New Satellite Tech Maps Wildfire Smoke Plumes in 3D for Better Air Quality Alerts at Neighborhood Scale

Strategic Insights -

Satellite technology has improved significantly over the years, allowing for better tracking of wildfire smoke plumes. The University of Iowa's Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Jun Wang, and his team have been working on a new method that uses data from NASA's TEMPO satellite to provide a 3D picture of smoke plumes. This new approach enables scientists and air quality managers to issue more accurate and timely air quality alerts down to the neighborhood level for both urban and rural areas. The TEMPO satellite provides data on the height of the smoke plume, measured in kilometers, which is crucial in determining the risks to human health. The data aligns with air monitor readings taken on the ground at the same time, providing a more accurate assessment of the health risk from smoke plumes in almost real-time.

Key Takeaways:

  • The new satellite-based method uses data from NASA's TEMPO satellite to provide a 3D picture of smoke plumes, enabling scientists and air quality managers to issue more accurate and timely air quality alerts.
  • The TEMPO satellite data shows the height of the smoke plume, measured in kilometers, which is crucial in determining the risks to human health.
  • The data aligns with air monitor readings taken on the ground at the same time, providing a more accurate assessment of the health risk from smoke plumes in almost real-time.
  • The new method has been tested in Iowa, where air quality monitors were few and far between, meaning forecasts have been broad estimates in much of the country.
  • The prototype of this system, called FireAQ, has shown that users can zoom in to the neighborhood level to see how high the smoke plume is, however the prototype is currently only updated once a day.
  • The FireAQ system is supported by NASA and incorporates TEMPO's height data.
  • AerosolWatch tool provides a near-real-time stream of wildfire smoke images from its GOES-R satellites, and the agency plans to incorporate TEMPO's height data.
  • Wildfire health risks are rising as global temperatures rise and more people move into wildland areas, while air quality in most of the U.S. improved between 2000 and 2020.
  • Research has found that wildfire smoke has effectively erased nearly two decades of air quality progress in parts of the western U.S.

Statistics:

  • The TEMPO satellite provides data on the height of the smoke plume, measured in kilometers.
  • The altitude of the smoke plume matters, as if it's high in the atmosphere, it won't affect the air people breathe.
  • If a smoke plume is close to the surface, people are breathing in wildfire chemicals and tiny particles, known as PM2.5, which can get deep into the lungs and exacerbate asthma and other respiratory and cardiac problems.
  • There are about 50 air quality monitors reporting data in Iowa, which covers 56,273 square miles.
  • NOAA's AerosolWatch tool currently provides a near-real-time stream of wildfire smoke images from its GOES-R satellites.

Sources:

  • The Conversation -- USA -- By Jun Wang, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa
  • NOAA NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research
  • Xu et al, 2019, CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
  • Ref: Is that wildfire smoke plume hazardous? New satellite tech can map smoke plumes in 3D for better air quality alerts at neighborhood scale -- https://theconversation.com/is-that-wildfire-smoke-plume-hazardous-new-satellite-tech-can-map-smoke-plumes-in-3d-for-better-air-quality-alerts-at-neighborhood-scale-259654