Smart sensor networks for ozone concentration measurement: investigation for new tools in environmental monitoring

As ozone (EN - 14625:2012) is highly relevant for the Earth's climate, ecosystems, and human health, the goal of O3NET is to assess the reliability of specific "smart sensors" for the determination of near-surface ozone mixing ratio in remote areas. Conducting this study at the Svalbard is of strong interest both from the scientific and technological point of view. On the one hand, the development of a small, reliable low cost tool for monitoring would be of great impact for the entire scientific community working in polar and remote areas where the costs and logistics are crucial; on the other hand, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of low-cost sensors in an extreme environment, but at the same time controlled, is possible only in unique places such as the 'Zeppelin' Observatory of NILU. Field inter-comparisons between smart sensors and fixed state-of-art monitoring instrumentations already present at the 'Zeppelin' Observatory (Ny-Alesund), Monte Cimone and Col Margherita will be done in order to evaluate sensor performances under harsh environmental conditions and assess the reliability of these instruments in comparison with 'state-of art' instruments to integrate existing weather monitoring networks. A major expected result is the development of a real-time air quality validation protocol and use guidelines for near-surface ozone measurement in remote areas with low-cost sensors. Data, software, reports and technical documentation that will be developed through O3NET will be released under free open-source license so that can be used and reproduced freely.