There’s something in the air….fortunately, it’s mostly a mix of oxygen, nitrogen, and the briny scent of low tide. But that can change as quickly as the flap of a fin – or as was the case in 2020, a shift in the wind.
In the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s 31-year history, only once has the Air Quality Index (AQI) reached concerning heights, during the Echo Mountain Complex Fire in 2020 that burned just north of Newport. The Aquarium was closed to the public, and staff — donning personal protective equipment — shifted the outdoor animals to behind-the-scenes areas to prevent them from inhaling smoke.
To continually track air quality, the Aquarium has joined the PurpleAir network. PurpleAir makes sensors that collect hyper-local air quality data, which people can view online in real time. The AQI works a bit like a thermometer, with a range of 0 to 500 degrees: 0-100 indicates good to moderate air quality, whereas 101-500 indicates increasingly unhealthy conditions.
While polluted air won’t directly impact the fish in the Aquarium’s indoor galleries, it can be a concern for the seabirds and marine mammals residing in outdoor habitats.
And, of course, for the humans who care for them.
Though it’s rare for air quality at the Aquarium to reach concerning or hazardous levels, the new AQI sensor will help staff immediately identify and take action when — whether from wildfire smoke or even active construction — there’s something in the air that shouldn’t be there.
