Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net
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8
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2008
10.5194/acpd-8-327-2008
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/327/2008/
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/327/2008/acpd-8-327-2008.html
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/8/327/2008/acpd-8-327-2008.pdf
327
365
2008-01-09
Seven year particulate matter air quality assessment from surface and satellite measurements
P. Gupta
S. A. Christopher
Department of Atmospheric Science, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, AL, USA
Using seven years of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data and ground measurements of
particulate matter mass over one site in the Southeastern United States
(33.55 N, 86.82 W) we present a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of
particulate matter air quality. Monthly, seasonal and inter-annual
relationships are examined with emphasis on sampling biases, quality
indicators in the AOT product and various cloud clearing criteria. Our
results indicate that PM<sub>2.5</sub> mass concentration over Northern Birmingham has
decreased by about 23% in year 2006 when compared to year 2002 and air
quality during summer months are poor when compared to winter months.
MODIS-Terra AOT data was available only about 50% of the time due to
cloud cover and favorable surface conditions. However, the mean difference
in monthly mean PM<sub>2.5</sub> was less than 2.2 μgm<sup>−3</sup> derived using all
the data and from only those days when satellite AOT was available
indicating that satellite data does not have sampling issues. The
correlation between PM<sub>2.5</sub> and MODIS AOT increased from 0.52 to 0.62 when
hourly PM<sub>2.5</sub> data were used instead of daily mean PM<sub>2.5</sub> data. Changing box
size for satellite data around the ground station during comparisons
produced less than ±0.03 difference in mean AOT values for 90% of
observations. Application of AOT quality flags reduced the sample size but
does not affect AOT-PM<sub>2.5</sub> relationship significantly. We recommend using AOT
quality flags for daily analysis, whereas long time scale analysis can be
performed without using all AOT retrievals to obtain better sampling. Our
analysis indicates that satellite data is a useful tool for monitoring
particulate matter air quality especially in regions where ground
measurements are not available.
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