So long, Rangiora - hello world!
On 13th September the ODIN air quality sensors were removed from the Rangiora lampposts they were attached to and collected together at the Environment Canterbury monitoring site for their final co-location test. Next week they will be removed from there and retrieved to our base in Christchurch.
However, it's not all over for our little friends. After a check-over they will be packed up into a box and will begin their world tour.
They will first be heading for the University of Montana in attractive mountain valley city of Missoula. Two ODIN units actually made an advance trip earlier this winter. Much of Montana has been suffering from huge wildfires pouring thick smoke across the towns and cities (see this article, for instance: https://www.missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2017/09/missoula-smoke-health-effects/). We're working with colleagues at the University to see if the ODINs can be used to track this unpredictable hazard.
After some testing, the Rangiora ODINs will then be off to the West Silver Valley in neighbouring Idaho. This is where the state Department of Environmental Quality is spending $2.5 million dollars over the next 4 years to reduce woodsmoke from domestic heating. Winters there are much harsher than in Rangiora so our first objective is to test if the ODIN can be used in sub-zero temperatures and under piles of snow. Beyond that, however, we hope to demonstrate the ability of an ODIN network to map woodsmoke in mountain valleys and detect the change as older woodburners are changed out for new models.
Meanwhile, back in New Zealand, we are delighted to have received some internal NIWA funding to build the next version of ODIN. The main innovation for the 2018 version will be the addition of data communications using cellular networks. This means we will be able to view data in real-time. It will hugely speed up our ability to analyse and visualise the data, creating maps and animations within hours, rather than months after the data was collected, as has been the case in Rangiora.
We plan to build an initial batch of new ODINs late this year and test them in the New Year. If all is well we will be able to build a large fleet (maybe as many as 100) in time for the start of the wood-burning season next April.
And where will next winter's CONA project take place? At the moment a final decision has yet to be made, but we are currently looking at a few towns and talking to three regional councils. We hope to make an announcement soon.
However, we haven't quite finished with Rangiora yet. Over the next year we will continue to study and analyse the data we have now collected over 3 years in the town, and publish our findings. Finally, we will be returning to Rangiora one more time at some point in winter 2018.
However, it's not all over for our little friends. After a check-over they will be packed up into a box and will begin their world tour.
They will first be heading for the University of Montana in attractive mountain valley city of Missoula. Two ODIN units actually made an advance trip earlier this winter. Much of Montana has been suffering from huge wildfires pouring thick smoke across the towns and cities (see this article, for instance: https://www.missoulacurrent.com/outdoors/2017/09/missoula-smoke-health-effects/). We're working with colleagues at the University to see if the ODINs can be used to track this unpredictable hazard.
After some testing, the Rangiora ODINs will then be off to the West Silver Valley in neighbouring Idaho. This is where the state Department of Environmental Quality is spending $2.5 million dollars over the next 4 years to reduce woodsmoke from domestic heating. Winters there are much harsher than in Rangiora so our first objective is to test if the ODIN can be used in sub-zero temperatures and under piles of snow. Beyond that, however, we hope to demonstrate the ability of an ODIN network to map woodsmoke in mountain valleys and detect the change as older woodburners are changed out for new models.
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| A woodburning home in the West Silver valley, Idaho |
We plan to build an initial batch of new ODINs late this year and test them in the New Year. If all is well we will be able to build a large fleet (maybe as many as 100) in time for the start of the wood-burning season next April.
And where will next winter's CONA project take place? At the moment a final decision has yet to be made, but we are currently looking at a few towns and talking to three regional councils. We hope to make an announcement soon.
However, we haven't quite finished with Rangiora yet. Over the next year we will continue to study and analyse the data we have now collected over 3 years in the town, and publish our findings. Finally, we will be returning to Rangiora one more time at some point in winter 2018.
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