He aha ka maikaʻi o ka ea?

Pono ka ea maʻemaʻe no ke ola olakino, akā e like me ka World Health Organization (WHO), kokoke i ka 99% o ka heluna kanaka o ka honua e hanu i ka ea ma mua o ko lākou mau palena alakaʻi o ka pollution ea. "ʻO ka maikaʻi o ka ea ke ana i ka nui o nā mea i loko o ka lewa, e komo pū ana me nā ʻāpana a me nā mea hoʻohaumia kinoea," wahi a Kristina Pistone, kahi ʻepekema noiʻi ma NASA Ames Research Center. Hoʻopili ʻia ka noiʻi a Pistone i nā wahi lewa a me nā wahi ea, me ka nānā ʻana i ka hopena o nā ʻāpana lewa ma ke aniau a me nā ao. "He mea nui e hoʻomaopopo i ka maikaʻi o ka ea no ka mea e pili ana ia i kou olakino a pehea e hiki ai iā ʻoe ke ola i kou ola a hele i kou lā," wahi a Pistone. Ua noho pū mākou me Pistone e aʻo hou e pili ana i ka maikaʻi o ka ea a pehea e hiki ai ke loaʻa ka hopena i ke olakino kanaka a me ke kaiapuni.

He aha ka maikaʻi o ka ea?
ʻEono mau mea hoʻohaumia ea nui i hoʻoponopono ʻia e ka Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ma ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa: ʻāpana ʻāpana (PM), nitrogen oxides, ozone, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, a me ke alakaʻi. No nā kumu kūlohelohe kēia mau mea haumia, e like me nā mea ʻala e piʻi aʻe i ka lewa mai ke ahi a me ka lepo o ka wao nahele, a i ʻole mai ka hana kanaka, e like me ka ozone i hana ʻia mai ka lā e pane ana i ka hoʻokuʻu ʻana o ke kaʻa.

He aha ka mea nui o ka maikaʻi o ka ea?
Hoʻopili ka maikaʻi o ka ea i ke olakino a me ka maikaʻi o ke ola. "E like me kā mākou pono e komo i ka wai, pono mākou e hanu i ka ea," wahi a Pistone. "Ua manaʻo mākou i ka wai maʻemaʻe no ka mea ʻike mākou pono mākou e ola a olakino, a pono mākou e manaʻo like mai ko mākou lewa."

Ua hoʻopili ʻia ka maikaʻi maikaʻi ʻole o ka ea i nā hopena cardiovascular a me ka hanu i loko o ke kanaka. ʻO ka loaʻa pōkole ʻana i ka nitrogen dioxide (NO2), no ka laʻana, hiki ke hōʻeha i nā hōʻailona hanu e like me ka ʻuʻu a me ka wīwī, a ʻo ka ʻike lōʻihi e hoʻonui i ka pilikia o ka ulu ʻana i nā maʻi hanu e like me ka hānō a i ʻole ka maʻi hanu. Hiki i ka ʻike ʻana i ka ozone ke hōʻeha i nā māmā a hōʻino i nā alaloa. ʻO ka loaʻa ʻana i ka PM2.5 (nā ʻāpana 2.5 micrometers a i ʻole ka liʻiliʻi) ke kumu o ka huhū o ka māmā a ua hoʻopili ʻia i nā maʻi puʻuwai a me ka māmā.

Ma waho aʻe o kona hopena i ke olakino kanaka, hiki i ka maikaʻi o ka ea ke hōʻino i ke kaiapuni, hoʻohaumia i nā kino wai ma o ka acidification a me ka eutrophication. Hoʻopau kēia mau hana i nā mea kanu, hoʻopau i nā mea kanu lepo, a hoʻopōʻino i nā holoholona.

Ke Ana ʻana i ka maikaʻi o ka ea: ka papa kuhikuhi o ka ea maikaʻi (AQI)
Ua like ka ea me ka lewa; hiki ke loli koke, ʻoiai i loko o nā hola. No ke ana a hōʻike i ka maikaʻi o ka ea, hoʻohana ka EPA i ka United States Air Quality Index (AQI). Ua helu ʻia ka AQI ma ke ana ʻana i kēlā me kēia o nā mea haumia ea mua ʻeono ma ka pālākiō mai ka "Maikaʻi" a i ka "Pemilika," e hana i kahi waiwai helu AQI hui pū ʻia 0-500.

"ʻO ka maʻamau ke kamaʻilio nei mākou e pili ana i ka maikaʻi o ka ea, ke ʻōlelo nei mākou aia nā mea i ka lewa a mākou i ʻike ʻaʻole maikaʻi no ke kanaka ke hanu i nā manawa a pau," wahi a Pistone. "No laila e loaʻa ai ka maikaʻi o ka ea, pono ʻoe ma lalo o kahi paepae o ka haumia." Hoʻohana nā wahi a puni ka honua i nā paepae ʻokoʻa no ka maikaʻi o ka ea "maikaʻi", e hilinaʻi pinepine ʻia i nā mea haumia i kā lākou ʻōnaehana. Ma ka ʻōnaehana EPA, manaʻo maikaʻi ʻia ka waiwai AQI o 50 a i ʻole ka haʻahaʻa, ʻoiai ʻo 51-100 i manaʻo ʻia he haʻahaʻa. ʻO ka waiwai AQI ma waena o 100 a me 150 i manaʻo ʻia he maikaʻi ʻole no nā hui koʻikoʻi, a ʻoi aku ka maikaʻi o nā waiwai kiʻekiʻe i nā mea a pau; Hoʻopuka ʻia kahi mākaʻikaʻi olakino ke piʻi ka AQI i 200. ʻO kēlā me kēia waiwai ma mua o 300 ua manaʻo ʻia he pōʻino, a pili pinepine ʻia me ka pollution particulate mai nā ahi ahi.

Nā Huahana ʻIkiʻi a me ka ʻImi ʻIke ʻIke Air NASA
He kumu waiwai nā mea ʻike maikaʻi o ka ea no ka hopu ʻana i ka ʻikepili maikaʻi o ka ea ma kahi pae kūloko.
I ka makahiki 2022, ua hoʻohana ka Trace Gas GRoup (TGGR) ma NASA Ames Research Center i ka ʻenehana ʻenehana ʻike maka ʻole no ka ʻimi ʻana i ka Pollution, a i ʻole INSTEP: kahi pūnaewele hou o nā mea ʻike haʻahaʻa haʻahaʻa e ana i nā ʻano mea haumia. Ke hopu nei kēia mau mea ʻike i ka ʻikepili maikaʻi o ka ea ma kekahi mau wahi ma Kaleponi, Colorado, a me Mongolia, a ua hōʻoia i ka maikaʻi no ka nānā ʻana i ka maikaʻi o ka ea i ka wā ahi o Kaleponi.

ʻO ka 2024 Airborne and Satellite Investigation of Asian Air Quality (ASIA-AQ) mission i hoʻohui i ka ʻikepili sensor mai nā mokulele, nā satelite, a me nā pae honua e loiloi i ka maikaʻi o ka ea ma luna o kekahi mau ʻāina ma Asia. Hoʻohana ʻia nā ʻikepili i hopu ʻia mai nā mea hana he nui ma kēia mau mokulele, e like me ka Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) mai NASA Ames Atmospheric Science Branch, e hoʻomaʻemaʻe i nā kumu hoʻohālike o ka ea e wānana a loiloi i nā kūlana maikaʻi o ka ea.

ʻO ka ʻoihana holoʻokoʻa, loaʻa iā NASA kahi ʻano o nā satelite nānā honua a me nā ʻenehana ʻē aʻe e hopu a hōʻike i ka ʻikepili maikaʻi o ka ea. I ka makahiki 2023, ua hoʻokumu ʻo NASA i ka Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) mission, e ana i ka maikaʻi o ka ea a me ka pollution ma luna o ʻAmelika ʻĀkau. Hāʻawi ʻo NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth Observations (LANCE) i nā mea wānana maikaʻi o ka ea me nā ana i hōʻuluʻulu ʻia mai ka lehulehu o nā mea kani NASA, i loko o ʻekolu hola o kona nānā ʻana.

No ka loaʻa ʻana o kahi kūlana maikaʻi o ka ea, hiki iā mākou ke nānā i ka ʻikepili maikaʻi o ka ea i ka manawa maoli. ʻO kēia nā mea ʻike e hiki ke ana i nā ʻokoʻa o ka maikaʻi o ka ea