Combining Low-Cost Sensors and Reference Networks for Communicating Air Quality
Moderated By: Andrea Clements, US EPA
Presenters: Scott Epstein, SCAQMD, Sim Larkin, USFS, Karoline Johnson Barkjohn, US EPA, Glory Dolphin Hammes, IQAir, & Yann Boquillod, IQAir
Description: For decades, air quality has been determined and communicated using data from high quality reference networks operated by government agencies and trained staff. Increasingly air sensors, operated by a variety of individuals, are offering estimates of air quality at neighborhood scales, in rural communities, and in countries where high quality reference networks may not exist. This data has the power to fill in gaps in our understanding of air quality but often, direct comparison of sensor and reference data is complicated because sensor data needs to be cleaned and corrected in order to provide data comparable to reference networks. This session will discuss the process of combining sensor and reference network data through the lens of three organizations approaching the integration of data in different ways with different goals and audiences in mind. This session will conclude with a panel discussion during which presenters will reflect on audience questions, their experience in using these tools to communicate air quality, and the future of these and similar efforts.