AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Three Dimensional Air Sampling in TAMUMAP: A Campus Collaborative for Urban Health
SAMUEL BECK, Xingmao Ma, Juan Pedro Maestre, Yassin Hassan, Kerry Kinney, Maria D. King, Texas A&M University
Abstract Number: 175 Working Group: Urban Aerosols
Abstract A healthy environment is central to a healthy life. Globally, nearly 25 percent of all deaths and the total disease burden can be attributed to environmental factors according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Engaging the population in sustainable urbanization is a powerful approach which could transform the environmental management of urban ecosystems. Indeed, a growing number of individuals and communities are participating in the collection of environmental data using low cost monitoring devices or cell-phone based sensors. However, despite the increasing public awareness and participation, a comprehensive surveillance network has yet to be developed. A unique feature of the urban environment is the potential exposure of urban population to the air hundreds of feet above the ground. The monitoring of air quality at different altitude therefore, has to be a critical component of the urban environmental management. Recently, we joined a UT Austin initiative to engage university communities in the collection and analysis of environmental samples worldwide and develop an interactive mapping platform for the public to access environmental data. We employed the wetted wall cyclone bio - nanoaerosol collector and a novel air sampler, the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS Hexacopter), for high volume aerosol sampling and detection. In addition, we have further developed the UAS Hexacopter to sample air at high elevations (e.g. 300 ft) for 3-dimensional stratified aerosol mapping. Aerosol collection has been conducted at different locations around the TAMU campus, including the cooling tower, wastewater treatment facility, veterinary hospital pond and the campus golf course creek. Concomitantly, water, soil and plant samples were collected at each location. The samples are analyzed for representative biological and chemical pollutants. The collected microbiomes are delineated by Illumina sequencing to identify existing and emerging pathogens including the bacteria Legionella and Mycobacteria and track antimicrobial resistance.