Home » Metro » Environment
University uses drones to study air quality
Print Edition
A RESEARCH team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University has worked out the primary distribution of haze in the city using unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
Data collected from different altitudes — the drones can reach a maximum of 1,000 meters — clearly show that “thermal inversion layer” was a major reason for smogs.
Inversion layer happens when the air in higher altitude is warmer than the air below it. They block atmospheric flow leading to stable air.
The areas under the layer are prone to heavy pollution because the stable air condition allows pollutants at ground level to accumulate instead of driving them away.
“That is when haze is usually more dangerous,” said Peng Zhongren, a professor from Jiao Tong University and leader of the research team. “We are still doing research to find out how much impact the thermal inversion layer has in forming haze. Our research can help the officials to make decisions on whether they need to take pollution control measures when thermal inversion layer occurs,” he added.
The researchers also found that the density of PM2.5 and carbon monoxide decreases sharply just 110 meters away from crossroads.
“We hope our findings can give city planners and real estate developers some ideas when defining areas for residential or office spaces,” Peng said. “We would also advise citizens to stay away from roads while doing physical exercises.”
Fu Qingyan, a spokeswoman for the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, said it was cooperating with the university team to draw up a better picture of air pollution besides those available from ground stations, satellites and weather balloons.
The university is also collecting data in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces to help officials take a joint action against pollution.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
