Using Spiderwebs to Detect Spatial Differences in Metal Air Pollution
| dc.contributor.advisor | Hawn, Chris | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Mahmoudi, Dillon | |
| dc.contributor.author | Rastegar, Nava | |
| dc.contributor.department | Geography and Environmental Systems | |
| dc.contributor.program | Geography and Environmental Systems | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-09-29T15:38:02Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-09-29T15:38:02Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-01-01 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Long term studies of air pollution have been limited to stationary monitoring conducted by government bodies or large research institutions. These official monitoring sites can only measure a limited area, and the data they collect is then spatially generalized. This leads to large gaps in knowledge, as air pollution can vary significantly over small areas. This spatial gap has led to air pollution becoming a major area of study for public science efforts. The development of small, low-cost air monitors has enabled individuals and communities to examine their own exposure at a fine scale and become better informed on their own health risks. However, no low-cost sensors yet exist for the measurement o heavy metals, so despite their known negative impact on health, heavy metals have rarely been a focus of study for informal monitoring. There is a need for low-cost air quality monitoring that can detect differences at fine-scale and over long periods of time. Spiderwebs have been used in several studies to test air quality, but never in a public science setting and not yet at the fine spatial scale this study proposes. Furthermore, their results have only been verified by brief comonitoring, rather than long-term air pollution monitoring and modeling. This study collected spiderwebs to detect heavy metal air pollution in two neighborhoods of Southwest Baltimore, an area with a history of air pollution and known heavy metal releasing facilities, along with one of the highest levels of respiratory illnesses in the city and state. Webs were also collected near the two chemical speciation monitors operated by Maryland Department of the Environment. These webs were then analyzed for metal concentration using an ICP-MS. Spiderwebs collected in Southwest Baltimore were able to detect fine scale spatial differences in metal pollution, but the relationship between these values and known sources of air pollution are still unclear. | |
| dc.format | application:pdf | |
| dc.genre | theses | |
| dc.identifier | doi:10.13016/m2talt-njmt | |
| dc.identifier.other | 12470 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11603/25996 | |
| dc.language | en | |
| dc.relation.isAvailableAt | The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Geography and Environmental Systems Department Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Theses and Dissertations Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Graduate School Collection | |
| dc.relation.ispartof | UMBC Student Collection | |
| dc.rights | This item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu | |
| dc.source | Original File Name: Rastegar_umbc_0434M_12470.pdf | |
| dc.subject | Air pollution | |
| dc.subject | Baltimore | |
| dc.subject | Heavy metals | |
| dc.subject | Public science | |
| dc.subject | Spatial | |
| dc.subject | Spiders | |
| dc.title | Using Spiderwebs to Detect Spatial Differences in Metal Air Pollution | |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dcterms.accessRights | Distribution Rights granted to UMBC by the author. | |
| dcterms.accessRights | Access limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan thorugh a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission. |