A low-cost holographic sensor for urban aerosol characterization

Coarse mode aerosol are an understudied but potentially important component of urban aerosols that affect climate and human health. They are highly relevant to DOE’s interest in improving understanding and resiliency related to climate change impacts on urban areas. Coarse mode aerosol can vary spatially and temporally over urban landscapes due to the large range of coarse mode aerosol emission sources and their short atmospheric lifetimes. Our Phase I project will develop a low-cost, low-power imaging sensor to size, count, and classify coarse mode aerosols using open-path digital holography. It will be deployable in networks to measure spatial heterogeneity with sufficient time resolution to understand atmospheric processes and evaluate models in urban environments. We will build and test a prototype system in laboratory and field conditions to assess its performance and demonstrate proof-of-concept for a network of easy to operate and maintain outdoor sensors. Commercial benefits include improved understanding of coarse mode aerosol properties and spatial information that will translate to improved adaptation and regulatory policies, improved detection and mapping of fog affecting aviation and ground transportation, industrial dust exposure monitoring, and potential applications to agriculture, public safety, indoor mold remediation, and in home allergen classification.