NASA Images Highlight U.S. Air Quality Improvement – Release Materials
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 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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Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio
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Animator
- Trent L. Schindler (USRA)
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Writer
- Kathryn Hansen (SSAI)
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Scientists
- Bryan Duncan (NASA/GSFC)
- Lok Lamsal (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)
- Yasuko Yoshida (SSAI)
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Producer
- Kayvon Sharghi (USRA)
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Project support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Monitoring Air Quality
Read moreAirborne 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. ||
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ID: 11572 Produced Video
Nitrogen Dioxide Reduction Across the United States
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 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. ||
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ID: 11573 Produced Video
Nitrogen Dioxide Reduction Across the Ohio River Valley
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 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. The impact of technology to reduce emissions of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide from coal-fired power plants in the Ohio River Valley is apparent in satellite imagery, which shows the signal of pollution blink out over time. Still, while air quality is improving, power plant emissions of carbon dioxide – a greenhouse gas – remain an issue. ||
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ID: 11574 Produced Video
Nitrogen Dioxide Reduction Across the Northeast Corridor
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 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. Pollution builds up along the U.S. East Coast as it passes from one city to the next, particularly in the Northeast Corridor. These cities include Richmond, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and all the smaller cities in between. Some of the largest absolute changes in nitrogen dioxide have occurred in this corridor. ||
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ID: 11575 Produced Video
Nitrogen Dioxide Reduction Across the Northeast U.S.
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 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. Along the U.S. East Coast, the relatively flat landscape means almost everyone is downwind of someone else. If wind moves up from the southwest to northeast along the Eastern Seaboard, a so-called "river of pollution" builds up as pollution passes from one city to the next. ||
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ID: 11576 Produced Video
Nitrogen Dioxide Reduction in U.S. Cities
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 visualization shows tropospheric column concentrations of nitrogen dioxide as detected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument on NASA's Aura satellite. Images show how nitrogen dioxide concentrations during spring and summer months, averaged from 2005-2007, compare to the average from 2009-2011. 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. ||
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