atmospheric science Archives

Antilope: A low-cost portable sensor system for air quality monitoring

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Antilope is a low-cost portable sensor system for air quality monitoring

Monitoring air quality and assessing personal pollutant exposure in urban settings remain challenging tasks in atmospheric science. As part of this monitoring, low-cost sensors have become increasingly available. This allows makers to assemble their own air quality stations according to online instructions, and institutions to multiply the number of measurement points. However, most of these commercial devices suffer from limitations […]

Presenting a case for molecular scales in atmospheric models

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Dr Adrian Tuck proposes that atmospheric modelling could be improved by a bottom-up approach that takes into account molecular processes, which gives a greater understanding of turbulence

Modelling Earth’s atmosphere is a monumentally difficult task, and atmospheric scientists have long faced challenges in accurately recreating the large-scale processes they observe in real life. Dr Adrian Tuck, a retired former visiting professor at Imperial College London, proposes that models could be improved by accounting for processes which take place on molecular scales. Through a better explanation of the […]

What can COVID-19 shutdowns teach us about reducing air pollution?

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cartoon of masked people alongside a factory

The impact of COVID-19 on manufacturing, travel and the associated pollutant production has proved an unexpected opportunity for a global experiment for atmospheric scientists. Drs Jenny Stavrakou and Maite Bauwens at the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy are experts in atmospheric modelling and interpretation of satellite measurements of air pollution. They have been exploring how COVID-related changes have affected […]