Monitoring Air Quality
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- Written by:
- Kasha Patel
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- Scientific consulting by:
- Bryan Duncan,
- Lok Lamsal, and
- Yasuko Yoshida
- View full credits
Airborne pollutants can negatively affect our health. Such molecules can flow from city to city via wind, building a river of smog as evident around our nation’s Northeast Corridor and over flatter terrain in the eastern U.S. One major air pollutant is nitrogen dioxide, a brownish gas commonly emitted from motor vehicle exhaust and power plants. This noxious chemical causes respiratory issues and promotes the formation of other harmful air pollutants like ground-level ozone. Observations by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard NASA’s Aura satellite show that nitrogen dioxide levels have actually decreased nationwide by four percent per year since 2005. The decline is thought to stem partly from technology improvements, especially in the energy and transportation sectors. Watch the video to see changes in nitrogen dioxide levels across the U.S. from 2005 to 2011.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
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Animator
- Trent L. Schindler (USRA)
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Writer
- Kasha Patel (Wyle Information Systems) [Lead]
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Scientists
- Bryan Duncan (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Lok Lamsal (USRA) [Lead]
- Yasuko Yoshida (SSAI) [Lead]
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Producer
- Kayvon Sharghi (USRA)
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ID: 11579 Produced Video
NASA Images Highlight U.S. Air Quality Improvement – Release Materials
Read moreAnyone 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 following visualizations show tropospheric column concentrations of nitrogen dioxide as detected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite. 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. ||
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