Learners from the StudyXpress High School in Potchefstroom got the opportunity to see for themselves what types of pollution and climate change enforcers are found in their environment. The group of learners and a science teacher recently visited the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Welgegund atmospheric measurement station for a field lecture on air quality and climate change, in a real environment and with actual measurements.
The field trip was part of a pilot community engagement project of the Atmospheric Chemistry research group (ACRG) of the NWU’s Chemical Resource Beneficiation research entity. The ACRG was founded approximately 30 years ago by Prof Kobus Pienaar, a well-known South African scientist. Its initial focus was atmospheric kinetics research, and it later branched out into other sub-fields of the atmospheric sciences.
“Since its existence, many external collaborations between our group and others in the country and abroad were initiated and nurtured, and one of those made the establishment of a field measurement station possible,” says station manager Dr Miroslav (Micky) Josipovic.
The main collaborators at the time when the group was established were the Department of Physics at the NWU’s Mahikeng Campus and two Finnish partners, the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. They imported a medium-sized mobile road trailer with a limited number of basic atmospheric instruments and accessory devices. They also shared their expertise in operating and maintaining this facility and have published their findings based on the data generated and collated at this facility since 2006, says Dr Josipovic.
The group, together with its collaborators and close partners in the European Union and occasionally the United States of America, has constantly enhanced its capabilities, data streams and peer-reviewed publishing capabilities.
Dr Josipovic says the learners enjoyed the engagement – they were treated to a measurement demonstration and were shown sampling techniques.
The group is planning similar excursions in the future. “We consider our work important, and by sharing it with the public we can foster a stronger relationship between the university and the community,” he says.
More about the Welgegund atmospheric measurement station
The station is one of the best-equipped, most productively run atmospheric measurement facilities in Africa. Welgegund is included in the Biogeochemistry Research Infrastructure Platform of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), and forms part of the Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network of the DSI.
This further illustrates the value of Welgegund and the NWU’s scientific engagement with the national government, and its value for the entire community. This flagship facility has contributed to propelling the university up global rankings such as that of ShanghaiRanking. Last year, ShanghaiRanking placed the NWU’s atmospheric science and climatology research groups among the top 400 in the world.
Learners watch a demonstration of the measurements in one of the housings at the field station.
A staff member explains a sampling technique.
