(65b) Early Career Award Winner Presentation: Advancing Environmental Justice and Sustainability in Monitoring Emerging Air Pollutants

Atmospheric particle pollutants, omnipresent in the atmosphere, pose significant risks to human health and influence climate systems. Although some aerosol types have been extensively studied, substantial knowledge gaps remain for other classes, leading to discrepancies between model predictions and real-world observations. This presentation aims to address these uncertainties by focusing on two lesser-understood classes of atmospheric aerosols.

The first focus is on secondary organic aerosols formed through aqueous processes. Our research seeks to characterize their formation and examine the effects of particle drying on their concentrations. To better understand these complex processes, we propose utilizing machine learning modeling techniques. The second focus is on nano- and microplastics, which present challenges in sampling, characterization, and identification. We explore these issues and propose innovative methods for their analysis.

To better characterize these pollutants and mitigate their harmful impacts, we employ low-cost sensor technology to map the high-resolution spatial distribution of aerosols, highlighting Environmental Justice (EJ) issues related to air quality. This approach provides insights into the equitable distribution of aerosol pollutants across different regions. By addressing these emerging pollutants, our goal is to close existing knowledge gaps and advance sustainability and EJ in atmospheric monitoring.