A scientist who has been researching how folks on the Big Island cope with volcanic gases says she is almost done with her work.

As West Hawaii Today reports, it comes as vog is once again blanketing portions of the state. Excerpt:

Claire Horwell, director of the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network and a researcher at Durham University in the U.K., started the Vog Talk page as part of her ongoing research project on Hawaii Island to catalogue how residents deal with the vog effects.

On island for about three months so far, Horwell said Monday she anticipates she will have completed about 150 surveys of Hawaii Island residents once the research is done in two weeks. …

Interestingly, where people live on the island has a lot to do with how they combat the vog, she said.

“So far, there are interesting patterns emerging how different communities are affected depending upon location and elevation,” she said. “Official advice focuses on people reducing physical activity, going indoors and closing all their doors and windows and sealing the house up.

And that is something that is very possible in a place like Volcano, where homes have paned glass and they can shut the windows and doors. Whereas in somewhere like Ocean View or Kona, where it’s hotter, the houses simply aren’t designed to be shut up. … So that advice may not be so helpful.”

Horwell said she hopes to secure funding to return to the island to present her findings once she’s had a chance to analyze her data. …

As for the vog, trade winds are expected to pick up again Wednesday evening or into Thursday to help clear the air.

Honolulu through the vog.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat