In an effort to capture information about air quality in Cambridge, the University has successfully deployed volunteers with mobile pollution sensors around the city.

More than 40 volunteers either walked, cycled or drove routes throughout the city with their progress displayed in real-time on a map of Cambridge at the Department of Chemistry.

The volunteers carried mobile sensors which measure CO, NO, NO2 and temperature. Among them were individuals from Outspoken Delivery, the cycle delivery service, and the Cambridge University Mail Service.

Professor Rod Jones, who led the project, said: “We have developed portable devices which allow you to monitor air pollution from moment to moment, providing unprecedented details of the distribution of air pollution in the urban environment. This expands what can be achieved using static monitoring sites, essentially filling in the gaps.”

The study is part of the MESSAGE project; a larger three-year collaboration with four other institutions across the country: Imperial College London, and the Universities of Leeds, Southampton and Newcastle, funded by the Department for Transport and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Further information about the MESSAGE project can be found at www.message-project.org

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