A mobile car monitoring system as a supplementary tool for air quality monitoring in urban and rural environments. The case study from Poland

Abstract

Living in healthy environment should be regarded as a primary human right and not a privilege rendered to chosen ones. For that reason, a national air monitoring grid should be as extensive as possible. Unfortunately, small towns and villages, which are also exposed to air pollution episodes are not commonly covered by monitoring grid. Fixed air monitoring systems have their limitations, which can be overcome by e.g., properly validated, reliable but cheaper mobile monitoring systems. The aim of this study was to assess the use of a car mobile PM10 monitoring system to study ambient air quality in rural communities surrounding Kraków, not covered by fixed monitoring grid. A monitoring dataset was collected during 6 winter car campaigns conducted between December 2021 and March 2022. Except for providing multiple monitoring data, the main goal pertain to methodological aspect of the mobile system, including its validation, indicating its advantages, limitations as well as providing recommendations for the future mobile studies. Our car mobile monitoring system was useful in identifying a local hot-spots with good spatial and temporal resolution, thus giving the local government decision-making tool for taking appropriate action in places not included in national monitoring grid.

Advancements in Mobile-Based Air Pollution Detection: From Literature Review to Practical Implementation

“…The study [46] utilized a mobile air monitoring unit equipped with modules including the DustTrak II Aerosol Monitor 8530 and a GPS antenna for real-time data transmission. This unit, loaned from the Krakow Smog Alert Association, offers valuable insights not achievable by fixed monitoring stations, aiding in detecting suspicious activities and estimating pollution loads.…”