JANUARY 8, 2021 – Editor’s Note: This study, published in UTSA Today’s most-read article of 2020, adds to the developing framework that is accelerating UTSA as a leading public university. [Originally published September 29, 2020. ]
Recently published studies by UTSA show that outdoor spaces might not possibly be the first idea to protect against the coronavirus. The study was led by Kiran Bhaganagar, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. To expand on his findings, Bhaganagar learned of a COVID-19 hotspot in the United States, in New York.
According to Bhaganagar, this is the first study to measure the spread of the coronavirus in outdoor conditions. There is sufficient evidence that aerosols spread the virus indoors. To conduct his research, Bhaganagar was provided with detailed weather fields to create high-precision models showing the most likely spread of the virus based on weather patterns in New York City from March to April 2020.
Using PC modeling, he created a high-fidelity, real-time simulation of a virus-filled cough being released into the environment through an inflamed user. When the user coughs or sneezes, droplets containing infectious debris are released into the air. The simulations revealed that combinations of certain weather situations herald the spread of the virus.
Bhaganagar found that windy situations did little to spread coronavirus droplets; In fact, those weather situations caused the aerosol droplets to disperse more quickly.
Instead, tests have shown that mixing warmer or bloodless air temperatures, with low wind speed and low turbulence, increases the length of time the virus can be in the air before dispersing into the air, up to 30 minutes in many cases. With light wind conditions, Bhaganagar found that the remains of coronavirus aerosols can extend from 1 to 2 kilometers, or just over a mile.
Simulate viral spread
Depending on the time of day and wind direction, the direction of spread to either Massachusetts, New Jersey or southern New York.
Based on Bhaganagar’s cumulative data, he said outdoor situations most likely also contributed to the spread of the coronavirus similar to a wildfire in the New York metropolitan domain in the spring of 2020.
“These paints are further proof that air cannot dilute virus particles, and there is strong evidence that the area spreading across states is connected to airborne transmission,” Bhaganagar said.
Based on the distance coronavirus aerosols can spread outdoors, Bhaganagar says his study suggests that 6 feet outdoors would not be good enough as social distancing to protect against the virus. He added that wearing masks and other means of virus protection in outdoor spaces are extra precautions to avoid contracting COVID-19.
The full Bhaganagar review was published in Environmental Research, Science Direct, on September 17. UTSA PhD student Sudheer Bhimireddy participated in the project.
UTSA Today is produced through University Communications and Marketing, the official news of the University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa. edu. Stay up to date with UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
The University of Texas at San Antonio is committed to advancing wisdom through study and discovery, training and learning, networking and public service. As an establishment and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a means of artistic resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic progress and IP commercialization for Texas, the country and the world.
To be a leading university in public studies, offering excellence in schooling and preparing leading citizens for the global environment.
We foster a space for discussion and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusion, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Service Institution (HSI) designated through the U. S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas San Antonio, a Hispanic-serving facility located in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all facets of college life. Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequality. UTSA, a leading public studies university, fosters school excellence through a network of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of voice.