, M. M., Ristovski, Z., Shafiei, M., Tjondronegoro, D., Westerdahl, D., and Williams, R.: Applications of low-cost sensing technologies for air quality monitoring and exposure assessment: How far have they gone?, Environ. Int., 116, 286–299, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2018.04.018, 2018.
Murray, C. J. L., Aravkin, A. Y., Zheng, P., et al.: Global burden
of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a
systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019, The Lancet,
396, 1223–1249, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30752-2, 2020.
National Statistics Office: The Fourth Integrated Household Survey: Household Socio-economic Characteristics Report, Republic of Malawi, IHS4, p. 109, http://www.nsomalawi.mw/images/stories/data_on_line/economics/ihs/IHS4/IHS4%20REPORT.pdf (last access: 3 June 2022), 2017.
Nieman, W. A., van Wilgen, B. W., and Leslie, A. J.: A reconstruction of the
recent fire regimes of Majete Wildlife Reserve, Malawi, using remote
sensing, Fire Ecol., 17, 4, https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-020-00090-0,
2021.
Nthusi, V.: Nairobi Air Quality Monitoring Sensor Network Report – April 2017, https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.10240.64009, 2017.
Petkova, E. P., Jack, D. W., Volavka-Close, N. H., and Kinney, P. L.:
Particulate matter pollution in African cities, Air Qual. Atmos. Health, 6,
603–614, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11869-013-0199-6, 2013.
Petters, M. D. and Kreidenweis, S. M.: A single parameter representation of hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus activity, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 7, 1961–1971, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-7-1961-2007, 2007.
Pinder, R. W., Klopp, J. M., Kleiman, G., Hagler, G. S. W., Awe, Y., and
Terry, S.: Opportunities and challenges for filling the air quality data gap
in low- and middle-income countries, Atmos. Environ., 215, 116794,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.06.032, 2019.
Popoola, O. A. M., Stewart, G. B., Mead, M. I., and Jones, R. L.:
Development of a baseline-temperature correction methodology for
electrochemical sensors and its implications for long-term stability,
Atmos. Environ., 147, 330–343,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2016.10.024, 2016.
Queface, A. J., Piketh, S. J., Eck, T. F., Tsay, S.-C., and Mavume, A. F.:
Climatology of aerosol optical properties in Southern Africa, Atmos.
Environ., 45, 2910–2921, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.01.056,
2011.
Rahal, F.: Low-cost sensors, an interesting alternative for air quality
monitoring in Africa, Clean Air Journal, 30, 2,
https://doi.org/10.17159/caj/2020/30/2.9223, 2020.
Rai, A. C., Kumar, P., Pilla, F., Skouloudis, A. N., Di Sabatino, S., Ratti,
C., Yasar, A., and Rickerby, D.: End-user perspective of low-cost sensors
for outdoor air pollution monitoring, Sci. Total Environ., 607–608,
691–705, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.266, 2017.
Reid, J. S., Koppmann, R., Eck, T. F., and Eleuterio, D. P.: A review of biomass burning emissions part II: intensive physical properties of biomass burning particles, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 799–825, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-5-799-2005, 2005.
Saha, P. K., Khlystov, A., and Grieshop, A. P.: Downwind evolution of the volatility and mixing state of near-road aerosols near a US interstate highway, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2139–2154, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2139-2018, 2018.
Sahu, R., Nagal, A., Dixit, K. K., Unnibhavi, H., Mantravadi, S., Nair, S., Simmhan, Y., Mishra, B., Zele, R., Sutaria, R., Motghare, V. M., Kar, P., and Tripathi, S. N.: Robust statistical calibration and characterization of portable low-cost air quality monitoring sensors to quantify real-time O3 and NO2 concentrations in diverse environments, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 37–52, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-37-2021, 2021.
Scheel, H. E., Brunke, E.-G., Sladkovic, R., and Seiler, W.: In situ CO
concentrations at the sites Zugspitze (47∘ N, 11∘ E) and
Cape Point (34∘ S, 18∘ E) in April and October 1994, J.
Geophys. Res-Atmos., 103, 19295–19304, https://doi.org/10.1029/96JD04010,
1998.
Sewor, C., Obeng, A. A., and Amegah, A. K.: Commentary: The Ghana Urban Air
Quality Project (GHAir): Bridging air pollution data gaps in Ghana, Clean
Air Journal, 31, 1, https://doi.org/10.17159/caj/2021/31/1.11172, 2021.
Shikwambana, L. and Tsoeleng, L. T.: Impacts of population growth and land
use on air quality. A case study of Tshwane, Rustenburg and Emalahleni,
South Africa, S. Afr. Geogr. J., 102, 209–222,
https://doi.org/10.1080/03736245.2019.1670234, 2020.
Sousan, S., Koehler, K., Hallett, L., and Peters, T. M.: Evaluation of the
Alphasense optical particle counter (OPC-N2) and the Grimm portable aerosol
spectrometer (PAS-1.108), Aerosol Sci. Tech., 50, 1352–1365,
https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2016.1232859, 2016.
Spinelle, L., Gerboles, M., and Aleixandre, M.: Performance Evaluation of
Amperometric Sensors for the Monitoring of O3 and NO2 in Ambient Air at ppb
Level, Chem. Engineer. Trans., 120, 480–483,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2015.08.676, 2015.
Spinelle, L., Gerboles, M., Aleixandre, M., and Bonavitacola, F.: Evaluation
of Metal Oxides Sensors for the Monitoring of O3 in Ambient Air at Ppb
Level, Procedia Engineer., 54, 319–324,
https://doi.org/10.3303/CET1654054, 2016.
Stevens, T. and Madani, K.: Future climate impacts on maize farming and food
security in Malawi, Sci. Rep., 6, 36241, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36241, 2016.
Subramanian, R. and Garland, R.: Editorial: The powerful potential of
low-cost sensors for air quality research in Africa, Clean Air Journal, 31, 1, https://doi.org/10.17159/caj/2021/31/1.11274, 2021.
Subramanian, R., Ellis, A., Torres-Delgado, E., Tanzer, R., Malings, C.,
Rivera, F., Morales, M., Baumgardner, D., Presto, A., and Mayol-Bracero, O.
L.: Air Quality in Puerto Rico in the Aftermath of Hurricane Maria: A Case
Study on the Use of Lower Cost Air Quality Monitors, ACS Earth Space Chem., 2, 1179–1186,
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.8b00079, 2018.
Subramanian, R., Kagabo, A. S., Baharane, V., Guhirwa, S., Sindayigaya, C.,
Malings, C., Williams, N. J., Kalisa, E., Li, H., Adams, P., Robinson, A.
L., DeWitt, H. L., Gasore, J., and Jaramillo, P.: Air pollution in Kigali,
Rwanda: spatial and temporal variability, source contributions, and the
impact of car-free Sundays, Clean Air Journal, 30, 2,
https://doi.org/10.17159/caj/2020/30/2.8023, 2020.
The Guardian: UN moves staff after mobs kill five in Malawi vampire scare, 9 October 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/09/un-moves-malawi-staff-vampire-scare#:~:text=The%20United%20Nations%20has%20pulled,aid%20agencies%20and%20NGOs%20work, (last access: 24 May 2022), 2017.
Thorson, J., Collier-Oxandale, A., and Hannigan, M.: Using A Low-Cost Sensor
Array and Machine Learning Techniques to Detect Complex Pollutant Mixtures
and Identify Likely Sources, Sensors, 19, 3723,
https://doi.org/10.3390/s19173723, 2019.
Toihir, A. M., Venkataraman, S., Mbatha, N., Sangeetha, S. K., Bencherif,
H., Brunke, E.-G., and Labuschagne, C.: Studies on CO variation and trends
over South Africa and the Indian Ocean using TES satellite data, S. Afr. J.
Sci., 111, 1–9, 2015.
Topalović, D. B., Davidović, M. D., Jovanović, M., Bartonova,
A., Ristovski, Z., and Jovašević-Stojanović, M.: In search of an
optimal in-field calibration method of low-cost gas sensors for ambient air
pollutants: Comparison of linear, multilinear and artificial neural network
approaches, Atmos. Environ., 213, 640–658,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2019.06.028, 2019.
Wernecke, B. and Wright, C.: Commentary: Opportunities for the application
of low-cost sensors in epidemiological studies to advance evidence of air
pollution impacts on human health, Clean Air Journal, 31, 1, https://doi.org/10.17159/caj/2021/31/1.11219, 2021.
Williams, R., Kaufman, A., Hanley, T., Rice, J., and Garvey, S.: Evaluation of Field-deployed Low Cost PM Sensors, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14/464 (NTIS PB 2015-102104), 2014a.
Williams, R., Long, R., Beaver, M., Kaufman, A., Zeiger, F., Heimbinder, M., Hang, I., Yap, R., Acharya, B., Ginwald, B., Kupcho, K., Robinson, S., Zaouak, O., Aubert, B., Hannigan, M., Piedrahita, R., Masson, N., Moran, B., Rook, M., Heppner, P., Cogar, C., Nikzad, N., and Griswold, W.: Sensor Evaluation Report, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14/143 (NTIS PB2015-100611), 2014b.
Yurganov, L., McMillan, W., Grechko, E., and Dzhola, A.: Analysis of global and regional CO burdens measured from space between 2000 and 2009 and validated by ground-based solar tracking spectrometers, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 3479–3494, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-3479-2010, 2010.
Yurganov, L. N., McMillan, W. W., Dzhola, A. V., Grechko, E. I., Jones, N.
B., and Van der Werf, G. R.: Global AIRS and MOPITT CO measurements:
Validation, comparison, and links to biomass burning variations and carbon
cycle, J. Geophys. Res-Atmos., 113, D09301, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009229,
2008.
Zhang, T., Chillrud, S. N., Pitiranggon, M., Ross, J., Ji, J., and Yan, B.:
Development of an approach to correcting MicroPEM baseline drift, Environ.
Res., 164, 39–44, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2018.01.045, 2018.
Zhou, Z., Dionisio, K. L., Arku, R. E., Quaye, A., Hughes, A. F., Vallarino,
J., Spengler, J. D., Hill, A., Agyei-Mensah, S., and Ezzati, M.: Household
and community poverty, biomass use, and air pollution in Accra, Ghana, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 108, 11028–11033, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1019183108, 2011.
Zimmerman, N., Presto, A. A., Kumar, S. P. N., Gu, J., Hauryliuk, A., Robinson, E. S., Robinson, A. L., and R. Subramanian: A machine learning calibration model using random forests to improve sensor performance for lower-cost air quality monitoring, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 291–313, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-291-2018, 2018.
Short summary
We present findings from a 1-year pilot deployment of low-cost integrated air quality sensor packages in rural Malawi using calibration models developed during collocation with US regulatory monitors. We compare the results with data from remote sensing products and previous field studies. We conclude that while the remote calibration approach can help extract useful data, great care is needed when assessing low-cost sensor data collected in regions without reference instrumentation.
We present findings from a 1-year pilot deployment of low-cost integrated air quality sensor...