Monitoring the Impacts of Wildfires on Forest Ecosystems and Public Health in the Exo-Urban Environment Using High-Resolution Satellite Aerosol Products from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).

Increasing development of exo-urban environments and the spread of urbanization into forested areas is making humans and forest ecosystems more susceptible to the risks associated with wildfires. Larger and more damaging wildfires are having a negative impact on forest ecosystem services, and smoke from wildfires adversely affects the public health of people living in exo-urban environments. Satellite aerosol measurements are valuable tools that can track the evolution of wildfires and monitor the transport of smoke plumes.

An improved method for estimating surface fine particle concentrations using seasonally adjusted satellite aerosol optical depth.

Using satellite observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) to estimate surface concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is a well-established technique in the air quality community. In this study, the relationships between PM2.

The relation between Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol optical depth and PM2.5 over the United States: a geographical comparison by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regions.

Aerosol optical depth (AOD) acquired from satellite measurements demonstrates good correlation with particulate matter with diameters less than 2.5 microm (PM2.5) in some regions of the United States and has been used for monitoring and nowcasting air quality over the United States.

Remote sensing of particulate pollution from space: have we reached the promised land?

The recent literature on satellite remote sensing of air quality is reviewed. 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the first satellite atmospheric observations. For the first 40 of those years, atmospheric composition measurements, meteorology, and atmospheric structure and dynamics dominated the missions launched.

Validation of the Raman lidar algorithm for quantifying aerosol extinction.

To calculate aerosol extinction from Raman lidar data, it is necessary to evaluate the derivative of a molecular Raman signal with respect to range. The typical approach taken in the lidar community is to make an a priori assumption about the functional behavior of the data to calculate the derivative. It has previously been shown that the use of the chi-squared technique to determine the most likely functional behavior of the data prior to actually calculating the derivative eliminates the need for making a priori assumptions.

Application of satellite remote-sensing data for source analysis of fine particulate matter transport events.

Satellite sensors have provided new datasets for monitoring regional and urban air quality. Satellite sensors provide comprehensive geospatial information on air quality with both qualitative imagery and quantitative data, such as aerosol optical depth. Yet there has been limited application of these new datasets in the study of air pollutant sources relevant to public policy.

Recommendations on the use of satellite remote-sensing data for urban air quality.

In the last 5 yr, the capabilities of earth-observing satellites and the technological tools to share and use satellite data have advanced sufficiently to consider using satellite imagery in conjunction with ground-based data for urban-scale air quality monitoring. Satellite data can add synoptic and geospatial information to ground-based air quality data and modeling. An assessment of the integrated use of ground-based and satellite data for air quality monitoring, including several short case studies, was conducted.

Source-Receptor Modeling Using Trace Metals in Aerosols Collected at Three Rural Canadian Great Lakes Sampling Stations.

High-volume air samplers were used to collect aerosol samples on Whatman 41 air filters at the Canadian air sampling stations Burnt Island, Egbert, and Point Petre. The samples were analyzed for trace elements by neutron activation analysis. Air concentrations of over 30 trace elements were determined.