NASA Air Quality

Air Quality from Space. Skiptomaincontent ForinformationonhowtheCOVID-19pandemichasimpactedglobalairpollution,visitthefollowinglinksformoreinformation: The"News"tabonthissitequantifiestheimpactonNO2andSO2levelsaroundtheworld.ANASAHyperwallpresentationputsthechangesinairpollutionassociatedwiththepandemicintohistoricalperspective.Also,visitthe"Pollutants"tabsformoreinformation. ApresentationonchangesinNO2aroundtheworldassociatedwiththeglobalpandemic. ApresentationbyThomasZurbuchen(NASAAssociateAdministratorforScienceMissionDirectorate)entitled,"VisualizingtheImpactofCOVID-19ThroughtheLensofNASAScience". The"COVID-19Dashboard"showsnumeroussatelliteindicatorsofairpollutantsandfeatures"Discoveries",whichhighlighthowNASAsatellitesandotherEarthobservingresourcesrevealtheimpactoftheCOVID-19pandemiconEarth’sair,land,water,andclimate. Forscientists:The"GlobalNitrogenDioxideMonitoringHomePage"allowstheusertoviewthelatestimpactsonNO2levelsaswellashowNO2levelshaveevolvedsincethebeginningof2020.Carefulinterpretationofthedataisrequired. NASA'sFleetofEarthObservingSatellites:MonitoringOurPlanet'sHealth NASAhasafleetofEarth-observingsatelliteswhoseinstrumentsobserveourplanet'soceans,biosphere,andatmosphere.Severalofthesesatelliteshaveinstrumentsthatobserveairpollutantsaroundtheworld.Thedatacollectedarebeingusedbyairqualitymanagersandresearchersstudyingtheimpactofairpollutiononhumanhealthandagriculture. AirPollutantsObservedfromSpace NitrogenDioxide(NO2):NO2isunhealthytobreatheandisprimarilygeneratedduringfossilfuelcombustion,sothermalpowerplantsandautomobilesarethedominantsources. Ozone(O3)&Precursors:AtEarth'ssurface,O3isunhealthytobreatheandalsonegativelyimpactsplants,reducingcropyields. ParticulateMatter(PM)&Precursors:PMaretinyparticles(e.g.,smokeanddust)thatcausenumeroushealthissueswhenbreathedin. ImpactsofAirPollution:HowSatelliteDataCanHelp HumanHealth:Exposuretooutdoorairpollutionisresponsibleforanestimated4millionprematuredeathsannuallywithaboutanother3-4millionresultingfromexposuretoindoorairpollution;thatis,airpollutionisresponsibleforabout1in9deathsworldwide(WHO,2018; Cohenetal.,2017).TheUrbanAirQualityVisualizationswebtoolfromGeorgeWashingtonU.allowsyoutoviewhistoricaltrendsofairpollutantsforyourcitywiththeconcomitantimpactsonhumanhealth. Agriculture:Theeconomicimpactofcropyieldlossduetopollutionissignificantallovertheworld.Airpollutioncausesglobalcropyieldlossesforwheat,corn,andsoybeansthatareestimatedtorangefrom$11-18billionannually,withthegreatesteconomiclossestimatedtooccurintheUnitedStates($3.1billion). ImageCredit:  NASA'sGoddardSpaceFlightCenter Readmore Theslideraboveshowssatellitedataof nitrogendioxide(NO2)fromtheAuraOzoneMonitoringInstrument(OMI)datafortwoyears,2005(left)and2016(right).Thedataindicatethatlevelsofthispollutantchangedsignificantlyoverthelastdecadeinmanyplacesaroundtheworld. Slidethebarfrombackandforthtoseethesechanges. MoreinformationonNO2trendsforeachregionandmorethan300worldcitiescanbefoundundertheNitrogenDioxidetab. toReferences   NASAFoodSecurityInitiative TheNASAGoddardSpaceFlightCenter'sFoodSecurityInitiativepromotestheuseofEarthobservationsandEarthsciencedata,models,andknowledgeprovideessentialinformationandtoolstosupportglobalfoodsecurity.(PhotobyIshayBotbolfromPexels) NASAAQForecast TheNASAGlobalModelingandAssimilationOffice(GMAO)developsandmaintainstheGEOSsystemofmodels,whichhasasuiteofcapabilitiesincludingsimulatingweather,climate,chemistry-climateinteractions,andnowairpollution.VisualizetheforecastoutputwithFLUID. NASAARSET NASAAppliedRemoteSEnsingTraining (ARSET)-TheARSETprogramoffersfreewebinarsandin-persontrainingsontheuseofNASAsatellitedataforHealthandAirQualityApplications. NASAHAQAST NASAHealth&AirQualityAppliedSciencesTeam (HAQAST)-HAQASTteammemberswillworkwithyouonyourairqualityissuesusingacombinationofsatellitedata,surfacedata,andmodels. NASAAppliedSciences TheNASAAppliedSciencesHealth&AirQuality(AQ)ProgrampromotesinnovationinpublicandprivatesectororganizationstoapplyNASAsatellitedata,modelproducts,andscientificfindingsinairqualitymanagementandpolicyactivitiesthatbenefithumanhealthandsafety.