Abstract
Tropospheric ozone (O3) pollution is a major problem worldwide, including in the United States of America (USA), particularly during the summer months. Ozone oxidative capacity and its impact on human health have attracted the attention of the scientific community. In the USA, sparse spatial observations for O3 may not provide a reliable source of data over a geo-environmental region. Geostatistical Analyst in ArcGIS has the capability to interpolate values in unmonitored geo-spaces of interest. In this study of eastern Texas O3 pollution, hourly episodes for spring and summer 2012 were selectively identified. To visualize the O3 distribution, geostatistical techniques were employed in ArcMap. Using ordinary Kriging, geostatistical layers of O3 for all the studied hours were predicted and mapped at a spatial resolution of 1 kilometer. A decent level of prediction accuracy was achieved and was confirmed from cross-validation results. The mean prediction error was close to 0, the root mean-standardized-prediction error was close to 1, and the root mean square and average standard errors were small. O3 pollution map data can be further used in analysis and modeling studies. Kriging results and O3 decadal trends indicate that the populace in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Beaumont-Port Arthur, San Antonio, and Longview are repeatedly exposed to high levels of O3-related pollution, and are prone to the corresponding respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. Optimization of the monitoring network proves to be an added advantage for the accurate prediction of exposure levels.
Highlights
Air pollution is a spatial and temporal phenomenon
The data locations appeared to be clustered spatially in Eastern part, they generally covered most of the area (Figure 2), and prediction error statistics supports this fact (Table 2)
3:00 pm Pollution mapping is a time consuming process that requires the intense efforts of scientists to think spatially, geographically, technically, and statistically to produce an accurate prediction map
Summary
Air pollution is a spatial and temporal phenomenon. In the past few decades, though high levels of ozone (O3) pollution have been recorded in intense traffic areas and industrialized cities, their characteristics and impacts were observed in rural areas. As more sensitive instrumentation to monitor O3 concentrations is in use, it became clear that O3 pollution is not limited to urban environments but can extend to regional and global scales in the troposphere [2,3]. Morris et al have conducted a study to demonstrate the impact of Alaskan and Canadian forest fires on O3 levels in Houston, Texas. They were able to establish the relation using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard trajectory model, Earth Probe satellite data, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra data, and in situ measurements [3]. Another study by Stutz et al used Differential Optical Absorption
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
