Gil Hanson
Daniel Knopf
Dina W. Zakaria
Purpose of Workshop
Recognize that Ground Level is a serious health
problem on Long Island
Understand formation of ground-level ozone and
reactions involved.
Understand its effects on plants and humans.
Identify bioindicators of ozone damage to plants
Introduce ground level ozone to science curricula
1)
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5)
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5)
General Science
Earth Science
Living Environment
Environmental Science
Chemistry
Goal of Workshop
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To give teachers in high needs schools the
information they need to show the immediate
relevance of earth science to underrepresented
minority students.
Schedule Monday
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Morning
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Introductions
Lectures on Ground Level Ozone
Monday Afternoon
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Discuss project topics
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Individuals decide on their topic
May work in groups
Each group targets different topic
Individuals develop separate lesson plans
Lab Experiment
Begin to prepare lesson plans
Identify Bioindicators on Campus
Tuesday
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Morning
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Look for ozone damage in Avalon Preserve
Meadow
Afternoon
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Lab Experiment
Develop a lesson plan:
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student handouts
teacher presentation and notes
student (lab or field) activity
student assessments
Wednesday
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Morning
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Visit Dr. Meg McGrath’s Bean Patch in Riverhead
Afternoon
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Visit Dwarf Pine Plains to look for ozone damage
on plants
Return to SBU to develop lesson plans
Thursday
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Develop student handouts, teacher lesson plan,
and test student (lab) activity
Friday
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Give presentations on topics
Develop projects for laboratory at Stony Brook
Ozone, O3 , is
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Colorless but highly irritating to life forms
Found in troposphere as well as in stratosphere
Highly reactive.
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10 ppm in atmosphere is lethal
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http://whyfiles.org/030air_pollution/images/nasaozone.gif
Good Ozone v. Bad Ozone
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Good ozone
located in the
stratosphere.
It traps ultraviolet rays
Protects human life
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Bad ozone
produced in the
troposphere
Called surface ozone or
ground level (O3)
main component of
smog
pollutant
http://harmanonearth.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/ground_ozone.jpg
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
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Very reactive.
Formed by the oxidation of nitrogen gas (N2).
Sources of nitrogen oxides include:
1.
2.
3.
Urban traffic
Combustion processes (ex: vegetation fires)
Lightening storms (Australia and South Africa.)
Optimum Weather Conditions
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During summers ozone is at highest levels
Increased sunlight
o
 higher temperatures (> than 85 F).
 stagnating high-pressure systems
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During winter and wet and cool summers,
ozone levels are greatly reduced.
Influence of Weather and Episodic
Events on Ozone Formation
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The production of surface ozone air pollution:
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peaks in the later afternoon at low elevations
remain high all day at higher elevations, such as in
the mountains.
increase seasonally from April through September
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increased amounts of sunlight
higher temperatures
commonly occurring stagnating high-pressure systems
Ozone & Human Health Effects
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Ozone attacks lung tissue through oxidization
reactions.
Ozone acts as a powerful irritant, some
compare this to getting a “sunburn” on the
lungs.
Animal toxicology studies have shown that
long-term exposure to high levels of ozone can
cause structural changes to the lungs.
Ground Level Ozone and Plants
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Causes foliar injury in plants
Reduces growth
Reduces crop size
Break Out
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Prof. Knopf
For Humans
Ground Level Ozone Oxidizes Lung Tissue
http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=50328
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shortness of breath
chest pain when inhaling deeply
wheezing and coughing
increased susceptibility to respiratory infections
inflammation of the lungs and airways
increased risk of asthma attacks
increased need for medical treatment and hospital
admission for people with lung diseases,
What is asthma?
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of
the airways that causes recurrent episodes of
wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness, and
cough
How does ozone act in the lung
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Injury and inflammatory response result in :
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An increase in small airway obstruction
A decrease in the barrier function of the airway
epithelium
An increase in airway reactivity
After a period of weeks following a single
exposure, the airway appears to return to the
pre-exposure state
Which populations are susceptible to
ozone damage
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One factor that explains variability is age,
 young adults (teens to thirties) are more responsive
than older adults (fifties to eighties)
 data do not suggest that children are more
responsive than young adults
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Children may have more response if they are
more exposed (spend more time outside)
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People with asthma are the most responsive group
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How quickly do ozone-induced respiratory
symptoms resolve in individuals without
asthma?
They should begin to improve immediately
upon cessation or reduction of exposure and
should have disappeared completely within 24
to 48 hours after the exposure ends
Effects of recurrent or long-term
exposure to ozone
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Some early evidence that long-term ozone exposure
may result in new asthma
 young children may be especially susceptible
Prudent to avoid repeated short-term exposures,
particularly in young children, until more is known
Each increase of 10 ppb ozone leads to a 4% increase
in deaths associated with respiratory disease
250,000 people die each year from respiratory disease
How about Long Island?
How much is too much
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More potential for effect with longer time active
outdoors and with more strenuous activity
Human exposure studies indicate that:
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levels above 120 ppb, heavy outdoor exertion for 1 to 3
hours can increase risk
levels between 80 and 120 ppb, moderate outdoor exertion
for 4 to 8 hours can increase risk
Moderate exertion = climbing stairs, tennis or baseball,
simple garden or construction work, and light jogging,
cycling
Heavy exertion = playing basketball or soccer, chopping
wood, heavy manual labor, and vigorous running,
cycling
What is the Air Quality Index?
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The Air Quality Index tells the public how clean or
polluted the air is
The AQI uses a scale from 0 to 500
(0 to 500 ppb for ozone)
The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of
pollution and the greater the health concern
AQI values below 100 are generally considered to be
satisfactory
The AQI is divided into six categories that
correspond to different levels of health concern.
EPA Air Quality Index for Ozone – index values are ppb
Index
Values
Levels
0-50
Good
51100*
Moderate
101150
Unhealthy
for
Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as
Sensitive asthma, should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
Groups
151200
Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as
asthma, should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors.
Unhealthy
Everyone else, especially children, should reduce prolonged or
heavy exertion outdoors.
201300
Active children and adults, and people with lung disease, such as
Very
asthma, should avoid all outdoor exertion. Everyone else,
Unhealthy especially children, should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion
outdoors
Cautionary Statements
None
Unusually sensitive people should consider reducing prolonged or
heavy exertion outdoors.
How can you reduce exposure to ozone?
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What is moderate exertion for one person may be
heavy exertion for another
Cutting back on the level and duration of exertion
when ozone levels are high will help
The times of poorest air quality are typically in the
afternoon and early evening for most locations
Why are we looking at plants?
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Not so easy to look at peoples lungs
Leaves are replaced each year.
Easier to evaluate source of damage.
Ground Level Ozone
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Causes foliar injury
Reduces growth
Chronic exposure 40 - 80 ppb
Acute exposure
> 80 ppb
Air Monitoring Stations
Eisenhower Park does not include ozone
http://www.dec.ny.gov/airmon/index.php
October 2004
July 2005
Ozone Oct. 2004 Biomass burning
July 2005 industry and transport
92 to 106 ppb
85 to 91 ppb
EPA Eight Hour Ozone average of fourth
highest day in year for three years
HIGH OZONE DAYS
2009 Report for Suffolk County
American Lung Association
Suffolk had highest ozone in state
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Ozone Grade: F
Orange Ozone (85 – 104 ppb) :
Red Ozone (105 – 124 ppb) :
Purple Ozone (125 – 374 ppb):
16 days
0 days
1 day
Background ozone levels
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In 1900 = 10 to 20 ppb
Now = 35 ppb
If no reduction in global NOx production
by 2100 = 50 ppb or more
Global warming will lead to more hot, sunny days
Thus, more ground level ozone added to higher
background levels
Air Monitoring Stations
Eisenhower Park does not include ozone
http://www.dec.ny.gov/airmon/index.php
# of 8-hr Ozone Exceedances
Long Island (1997-2007)
20
Exceedances
15
10
5
0
1997
1999
1998
2001
2000
2003
2002
2005
2004
2007
2006
Break Out
Ozone Air Pollution is
Harmful to Plants
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Plants take in carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.
 When carbon dioxide enters stoma
 Ozone also enters the stoma
 Ozone damages cells
http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/mg/botany/images/25-2large.gif
Open top field chambers to control ozone
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/docs.htm?docid=8453
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/docs.htm?docid=8453
How To Identify Ozone Injury
1. Look for ozone injury during the mid to late
summer. July to mid-September
2. Find an opening with full sunlight exposure.
3. Select areas with no obvious conditions that
would cause mimicking symptoms of ozone
injury.
4. Look for symptoms on mature leaves that are
in full sunlight.
Symptoms of Ozone Injury
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/docs.htm?docid=8453
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Stipples (small darkly pigmented areas ~2-4
mm diameter)
Bronzing and reddening
Chlorosis
Necrosis
If the answer is yes to the following,
the damage is probably due to ozone
http://www.gva.es/ceam/ICP-forests/
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Is there any stippling?
Is there any reddening and/or confluent, even
discoloration?
Do the symptoms occur on the upper leaf surface
only?
Are the symptom expressed between the veins only?
Are the symptoms evenly distributed?
Are the symptoms more developed on the older
leaves
Bio-indicator Species
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widely distributed regionally
are easily identified in the field
exhibit foliar symptoms in the field at ambient
ozone concentrations that can be easily
recognized as ozone injury by subject matter
experts
ozone sensitivity has been confirmed at
realistic ozone concentrations in exposure
chambers
Some Long Island Bio-indicators
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Sweet-Gum
Tulip Tree (yellow-poplar)
Black Locust
Winged Sumac
Tall Milkweed
Common milkweed
Black Cherry
Northern Fox Grape
Cone Flower
How To Identify Ozone Injury
a) The typical symptom of ozone is an upper
leaf surface interveinal stipple. Stipple is the
discoloration of small groups of cells
between the veins, appearing as uniformly
sized red to brown spots.
Yellow poplar leaf with interveinal stipple
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/pubs/ozone/r8-pr25/jpg/fig4.jpg
Yellow Poplar ozone damage stippling and chlorosis
http://www.forestryimages.org/images/768x512/1505026.jpg
Coneflower
Bronzing of Bean Canopy
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=5364028
Chlorosis
Watermelon
Necrosis
http://www.apsnet.org/education/K-12PlantPathways/NewsViews/views/2003_03_views.htm
Ozone damage
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/airweb/ozone/ozimg.htm
Cloverhttp://www.ceh.ac.uk/sci_programmes/GroundLevelOzone.htm
Undamaged Milkweed Damaged
Older milkweed leaves more damaged than younger leaves
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/pubs/ozone/r8-pr25/jpg/fig6.jpg
How To Identify Ozone Injury
d) Shaded portions of overlapped leaves do not
show visible ozone injury. If you move a leaf
with ozone injury that is overlapping another
leaf with injury, you should see no injury on
the lower leaf where the top leaf covered it.
Absence of injury on the shaded portion of exposed leaf.
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/pubs/ozone/r8-pr25/jpg/fig7.jpg
Stippled poison ivy, Port Jefferson 8-15-08
Stippling on sweet gum SBU Campus 8-13-08
Close up of sweet gum. Covered part of leaf is not damaged.
Virginia Creeper, Life Sciences 8-13-08
Tulip Tree (Yellow Poplar) in Avalon Park 8-13-08
Blackberry in Avalon Park 8-13-08
Ozone damaged beans 8-12-08
Huckleberry, Dwarf Pine Plains, Westhampton 8-12-08
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Extent of foliar injury training
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http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/edu/O3Training/index.cfm
Blackberry Stippling = 5%
Blackberry Stippling = 20%
Blackberry Stippling = 38%
Blackberry Stippling = 46%
Blackberry Stippling = 62%
Important web sites
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DEC monitoring sites
http://www.dec.ny.gov/airmon/index.php
Ground Level Ozone Primer for teachers
http://www.ciese.org/curriculum/airproj/ozoneprimer.html
More detailed look at ground level ozone
http://www.atmosphere.mpg.de/enid/23c.html
Identify Ozone Injury on Eastern Forest Bioindicator Plants
http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/pubs/ozone/r8-pr25/ozoneh2.htm
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Training on extent of damage to leaves
http://www.nature.nps.gov/air/edu/O3Training/index.cfm
Using Sensitive Plants as Bioindicators - Implementation Guide
http://handsontheland.org/monitoring/projects/ozone/implementation_guide.pdf
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Tropospheric Ozone Research Project - For students Madison, WI
http://www.madison.k12.wi.us/stugeon/ozone.htm
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How to distinguish ozone damage on milkweed
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/field/
milkweed/slideShowIndex.htm
Extent of foliar injury training
http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/edu/O3Training/index.cfm
The End