The effects of ground level, or surface ozone, was investigated in the Urban Explosion WebQuest. This Internet odyssey explains the relationship between surface ozone and respiratory problems. The next step in the study of this envirohealth problem is to actually measure this air pollutant and try to correlate it with other atmospheric conditions. All of this data can be used to help people with asthma, or other chronic respiratory disorders to avoid the complications that come with high levels of surface ozone.

Consider: During the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, city officials instituted draconian bans on automobile use in the downtown area to prevent gridlock. A 24-hour-a-day public transportation system was put in place, and an additional 1,000 buses were brought on line. According to a study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association , the resultant 28 percent drop in ozone concentrations during the Olympic Games was associated with a significant decline in asthma events, including a 41 percent drop in Medicaid emergency care and hospitalizations, and a 44 percent decline in asthma-related emergency care, urgent care, and hospitalizations. One immediate way to decrease the burden of asthma, the article concludes, is to decrease ozone and particulate matter concentrations from automobile emissions.

Asthma, it is commonly said, is a disease in which genetics loads the gun, but environment pulls the trigger.

Once the ozone data has been collected it can then be added to an online data base of information maintained by the Globe Program. Whether you want to measure the ozone levels for a local purpose, or become involved in a global program, is up to you. The investigation that follows will explain the protocols (Globe Protocols) for effectively measuring the surface ozone levels in a chosen area and how this data can be used to predict environmental health problems.

-Download the Ozone.pdf file. This file contains an edited version of the protocols from the Globe Program for performing the ground level ozone. If you get a window that asks for a user name and password, simply click CANCEL and the download will continue.

-Download the Microsoft Word Document Measurement of Ground Ozone Data Sheet. If you get a window that asks for a user name and password, simply click CANCEL and the download will continue.

-Download the Excel Ozone Worksheet. If you get a window that asks for a user name and password, simply click CANCEL and the download will continue.

-Click the following link if you need any instructions for using Excel. Excel Spreadsheet. If you get a window that asks for a user name and password, simply click CANCEL and the download will continue.

-Click on Zikua. This file will explain how to set up, calibrate and operate the Zikua card reader. If you get a window that asks for a user name and password, simply click CANCEL and the download will continue.

-Click on Zikua-PC Software Instructions. This file will explain the computer software that is used to evaluate the Zikua ozone data. If you get a window that asks for a user name and password, simply click CANCEL and the download will continue.

In this experiment, you will

-measure ozone concentrations at ground level using a Vistanomics' Zikua

-deploy a strip of paper that changes color in the presence of ozone.

-use an ozone reader to determine the amount of ozone in ppb (parts per billion) as indicated by the color change of the paper strip.

-learn to measure the concentrations of ground-level ozone in the atmosphere and to observe changes in the concentrations over time.