Secrets of San Lorenzo Valley’s Atmosphere: Vertical Meteorological Measurements

Connor Lydon, Natalie GallagherSan Lorenzo Valley

High School Students

MBUAPCD

Located in Monterey, California

Jurisdiction over Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties

The Mission of the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District is to Protect the Public Health while balancing Economic

and Air Quality Considerations.

Air Expressions:Grants for Clean Air

ProjectsGrant program for high school or college

students:

$1,500 for high school projects

$5,000 for college student projects

Get students excited about air quality!

Engage the local community

Example Projects

Clean Air app for Android phone

Solar panel demonstration

Diesel technology equipment

SLV radiosonde measurements

About Our ProjectWe investigate thermal inversions & their

affect on hazardous Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM 2.5) levels created by excessive wood burning in San Lorenzo Valley (SLV).

We then communicated our results in science fairs, at air district meetings, board meetings, and directly to SLV residents.

Importance of Our Research

During winter, SLV has many days of moderate to unhealthy amounts of PM 2.5 (as determined by AQI Index).

Much PM 2.5 is released in SLV due to wood burning.

Thermal inversions result in a major increase in PM 2.5 levels, and many occur throughout winter in SLV.

No lower atmospheric data had been previously collected for SLV.

How Inversions Affect PM 2.5 Levels in SLV

Mountains Mountains

PM 2.5

Inversion

Flight Apparatus

i-Met 3050 Sounding System

305 488 774 2639 3769 4399 4480 4923

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

SLV Inversion DataJanuary 9, 2013

Temperature ºC Dew Point ºC

Height in Feet

Tem

pera

ture

Deg

rees C

elc

ius

305 426 682 734 1387 1583 3294 3691 4025 4916 5077

-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

SLV Inversion DataJanuary 16, 2013

Temperature ºC Dew Point ºC

Height in Feet

Tem

pera

ture

ºC

12:

00 A

M

2:0

0 AM

4:0

0 AM

6:0

0 AM

8:0

0 AM

10:

00 A

M

12:

00 P

M

2:0

0 PM

4:0

0 PM

6:0

0 PM

8:0

0 PM

10:0

0 PM

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Particulate Matter 2.5January 16, 2013

Particulate Matter 2.5

ug

/m3

/hr

Non-Inversion Day, January 9th:PM 2.5 24HR Average: 14.7 ug/m3

Inversion Day, January 16th:PM 2.5 24HR Average: 35.3 ug/m3

Results & Conclusions

Particulate matter 2.5 increased significantly on all inversion days.

On inversion days, PM 2.5 can reach unhealthy levels for the general population in San Lorenzo Valley.

Inversions occur frequently in San Lorenzo Valley, and they are usually quite strong.

Wood burning is the major cause of high levels of PM 2.5 in San Lorenzo Valley

Accomplishments1st in Earth Sciences & 1st Overall at

Santa Cruz County Science Fair.

1st in Earth & Planetary Sciences at the State Science Fair.

Finalists at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair in Phoenix, Arizona.

American Meteorological Society Outstanding Achievement Award

Naval Science Award

Invited to the I-Sweep International Fair and the International Mostratec Science Fair in Brazil.

Received $1,600 in cash awards.

Where We’re GoingWe are continuing to launch weather

balloons this winter season.

We are planning to use the data we have collected and are collecting in new ways.

We plan to continue to present at science fairs.

We wish to still present the issue to residents of SLV, and hopefully prompt change.

Educational EnhancementPublic Speaking

Research

Cultural Exposure

The Grant Process

FundingThe Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution

Control District (MBUAPCD) donated supplies, EBAM data, and much of their employees’ time in training and mentoring.

InterMet donated generous amounts of supplies, allowing us to perform well over 40 launches in the 2012/2013 year.

Questions

?