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Category: Education

2024 Air Quality Index (AQI) Update

at 8:55 AM by John W.
2024 AQI Revisions
Image courtesy of IQAir

On May 6th the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rolled out a change to the Air Quality Index (see table above). We didn’t receive notification of this until yesterday. These modifications are now live on the website — both in current conditions and in the weather history tables effective July 19, 2024.

Keep in mind, we apply an EPA correction factor to the AQI reading. If you visit other air quality websites or apps, the readings may seem incorrect if, by default, they report raw AQI. The most accurate way to compare our sensor readings to others nearby is to visit https://fire.airnow.gov/. Click the search icon, type in “Marquette, MI” and hit enter.

Why do we correct the AQI? Because researchers at the EPA discovered that by applying an algorithm to our “low-cost” (~$400) PurpleAir sensor its readings better approximate the higher-cost, more accurate government sensor readings. Experiments were conducted within the context of wildfire smoke pollution — the thing people are most concerned about here.

Posted in Education, Equipment, News, Records, Site Updates

Real-time Air Quality Monitoring Now Available

at 5:42 PM by John W.

We have acquired & installed an air quality sensor as part of our real-time atmospheric telemetry. You can view it’s 10 minute average Air Quality Index (AQI) at marquette.purpleair.com.

Given our proximity to vast tracts of unspoiled wilderness, especially to our north in Canada, we want to be prepared if there are plumes of air from forest fires that invade Marquette similar to NYC/DC this past week!

We are still in the testing phases of this device. Once it appears to be reliable & accurate we may publish the AQI reading in the “Weather Conditions” section of the home page (CITY).

UPDATE 06/12/23 10:30 PM:

Air Quality readings are now available on our home page! I have included range information (0-500) for this reading and a couple others too. You can now click on any header in the Weather Conditions section and it will give you a “tooltip” explaining that measurement. I see this as a great way to educate visitors and enhance engagement with the site.

 

Posted in Education, Equipment, News

Here Comes The Sun

at 8:43 AM by John W.

You might have noticed a couple new readings in the “Current Conditions” section of our home page. I’ve installed 2 new sensors on our main weather station, a Davis Vantage Pro2, to measure output from the Sun.

One sensor reads a narrow band of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The 290 – 390 nm spectrum of the sun’s shortwave energy particularly affects human health. Readings are translated into a universal UV index (1 – 16 scale).

The other sensor measures broad spectrum solar radiation (a.k.a. “solar irradiance”, “solar insolation”) between 300 – 1100 nm. It’s output scale is 0 – 1800 Watts per meter squared (W/m2). This is useful for solar energy management & approximating cloud cover / ambient light. You may wonder “can’t I just look out a window?” If you are in Marquette, yes. If you are elsewhere, no.

Continue reading “Here Comes The Sun”

Posted in Education, Equipment

Instrument Calibrations

at 10:31 AM by John W.

As noted in the about page, I regularly check our sensors to be sure they are within specifications. Over the last couple weeks I have been conducting tests.

Temperature was right on. That’s typical, as our sensor is pretty bulletproof. I have a platinum RTD digital thermometer that’s accurate to within 0.1° F (best to check on a cloudy, windy night to eliminate radiation as a factor). I also have a laboratory-grade aspirated psychrometer with a dry bulb thermometer that’s extremely accurate. It’s analog, so the biggest challenge is reading between the lines. But my tests show the station’s thermal sensor is within 0.5° during the day which is quite good. There’s also a backup sensor on site as well. At night or on cloudy/rainy days, the two sensors are normally within 0.2° F. During sunny days, height (7 ft vs 21 ft) and shielding differences (active vs passive ventilation) can frequently lead to 1° differences in either direction. 2-3° differences are not out of the question when it’s particularly calm and sunny.

Continue reading “Instrument Calibrations”

Posted in Education, Equipment, News, Site Updates

Website is Now in Summer Mode

at 8:53 AM by John W.

Usually I wait until May 1st, but the upcoming 7-day forecast shows temperatures almost entirely above freezing with daily highs in the 40s & 50s. Some rain is possible next week. This is not what I would describe as “wintry” by U.P. standards. Since the site only has two modes, I think it’s time for “summer” mode.

This means that wind chill will no longer display in the current conditions on the City page (home page). Rain measurement will take its place to the right of temperature. However, until April 30th, you can monitor hourly wind chill via the daily table on the Weather History page.

Keep in mind that for wind chill to be calculated the temperature must be under 46° and the average wind speed must be at least 3 mph. Otherwise, the wind chill is the same as the ambient temperature. In actuality, wind chill remains very close to (if not identical to) the air temperature until the latter drops into the 20s and/or there are very strong winds.

If we get another cold spell this spring, I will return the site to winter mode temporarily. Let’s hope that’s not necessary!

****

P.S. If it snows in the next 7 days, it’s officially my fault.

***

UPDATE 5/9/2020: The website is temporarily back in winter mode due to the recent snowfall and cold temperatures. I anticipate by Tuesday the 12th I can return it to summer mode for good (knock wood).

Posted in Education, News, Site Updates
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