PELLSTON — The University of Michigan Biological Station located just south of the Mackinac Bridge installed a new sensor to give residents of northern Michigan real-time information about how clean the air is outside.
The small device measures fine particulate matter — known as PM2.5 — emitted by wildfires and other pollutant sources and uses WiFi to share that information on a publicly available online map.
It’s the only one located within a 20-mile radius and is the farthest north of similar air quality stations in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
The next closest PurpleAir sensors are in Harbor Springs and Petoskey, southwest of Pellston.
“The sensor gives our scientists and neighbors along Douglas Lake and Burt Lake the ability to assess the concentration of wildfire smoke and other pollutants, as well as the associated impact on our community and daily lives,” said Dr. John Lenters, senior research specialist at UMBS. “We’re arming the public with information to make decisions about their health, such as whether to go outside for a jog.”
The air quality sensor, which costs about $230, is installed near the base of the UMBS AmeriFlux tower, which is part of a network of instrumented sites in North, South and Central America that measure ecosystem carbon dioxide, water and energy “fluxes,” and other exchanges between the land surface and atmosphere.
UMBS manages two AmeriFlux towers near Douglas Lake and maintains high-quality, long-term data on forest carbon dynamics at the more than 10,000-acre research and teaching campus founded in 1909 — one of the nation’s largest and longest continuously operating field research stations.
Data from the UMBS AmeriFlux tower get downloaded about 15 times a day from scientists across the world for research models simulating climate outcomes in the future.
While also an asset for researchers, the addition of the new sensor at the AmeriFlux tower creates a tool for the community to monitor air quality directly on their digital devices during a summer marked by exposure to wildfire smoke from Canada.
With values ranging from 0 (good) to 300 and higher (hazardous), the map offers guidance based on the air quality index (AQI).
For example, on Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 2:50 p.m., the 10-minute average AQI was 73, which means the air quality is “acceptable. However, there may be a risk for some people with 24 hours of exposure, particularly those who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.” The PurpleAir map also allows one to see 3-day graphs of AQI data at each sensor location.
AQI values between 0 and 50 are considered "satisfactory,” 51-100 is "acceptable," and 201-300 puts everyone at risk of health effects, according to the AirNow website.
To view the UMBS PurpleAir sensor data or learn more about the air quality measurements, go to the PurpleAir website.
To learn about particulate matter, or PM2.5, go to the EPA website.
