When three AQMesh pods and four NO2 diffusion tubes were co-located against a reference station, the diffusion tube readings were so consistent with the reference average reading for the period that the diffusion tube average could be used to apply a slope correction to AQMesh data.
By careful management of the co-location phasing it is possible to record sufficient data points to also correct any offset.
Passive samplers for key pollutants such as NO2 are widely available and are often used to reach areas not covered by more expensive and bulky reference stations. Small sensor systems or so-called ‘low cost’ sensor systems can help to fill the data gap between reference real-time readings, passive sampling single average measurements and model output. Calibration of small sensors systems, such as AQMesh, against certified and validated measurements provides a trail of data validity.
