US Air Quality

  • Released Monday, June 23, 2014
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Anyone living in the U.S. for the past decade may have noticed a change in the air. The change is apparent in NASA satellite images that demonstrate the country's reduction of air pollution, or more specifically, nitrogen dioxide.

Nitrogen dioxide can impact the respiratory system, and it also contributes to the formation of other pollutants including ground-level ozone and particulates. The gas is produced primarily during the combustion of gasoline in vehicle engines and coal in power plants. Air pollution has decreased even though population and the number of cars on the roads have increased. The shift is the result of regulations, technology improvements and economic changes, scientists say.

This visualization shows tropospheric column concentrations of nitrogen dioxide as detected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite, averaged yearly from 2005-2011. Blue and green denote lower concentrations and orange and red areas denote higher concentrations, ranging from 1e+15 to 5e+15 molecules per square centimeter, respectively.

Nitrogen dioxide levels for the continental United States.

Nitrogen dioxide levels over Northeast United States.

Nitrogen dioxide levels over the northeastern corridor.

Nitrogen dioxide levels over Ohio and the surrounding states.

Nitrogen dioxide color bar

Nitrogen dioxide color bar

For More Information

See NASA.gov

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

This page was originally published on Monday, June 23, 2014.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:50 PM EDT.

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