Estimating Nighttime PM2.5 Concentration in Beijing Based on NPP/VIIRS Day/Night Band

Abstract

Nighttime PM2.5 detection by remote sensing can expand understanding of PM2.5 spatiotemporal patterns due to wider coverage compared to ground monitors and by supplementing traditional daytime detection. However, using remote sensing data to invert PM2.5 at night is still challenging. Compared with daytime detection, which operates on sunlight, nighttime detection operates on much weaker moonlight and artificial light sources, complicating signal extraction. Moreover, as the attempts to sense PM2.5 remotely using satellite data are relatively recent, the existing nighttime models are still not mature, overlooking many important factors such as stray light, seasonality in meteorological effects, and observation angle. This paper attempts to improve the accuracy of nighttime PM2.5 detection by proposing an inversion model that takes these factors into consideration. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite/Day/Night Band (VIIRS/DNB) on board the polar-orbiting Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration-20 (NOAA-20) was used to establish a nighttime PM2.5 inversion model in the Beijing area from 1 March 2018 to 28 February 2019. The model was designed by first studying the effects of these factors through a stepwise regression, then building a multivariate regression model to compensate for these effects. The results showed that the impact of satellite viewing zenith angle (VZA) was strongest, followed by seasonality and moonlight. Total accuracy was measured using correlation coefficient (R) compared to ground measurements, achieving 0.87 over the urban area and 0.74 over the suburbs. Specifically, the proposed method works efficiently at subsatellite points, which in this case correspond to VZA from 0 and 5°. In spring, summer, autumn, and winter, the R reached 0.95, 0.93, 0.94, and 0.97 at subsatellite points in the urban area, while it was 0.88, 0.82, 0.85, and 0.77 in the suburbs.