Mukherjee Anondo, Stanton Levi G, Graham Ashley R, Roberts Paul T
Sonoma Technology Inc., 1450 N. McDowell Blvd., Suite 200, Petaluma, CA 94954, USA.
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Sensors (Basel). 2017 Aug 5;17(8):1805. doi: 10.3390/s17081805.
The use of low-cost air quality sensors has proliferated among non-profits and citizen scientists, due to their portability, affordability, and ease of use. Researchers are examining the sensors for their potential use in a wide range of applications, including the examination of the spatial and temporal variability of particulate matter (PM). However, few studies have quantified the performance (e.g., accuracy, precision, and reliability) of the sensors under real-world conditions. This study examined the performance of two models of PM sensors, the AirBeam and the Alphasense Optical Particle Counter (OPC-N2), over a 12-week period in the Cuyama Valley of California, where PM concentrations are impacted by wind-blown dust events and regional transport. The sensor measurements were compared with observations from two well-characterized instruments: the GRIMM 11-R optical particle counter, and the Met One beta attenuation monitor (BAM). Both sensor models demonstrated a high degree of collocated precision (R² = 0.8-0.99), and a moderate degree of correlation against the reference instruments (R² = 0.6-0.76). Sensor measurements were influenced by the meteorological environment and the aerosol size distribution. Quantifying the performance of sensors in real-world conditions is a requisite step to ensuring that sensors will be used in ways commensurate with their data quality.
低成本空气质量传感器因其便携性、可承受性和易用性，在非营利组织和公民科学家群体中已广泛使用。研究人员正在研究这些传感器在广泛应用中的潜在用途，包括对颗粒物（PM）的空间和时间变化的检测。然而，很少有研究对传感器在实际条件下的性能（如准确性、精度和可靠性）进行量化。本研究在加利福尼亚州库亚马山谷对两种型号的PM传感器——AirBeam和Alphasense光学粒子计数器（OPC-N2）——进行了为期12周的性能检测，该地区的PM浓度受到扬尘事件和区域传输的影响。将传感器的测量结果与两台性能良好的仪器的观测结果进行了比较：GRIMM 11-R光学粒子计数器和Met Oneβ衰减监测仪（BAM）。两种传感器型号都显示出高度的并置精度（R² = 0.8 - 0.99），并且与参考仪器具有中等程度的相关性（R² = 0.6 - 0.76）。传感器的测量受到气象环境和气溶胶粒径分布的影响。在实际条件下量化传感器的性能是确保传感器以与其数据质量相匹配的方式使用的必要步骤。
