First infrared satellite monitoring of peak pollution episodes in China

Plumes of countless anthropogenic contaminants (especially particulate matter and deadly carbon monoxide) situated near walk out over China have the very first time been detected from space. The job was completed with a team in the Laboratoire Atmosph?res, Milieux, Findings Spatiales (CNRS / UPMC / UVSQ) together with Belgian scientists with support from CNES, using dimensions through the IASI infrared sounder released aboard the MetOp satellite. Their groundbreaking answers are released online online from the journal Geophysical Research Letters dated 17 The month of january 2014. They represent an important step towards enhanced monitoring of regional pollution and predicting of local pollution episodes, particularly in China.

Despite efforts through the Chinese government to lessen surface pollutants, China is frequently impacted by major polluting of the environment episodes. It has become an essential public health problem, since polluting of the environment causes greater than 300,000 premature deaths in China every year. In The month of january 2013, Beijing experienced an unparalleled pollution episode, mainly because of periodic coal consumption and unfavorable climate conditions (insufficient wind plus temperature inversion) that trapped the contaminants at walk out. In lots of regions, atmospheric levels of particulate matter (PM) arrived at values considered dangerous to human health, sometimes exceeding the daily threshold suggested through the World Health Organization (25 ?g/m3) with a factor of nearly 40.

To watch local and regional pollution, China comes with an quality of air monitoring network that continuously provides dimensions of key contaminants including PM, deadly carbon monoxide (CO) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). However, the physical distribution of calculating stations is patchy, which causes it to be hard to predict the introduction of pollution episodes. Within this context, satellite findings end up being very valuable because of their excellent physical coverage and horizontal resolution. Regrettably, such dimensions possess the drawback to being sensitive primarily at altitudes of three to 10 km. Using satellites to find out atmospheric composition near walk out was complicated so far.

The scientists have proven that, unlike anticipation, the IASI sounder has the capacity to identify plumes of contaminants even near walk out as lengthy as two the weather is met: climate conditions should be stable, which results in a build-from contaminants at walk out, and there has to be a substantial temperature distinction between the floor and also the air just above Earth's surface. In The month of january 2013, IASI measured high levels of anthropogenic contaminants for example CO, SO2, ammonia (NH3) and ammonium sulfate aerosols over Beijing and neighboring metropolitan areas. The IASI infrared sounder thus turns out to be suitable to monitoring these contaminants such conditions.

The work signifies a breakthrough in pollution monitoring from space. Using the launch of IASI-B, two IASI sounders can now collect infrared data from space and two times just as much information has therefore been available because the finish of The month of january 2013. It'll henceforth be easy to monitor pollution episodes connected with stable climate conditions more precisely and frequently. The job reveals new prospects for enhanced assessment and control over quality of air.

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NOAA, EUMETSAT sign long-term agreement for weather, climate monitoring

August 28, 2013

Building on a 30-year relationship, top officials from NOAA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) signed a long-term cooperative agreement, ensuring continued space-based weather, water and climate monitoring.

At a ceremony at the European Union (EU) Delegation in Washington, D.C. yesterday, Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., NOAA acting administrator and Alain Ratier, EUMETSAT’s director general, signed the agreement. They were joined by Dr. Francois Rivasseau, deputy chief of mission, EU Delegation to the United States.

“The need for environmental intelligence has never been stronger. This partnership with our EUMETSAT colleagues allows us to continue collecting and sharing vital space-based observations, resulting in a better understanding of our global environment,” Sullivan said.

Ratier added, “The partnership between EUMETSAT and NOAA has continuously developed over the last 30 years and taken a strategic dimension, bringing substantial benefits to Europe, the USA and the worldwide user communities. Today the partnership covers back-up arrangements and data exchange for geostationary satellites and full sharing of low Earth orbit satellite systems, with the Initial Joint Polar System and the Jason series. With this agreement, we have established a policy framework to further develop our cooperation into the next decades.”

Key successes of the NOAA-EUMETSAT partnership include:

NOAA and EUMETSAT operate a joint polar satellite system, where EUMETSAT’s Metop satellites fly in the mid-morning orbit, while NOAA’s polar satellites and the Suomi NPP spacecraft fly in the afternoon orbit. Both agencies share all the data, which form the backbone of all medium range weather forecasts in the United States and Europe and make up the majority of the data used by the U.S. weather model (GFS) and the major European weather model (ECMWF).NOAA instruments fly onboard the EUMETSAT satellites, and EUMETSAT instruments are on the NOAA spacecraft, providing cost savings and more uniform datasets for meteorologists and scientists across continents.NOAA and EUMETSAT also exchange data from geostationary satellites, and have a back-up agreement in place for data sharing should either agency’s spacecraft experience trouble.The partnership also extends to the Jason-2 ocean surface topography mission that has been crucial to improvements in weather modeling and tropical storm intensification forecasting, and is supporting the EU-led Copernicus Earth Observation program with data from the Suomi NPP satellite.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. For more information about NOAA satellites, please visit: www.nesdis.noa.gov and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

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