Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua

Rachel C. W. Whitty; Melissa A. Pfeffer; Evgenia Ilyinskaya; Tjarda J. Roberts; Anja Schmidt; Sara Barsotti; Wilfried Strauch; Leigh R. Crilley; Francis Pope; Harold Bellanger; Elvis Mendoza; Tamsin A. Mather; Emma J. Liu; Nial Peters; Isabelle A. Taylor; Hilary Francis; Xochilt Hernández Leiva; Dave Lynch; Sebastien Norbert; Peter Baxter

doi:10.30909/vol.05.01.1339

Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua

Rachel C. W. Whitty, Melissa A. Pfeffer, Evgenia Ilyinskaya, Tjarda J. Roberts, Anja Schmidt, Sara Barsotti, Wilfried Strauch, Leigh R. Crilley, Francis Pope, Harold Bellanger, Elvis Mendoza, Tamsin A. Mather, Emma J. Liu, Nial Peters, Isabelle A. Taylor, Hilary Francis, Xochilt Hernández Leiva, Dave Lynch, Sebastien Norbert, Peter Baxter

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

67 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Gas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, cause substantial regional volcanic air pollution (VAP). We evaluate the suitability of low-cost SO2 and PM sensors for a continuous air-quality network. The network was deployed for six months in five populated areas (4-16 km from crater). The SO2 sensors failed and recorded erroneous values on multiple occasions, likely due to corrosion, requiring significant maintenance commitment. The PM sensors were found to be robust but data required correction for humidity. SO2 measurements could not be used as stand-alone tools to detect occurrence of VAP episodes (VAPE), but SO2/PM correlation reliably achieved this at near-field stations, as confirmed by meteorological forecasts and satellite imagery. Above-background PM concentrations reliably identified VAPE at both near-field and far-field stations. We suggest that a continuous network can be built from a combination of low-cost PM and SO2 sensors with a greater number of PM-only sensors.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	33-59
Number of pages	27
Journal	Volcanica
Volume	5
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.30909/vol.05.01.1339
Publication status	Published - 4 Feb 2022

Keywords

SO2
PM
Masaya Volcano
Nicaragua
Low-Cost Air-Quality

Access to Document

10.30909/vol.05.01.1339Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

WhittyRCW2022AssessingFinal published version, 2.73 MBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

Cite this

Whitty, R. C. W., Pfeffer, M. A., Ilyinskaya, E., Roberts, T. J., Schmidt, A., Barsotti, S., Strauch, W., Crilley, L. R., Pope, F., Bellanger, H., Mendoza, E., Mather, T. A., Liu, E. J., Peters, N., Taylor, I. A., Francis, H., Leiva, X. H., Lynch, D., Norbert, S., & Baxter, P. (2022). Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua. Volcanica, 5(1), 33-59. https://doi.org/10.30909/vol.05.01.1339

@article{2fb97685c5154053896a5f208891c7b5,

title = "Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua",

abstract = "Gas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, cause substantial regional volcanic air pollution (VAP). We evaluate the suitability of low-cost SO2 and PM sensors for a continuous air-quality network. The network was deployed for six months in five populated areas (4-16 km from crater). The SO2 sensors failed and recorded erroneous values on multiple occasions, likely due to corrosion, requiring significant maintenance commitment. The PM sensors were found to be robust but data required correction for humidity. SO2 measurements could not be used as stand-alone tools to detect occurrence of VAP episodes (VAPE), but SO2/PM correlation reliably achieved this at near-field stations, as confirmed by meteorological forecasts and satellite imagery. Above-background PM concentrations reliably identified VAPE at both near-field and far-field stations. We suggest that a continuous network can be built from a combination of low-cost PM and SO2 sensors with a greater number of PM-only sensors.",

keywords = "SO2, PM, Masaya Volcano, Nicaragua, Low-Cost Air-Quality",

author = "Whitty, {Rachel C. W.} and Pfeffer, {Melissa A.} and Evgenia Ilyinskaya and Roberts, {Tjarda J.} and Anja Schmidt and Sara Barsotti and Wilfried Strauch and Crilley, {Leigh R.} and Francis Pope and Harold Bellanger and Elvis Mendoza and Mather, {Tamsin A.} and Liu, {Emma J.} and Nial Peters and Taylor, {Isabelle A.} and Hilary Francis and Leiva, {Xochilt Hern{\'a}ndez} and Dave Lynch and Sebastien Norbert and Peter Baxter",

year = "2022",

month = feb,

day = "4",

doi = "10.30909/vol.05.01.1339",

language = "English",

volume = "5",

pages = "33--59",

journal = "Volcanica",

number = "1",

}

Whitty, RCW, Pfeffer, MA, Ilyinskaya, E, Roberts, TJ, Schmidt, A, Barsotti, S, Strauch, W, Crilley, LR, Pope, F, Bellanger, H, Mendoza, E, Mather, TA, Liu, EJ, Peters, N, Taylor, IA, Francis, H, Leiva, XH, Lynch, D, Norbert, S & Baxter, P 2022, 'Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua', Volcanica, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 33-59. https://doi.org/10.30909/vol.05.01.1339

TY - JOUR

T1 - Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua

AU - Whitty, Rachel C. W.

AU - Pfeffer, Melissa A.

AU - Ilyinskaya, Evgenia

AU - Roberts, Tjarda J.

AU - Schmidt, Anja

AU - Barsotti, Sara

AU - Strauch, Wilfried

AU - Crilley, Leigh R.

AU - Pope, Francis

AU - Bellanger, Harold

AU - Mendoza, Elvis

AU - Mather, Tamsin A.

AU - Liu, Emma J.

AU - Peters, Nial

AU - Taylor, Isabelle A.

AU - Francis, Hilary

AU - Leiva, Xochilt Hernández

AU - Lynch, Dave

AU - Norbert, Sebastien

AU - Baxter, Peter

PY - 2022/2/4

Y1 - 2022/2/4

N2 - Gas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, cause substantial regional volcanic air pollution (VAP). We evaluate the suitability of low-cost SO2 and PM sensors for a continuous air-quality network. The network was deployed for six months in five populated areas (4-16 km from crater). The SO2 sensors failed and recorded erroneous values on multiple occasions, likely due to corrosion, requiring significant maintenance commitment. The PM sensors were found to be robust but data required correction for humidity. SO2 measurements could not be used as stand-alone tools to detect occurrence of VAP episodes (VAPE), but SO2/PM correlation reliably achieved this at near-field stations, as confirmed by meteorological forecasts and satellite imagery. Above-background PM concentrations reliably identified VAPE at both near-field and far-field stations. We suggest that a continuous network can be built from a combination of low-cost PM and SO2 sensors with a greater number of PM-only sensors.

AB - Gas and particulate matter (PM) emissions from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua, cause substantial regional volcanic air pollution (VAP). We evaluate the suitability of low-cost SO2 and PM sensors for a continuous air-quality network. The network was deployed for six months in five populated areas (4-16 km from crater). The SO2 sensors failed and recorded erroneous values on multiple occasions, likely due to corrosion, requiring significant maintenance commitment. The PM sensors were found to be robust but data required correction for humidity. SO2 measurements could not be used as stand-alone tools to detect occurrence of VAP episodes (VAPE), but SO2/PM correlation reliably achieved this at near-field stations, as confirmed by meteorological forecasts and satellite imagery. Above-background PM concentrations reliably identified VAPE at both near-field and far-field stations. We suggest that a continuous network can be built from a combination of low-cost PM and SO2 sensors with a greater number of PM-only sensors.

KW - SO2

KW - PM

KW - Masaya Volcano

KW - Nicaragua

KW - Low-Cost Air-Quality

UR - https://doi.org/10.30909/vol.05.01.3359

U2 - 10.30909/vol.05.01.1339

DO - 10.30909/vol.05.01.1339

M3 - Article

VL - 5

SP - 33

EP - 59

JO - Volcanica

JF - Volcanica

IS - 1

ER -

Effectiveness of low-cost air quality monitors for identifying volcanic SO₂ and PM downwind from Masaya volcano, Nicaragua

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this