Mesoamerican and Caribbean (MAC) Smog Blog Initial Training

Global Air Quality Case Studies

September 11-12, 2008CATHALAC, Panama

MODIS 15 May 2007Data from NASA GSFC

Global Air Quality Case Studies

1. India - haze along Himalayas due to agricultural burning and megacities

2. China- haze from the Bo Hai Bay coastline in the east to the mountains in the west

Sources:

RGB Images & Analysis: NASA Earth Observatory

AOD Images: NASA Level 1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution Center, processed by Battelle

MODIS True Color Image of Northern India, Nepal, Bangladesh – 2/5/06

Insert AOD jpg

MODIS Image, Processed by Battelle

Northern India True Color vs. AOD - 2/5/06

MODIS True Color Image of Eastern China- 9/10/05

MODIS Image, Processed by Battelle

Eastern ChinaTrue Color vs. AOD - 9/10/05

Advantages and Limitations of Satellites for Air Pollution

• Advantages • Greater detail over regions especially those with no

ground monitors• Synoptic and transboundary view (time and space)• Adds value when combined with other data and

models• Visual appeal

Advantages and Limitations of Satellites for Air Pollution

• Limitations• Lack of specificity about some pollutants• Resolution and temporal scales sometimes too

large• Vertical layer sometimes not clear (sum over

column of air), need lidar• Large complex datasets difficult to acquire and use• New satellite sensors will help address some of the

limitations

International Applications

Hemispheric, regional, country, and urban scales Improved qualitative and quantitative air quality

monitoringRemote areas without monitorsGround-based network supplementation & validationCharacterization of large-scale sources and

intercontinental & regional transport

Air quality visualizationEye-catching for policymakers

Sources- Listed at

http://alg.umbc.edu/macaq/

Sensor Site

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)

http://modis-atmos.gsfc.nasa.gov/http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/http://eosdb.ssec.wisc.edu/modisdirect/

Data Sites

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center DAAC http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/

NASA Langley Atmospheric Sciences Data Center

http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/

NASA Level 1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution Center

https://ladsweb.nascom.nasa.gov:8300/

Imagery Sites

UMBC-SERVIR AOD siteNASA Earth Observatory

http://idea.umbc.edu/~hzhang/MODIS/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/

NASA Visible Earth http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/

NOAA Operational Significant Event Imagery U.S. Air Quality (“Smog Blog”)

http://www.osei.noaa.gov/http://alg.umbc.edu/usaq/