Weatherwatch: how cycling can measure local air pollution

Inexpensive weather monitors attached to handlebars reveal dips in air quality and temperatureGet on your bike: cycling can be a useful way to measure local variations in weather and also pollution, using portable and inexpensive weather monitors attached to handlebars. The researcher John Cassano made rides near Boulder, Colorado, using a compact weather station attached to his bike. Cycling in winter for half a mile revealed local temperature changes of more than 10C (50F), a larger contrast over small distances that surprised Cassano, and a sign of how significant microclimates can be created by the landscape, such as small dips in the ground or nearby fields, woods and built-up areas.Another survey by Jordi Mazón in Spain used a bike to measure air pollution from CO2. He took rides across Barcelona and the nearby city of Viladecans and found levels of CO2 shot up by about 90ppm over only a few hundred metres, largely from traffic, but dropped sharply near a forest, urban parks, and agricultural land - a sure sign of the part that trees and vegetation can play in reducing urban pollution. Bikes used as weather stations have the advantage of being well ventilated, sampling over short times and distances, and highlighting very local effects such as built-up areas and nearby trees. Continue reading...