Grantee Research Project Results

2020 Progress Report: The Hawaii Island Volcanic Smog Sensor Network (HI-Vog): Tracking airquality and community engagement near a major emissions hotspot

EPA Grant Number: R836183
Title: The Hawaii Island Volcanic Smog Sensor Network (HI-Vog): Tracking airquality and community engagement near a major emissions hotspot
Investigators: Kroll, Jesse H. , Heald, Colette L.
Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology , The Kohala Center
EPA Project Officer: Callan, Richard
Project Period: May 1, 2016 through April 30, 2019 (Extended to April 30, 2022)
Project Period Covered by this Report: May 1, 2020 through April 30,2021
Project Amount: $750,000
RFA: Air Pollution Monitoring for Communities (2014) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Air , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Environmental Justice , Watersheds

Objective:

Air quality on the Island of Hawai‘i (“the Big Island”) has traditionally been poor due to high emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from Kīlauea Volcano. The resulting “volcanic smog” (“vog”), a mixture of SO2 and fine particulate matter (PM), can have negative impacts on human health as well as agriculture, and consequently is a major concern of local communities. Because of the high variability of the volcanic plume, community members’ exposures to vog could not be easily estimated. The region thus served as a unique test case for the use and assessment of distributed air quality (AQ) networks based on portable low-cost sensors. This project entails the development and deployment of a state-of-the-art community-based AQ sensor network across Hawai‘i Island, for the measurement of SO2 and particulate matter (PM) levels with high spatial and temporal resolution. The network aims to provide improved measurements of air quality and vog exposures across the island, as well as to assess the utility of AQ sensor networks as educational resources and as tools for atmospheric chemistry research.

Progress Summary:

Y5 activities focused on three main efforts: (1) the final analysis and publication of sensor data taken during the 2018 Lower East Rift Zone eruption of Kīlauea; (2) re-activation of the air quality sensors to measure the more recent (2020-2021) eruption of Kīlauea, and planning for longer-term deployment; and (3) educational activities related to climate and weather.
2018 Lower East Rift Zone eruption sensor data. We finalized our analysis and interpretation of data collected during the 2018 eruption. The most important advance was the inclusion of meteorological trajectories to estimate transport times between the vents and the different sensor locations in order to better estimate chemical kinetics of the SO2→PM conversion. A description of this effort, including both the measurement of these kinetics and the estimates of population exposure, was published in PNAS in early July 2021 (Crawford et al., 2021).
2020-2021 Kīlauea eruption. After a 2.5 year pause, Kīlauea began erupting again on 20 December 2020. Most of our sensors had been shut down by this point, but our community partners were able to get many of them back online to measure SO2 and PM concentrations. Unfortunately, the pandemic prevented travel from MIT to the island, and so we were unable to make major refurbishments (e.g., with new sensor components) or to re-calibrate the sensors. The eruption continued until late May 2021. We are now planning the refurbishment of the existing sensors and the deployment of more robust sensor boxes, enabling longer-term monitoring for when the next eruption begins.
Educational activities. Our community partners (at The Kohala Center, TKC), in collaboration with the research team, continued to work with teachers and students in the local schools on topics of air quality, climate, and weather. Because of the ongoing pandemic, all activities were carried out virtually. Activities included a Weather Data Refresher course (October 2020) to help teachers prepare their students to conduct real world weather data research, and the development of two virtual classes related to Kilo (traditional Hawaiian observation). These classes – Kilo 101: Kaulana Mahina (Hawaiian Moon Calendar) and Kilo 102: Kilo for Clouds – were offered in December 2020 and January 2021 at Pāhoa Elementary School, with a total attendance of 7 teachers and 72 students.

Future Activities:

This project will end in April 2022. The primary goal of Y6 activities is to improve the robustness of the sensor and weather networks so that they can be used in future years, and measure air quality during any eruption events that occur after the projects’ end. we are currently in the process of obtaining sensor boxes that will work over extended periods of time; interfacing the sensor network with a longer-term (commercial) data repository and web portal; and lining up local “sensor hosts” who will be able to maintain/activate these sensors as needed. In January 2022 members of the research team will travel to Hawai‘i to set up this improved network.

Journal Articles on this Report : 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format

Publications Views
Other project views:	All 11 publications	3 publications in selected types	All 3 journal articles

Publications
Type	Citation	Project	Document Sources
Journal Article	Hagan DH, Isaacman-VanWertz G, Franklin JP, Wallace LMM, Kocar BD, Heald CL, Kroll JH. Calibration and assessment of electrochemical air quality sensors by co-location with regulatory-grade instruments. Atmospheric Measurement Technniques 2018;11(1):315-328.	R836183 (2017) R836183 (2018) R836183 (2019) R836183 (2020) R836183 (Final)	Full-text: EGU-Full Text PDF Exit Abstract: EGU-Abstract HTML Exit
Journal Article	Hagan DH, Kroll JH. Assessing the accuracy of low-cost optical particle sensors using a physics-based approach. ATMOSPHERIC MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES 2020;13(11):6343-6355.	R836183 (2020) R836183 (Final)	Full-text from PubMed Abstract from PubMed Full-text: EGU - Full Text HTML Exit Other: EGU - Full Text PDF Exit

Supplemental Keywords:

Volcanic emissions, air pollution, vog, sulfur dioxide, sulfate, particulate matter, low-cost sensors, sensor networks, community engagement, science curriculum

Relevant Websites:

The Kohala Center Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.