Project Team
Students
Christian Bohon
Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
Penn State Beaver
Faculty Mentors
Manzhu Yu
University Park
Geography
Project
https://sites.psu.edu/mcreu/files/formidable/2/Poster-for-MCREU-2021-PDF.pdf
Project Video
Project Abstract
Particulate Matter of 2.5 microns or less in diameter (PM2.5), is very dangerous to human health in many ways, such as cardiovascular and respiratory health problems. Due to the climate changing at an ever-increasing rate, PM2.5 is becoming a hazardous problem to citizens in California. Currently, there are not enough air pollution sensors and forecasting strategies to help understand what and how atmospheric variables influence PM2.5. This research analyzes the effects of certain meteorological variables on PM2.5 concentrations. Historical hourly measurements of PM2.5 concentration from 100 EPA AirNOW sensors are collected from 2014 to 2020 in California. During this research, meteorological variables will be compared to wildfire variables to see what variables are more important. The considered variables that might affect PM2.5 include meteorological conditions of the sensor, nearby wildfire’s intensity, the relative direction and distance between wildfire and sensor. Data explorations, including linear regression and scatter plots, are conducted to investigate the relationship between these variables and PM2.5 concentration on a daily basis. Furthermore, variable importance is calculated using a Random Forest model to understand how and why these variables influence PM2.5 concentrations. The analysis is further decomposed in nine different climate regions within California. The study concluded that certain meteorological variables matter more than others in certain Climate Regions in CA, and meteorology variables were more important than wildfire variables. Moreover, meteorological variables have a certain correlation with PM2.5concentrations. Meteorologists and Environmental officials should be able to use this analysis to help officials understand more about what influences PM2.5 and how to improve their forecast for PM2.5 concentrations.
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