Monitoring Ozone in the Atmosphere
Why?
Without
the ozone layer, the Earth’s atmosphere would be uninhabitable due to excessive
amounts of solar radiation. Ironically,
this essential compound is harmful near the surface, so it is crucial to
monitor ozone levels at all altitudes.
How?
Ozone (03)
can be measured using a precalibrated gas sensor. The sensor is integrated into a circuit where
the voltage across a resistor is measured and stored using a microcontroller. Using Kirchoff’s laws, the resistance of the
sensor is then indirectly measured, which allows us to quantitatively determine
the atmospheric ozone content.
Detecting Airborne Mercury
Why?
Although
only trace amounts of mercury are present in the atmosphere, these small
amounts are responsible for contaminating a significant number of waterways. In fact, 100% of Wisconsin's waterways are
under a mercury advisory, where prolonged consumption of affected fish can
be harmful to the nervous system. An adequate
method for measuring mercury levels in the atmosphere is the first step in
reducing these levels in the future.
How?
Found mostly in the vapor phase, traces of mercury in the atmosphere can be collected using gold-coated glass bead traps. These "traps" consist of a quartz tube approximately 10 cm long that contains gold-coated glass beads. As the air sample flows through the tube, the mercury amalgamates, or is attracted to and sticks, to the gold. The traps will then be sent to a lab to test for levels of mercury. We are currently working on constructing a vacuum mechanism to control the airflow that will run through the traps at predetermined altitudes. The traps will be on a wheel that is controlled by a geared Servo motor. We hope to use these varying test samples to observe and compare levels of mercury throughout the atmosphere to our control sample on the ground.
Cost?
4 Gold traps: $600 + Vacuum Pump: $ 15 + Tygon tubing: $10 + Heating coils: $20 + Miscellaneous parts: $50 + Lab analysis: $240 = Estimated Total Cost: $ 1035
