Researchers use drone to track ozone pollution in the state

LOGAN — Researchers with Utah State University are taking a closer look at the state’s summer air pollution problems with the help of a drone.

The researchers are using the Great Salt Lake because they can’t fly low over populated areas. Moving forward, Utah will need to find a way to better stay within EPA regulations, but researchers said it’s also about our health, 

On the south end of Antelope Island on Tuesday, researchers launched a fixed-wing drone to fly rectangles over a portion of the Great Salt Lake, with the help of USU’s Aggie Air.

“Our goal here is to kind of fill in the gap between ground level measurements and where aircraft can make the measurements,” said Dr. Randal Martin, associate research professor at USU.

Martin, who studies air pollution at USU, said they’re mostly looking at ozone.

It’s part of a much larger effort happening right now. That effort includes an airplane with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration looking at higher altitudes, state-run stations, taking readings on the ground, along with a NOAA van, and a trailer.

‘A slice of the atmosphere’

“Our goal is to create what I call curtains,” Martin said. “So, we have a slice of the atmosphere, and we know what the ozone looks like all the way up from our base to the top.”

Ozone pollution happens as certain compounds interact with the sun’s UV rays. It’s a big piece of what’s keeping the Wasatch Front from staying within EPA guidelines, but it’s also about how ozone impacts our health.

“When we breathe that in, it’s oxidizing all of our wet tissues as we inhale in,” Martin said. “Our eyes or nose. We’re very sensitive to and that’s one of the things I don’t think people really realize enough that because we can’t see it, it’s not as bad as our problem in the wintertime.”

 That is why Martin believes EPA standards alone are not enough to protect us. Through next week, the group will cover the airspace over four areas of the Great Salt Lake.

The study as a whole is looking for which compounds create the most pollution, and which ones can be most easily corrected through policy changes.