Apprenticeship 2017-2018: Kiersten Johnson

Fairbanks​ ​area​ ​is​ ​exposed​ ​to​ ​extremely​ ​high​ ​level​ ​of​ ​air​ ​pollution​ ​in​ ​winter. Though​ ​the​ ​borough’s​ ​air​ ​is​ ​routinely​ ​measured,​ ​the​ ​baseline​ ​concentration​ ​level​ ​of water​ ​soluble​ ​copper​ ​and​ ​iron​ ​in​ ​the​ ​ambient​ ​aerosol​ ​is​ ​unknown,​ ​and​ ​these​ ​transition metal​ ​may​ ​be​ ​largely​ ​responsible​ ​for​ ​cardiovascular​ ​and​ ​respiratory​ ​diseases​ ​caused​ ​by air​ ​pollution.​ ​Given​ ​this​ ​knowledge​ ​gap,​ ​this​ ​research​ ​project​ ​aims​ ​to​ ​characterize​ ​the soluble​ ​copper​ ​and​ ​iron​ ​concentrations​ ​in​ ​ambient​ ​aerosols.​ ​We​ ​will​ ​collect​ ​ambient aerosol​ ​samples​ ​in​ ​different​ ​locations​ ​and​ ​at​ ​different​ ​time​ ​resolutions,​ ​to​ ​explore​ ​the diurnal​ ​variations​ ​and​ ​possible​ ​source​ ​strength​ ​of​ ​these​ ​transition​ ​metals​ ​from​ ​different emission​ ​sources.​ ​By​ ​establishing​ ​a​ ​mechanistic​ ​link​ ​between​ ​air​ ​pollution​ ​and​ ​health impact,​ ​this​ ​project​ ​uses​ ​Earth​ ​observation​ ​data​ ​to​ ​characterize​ ​ambient​ ​aerosols​ ​to inform​ ​the​ ​development​ ​of​ ​better​ ​air​ ​quality​ ​standards​ ​which​ ​have​ ​a​ ​significant​ ​public health​ ​impact.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​likely​ ​to​ ​result​ ​in​ ​an​ ​increase​ ​in​ ​human​ ​prosperity​ ​given​ ​that​ ​better air​ ​quality​ ​results​ ​in​ ​better​ ​economic​ ​outcomes​ ​which​ ​are​ ​goals​ ​stated​ ​in​ ​NASA’s strategic​ ​plan.