Publication Date

Summer 2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Studies

Advisor

Rachel O'Malley; Roger Terrill; Benjamin Carter

Abstract

Toxins pervade urban areas and pose long-term health risks to humans. I examine moss as an affordable bioindicator and assess whether moss monitor results reflect other air quality (AQ) indicators, environmental factors, and social vulnerability. Specifically, I investigate (1) whether moss is an effective atmospheric pollution indicator and (2) whether low-income or high-lead-risk neighborhoods experience greater exposure to air pollution. I set out Hypnum cupressiforme moss for two months of exposure in 28 Santa Clara County locations and then measured chromium, zinc, nickel, and the loss of chlorophyll fluorescence in the moss tissue. I gathered real-time particulate matter (PM2.5) measurements from the open data source Purple Air and used CalEnviroScreen4.0 as a source for environmental and data. To achieve my two objectives, I use Pearson’s correlations, ArcGIS bivariate analyses, and principal component analyses for univariate, spatial, and multivariate correlations among AQ measurements and social factors, and ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis to assess the air pollution exposed by neighborhood income and lead risk form old housing. My results confirm that changes in moss chlorophyll fluorescence patterns reflect ambient PM2.5. Moss in lower-income neighborhoods exhibited a greater loss of chlorophyll fluorescence than in higher-income neighborhoods, but patterns of metals in moss tissue are less correlated with environmental pollution. This research underscores concerns about public health for low-income residents of Santa Clara Valley in the long term and suggests that more effective policies are needed to protect residents living in these polluted areas.

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