UNH tests the air with AIRMAP research
Do you know where your air has been?
Meg Mahoney
Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: News
As you walk up the narrow blue steps to the top of a large 40-foot tower, you can see trails of footprints in the snow. If you squint, the green treetops consume your vision and the taste of crisp air refreshes while flowing through your body as the tower begins to sway on a windy day.
This tower's purpose is to be a taste bud for the air; collecting, filtering and retrieving waves of winds and pollutants accumulating information to predict a better tomorrow's air quality. Four miles from the University of New Hampshire campus one of five towers for the ongoing AIRMAP project stands at Thompson Farm.
AIRMAP research focuses on the analysis of existing climate data and the development of new air quality monitoring programs. Researchers are developing a solid background of information that can be used to address New England's changing climate and air quality.
According to Cameron Wake, outreach and health impact researcher and UNH professor, AIRMAP is a Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded project that aims toward a better understanding of why there is bad air quality in the Northeastern region of the country and exactly where it comes from.
The tower itself was hand built by Kevan Carpenter, the project director of AIRMAP. Wavering on a windy day from a westward direction, Carpenter and some students make the climb to the top of the tower daily to change the filters and bring them back to the UNH lab to gather the information and begin further research.
In New Hampshire alone, AIRMAP has five site locations: Mt. Washington, Pack Monadnock, Thompson Farm, Castle Springs and Appledore Island.
There are eight total locations across the New England region. AIRMAP's research and analysis has been a part of the UNH community for seven years but has been undergoing research for 10 years.
An achievement of AIRMAP is being able to "do research year round on Appledore Island," said Carpenter. "It has an ideal location for wind power," with solar and wind panels to generate electricity.
This tower's purpose is to be a taste bud for the air; collecting, filtering and retrieving waves of winds and pollutants accumulating information to predict a better tomorrow's air quality. Four miles from the University of New Hampshire campus one of five towers for the ongoing AIRMAP project stands at Thompson Farm.
AIRMAP research focuses on the analysis of existing climate data and the development of new air quality monitoring programs. Researchers are developing a solid background of information that can be used to address New England's changing climate and air quality.
According to Cameron Wake, outreach and health impact researcher and UNH professor, AIRMAP is a Nation Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded project that aims toward a better understanding of why there is bad air quality in the Northeastern region of the country and exactly where it comes from.
The tower itself was hand built by Kevan Carpenter, the project director of AIRMAP. Wavering on a windy day from a westward direction, Carpenter and some students make the climb to the top of the tower daily to change the filters and bring them back to the UNH lab to gather the information and begin further research.
In New Hampshire alone, AIRMAP has five site locations: Mt. Washington, Pack Monadnock, Thompson Farm, Castle Springs and Appledore Island.
There are eight total locations across the New England region. AIRMAP's research and analysis has been a part of the UNH community for seven years but has been undergoing research for 10 years.
An achievement of AIRMAP is being able to "do research year round on Appledore Island," said Carpenter. "It has an ideal location for wind power," with solar and wind panels to generate electricity.
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