Satellite detection of long-range pollution transport and sulfate aerosol hazes

Abstract

While not designed for such a task, meteorological satellites now play a growing role in our understanding of long range transport of secondary pollutants. This paper reports on a demonstration project showing that currently available synchronous satellite data can detect the aerial extent and motion of large-scale “hazy” air masses associated with sulfate and ozone episodes. An interactive computer graphics system is utilized showing that digital satellite data can obtain precise measurements of upward scattered solar radiation which is correlated to aerosol optical thickness and therefore to sulfate concentrations. Measurements over Lake Michigan for instance, reveal over-water image brightness enhanced fully 60–70% as visibility estimates of f b scat increased from 1.8 × 10 4 m −1 to 5.7 × 10 −4 m −1.Digital satellite data is shown to have great promise in mapping sulfate haze areas, especially over water.