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Varying Performance of Low-Cost Sensors During Seasonal Smog Events in Moravian-Silesian Region

Authors :
Václav Nevrlý
Michal Dostál
Petr Bitala
Vít Klečka
Jiří Sléžka
Pavel Polách
Katarína Nevrlá
Melánie Barabášová
Růžena Langová
Šárka Bernatíková
Barbora Martiníková
Michal Vašinek
Adam Nevrlý
Milan Lazecký
Jan Suchánek
Hana Chaloupecká
David Kiča
Jan Wild
Source :
Atmosphere, Vol 15, Iss 11, p 1326 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Air pollution monitoring in industrial regions like Moravia-Silesia faces challenges due to complex environmental conditions. Low-cost sensors offer a promising, cost-effective alternative for supplementing data from regulatory-grade air quality monitoring stations. This study evaluates the accuracy and reliability of a prototype node containing low-cost sensors for carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM), specifically tailored for the local conditions of the Moravian-Silesian Region during winter and spring periods. An analysis of the reference data observed during the winter evaluation period showed a strong positive correlation between PM, CO, and NO2 concentrations, attributable to common pollution sources under low ambient temperature conditions and increased local heating activity. The Sensirion SPS30 sensor exhibited high linearity during the winter period but showed a systematic positive bias in PM10 readings during Polish smog episodes, likely due to fine particles from domestic heating. Conversely, during Saharan dust storm episodes, the sensor showed a negative bias, underestimating PM10 levels due to the prevalence of coarse particles. Calibration adjustments, based on the PM1/PM10 ratio derived from Alphasense OPC-N3 data, were initially explored to reduce these biases. For the first time, this study quantifies the influence of particle size distribution on the SPS30 sensor’s response during smog episodes of varying origin, under the given local and seasonal conditions. In addition to sensor evaluation, we analyzed the potential use of data from the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) as an alternative to increasing sensor complexity. Our findings suggest that, with appropriate calibration, selected low-cost sensors can provide reliable data for monitoring air pollution episodes in the Moravian-Silesian Region and may also be used for future adjustments of CAMS model predictions.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
15111326 and 20734433
Volume :
15
Issue :
11
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Atmosphere
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.25da5a59b4fe9a82f06ffc5eee467
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15111326