TITLE:
Spatio-Temporal Variations in the Associations between Hourly PM2.5 and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from MODIS Sensors on Terra and Aqua
AUTHORS:
Minho Kim, Xingyou Zhang, James B. Holt, Yang Liu
KEYWORDS:
Aerosol Optical Depth; Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer; Terra; Aqua; PM2.5; Contiguous United States
JOURNAL NAME:
Health,
Vol.5 No.10B,
October
21,
2013
ABSTRACT: Recent studies have
explored the relationship between aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements by
satellite sensors and concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic
diameters less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5). However, relatively little is
known about spatial and temporal patterns in this relationship across the
contiguous United States.
In this study, we investigated the relationship between US Environmental
Protection Agency estimates of PM2.5 concentrations
and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) AOD measurements
provided by two NASA satellites (Terra and Aqua) across the contiguous United
States during 2005. We found that the combined use of both satellite sensors
provided more AOD coverage than the use of either satellite sensor alone, that
the correlation between AOD measurements and PM2.5 concentrations
varied substantially by geographic location,
and that this correlation was stronger in the summer and fall than that in the winter
and spring.