NASA Launches TEMPO To Track Air Pollution On A Whole New Level
20 years ago, when meteorologist John Haynes first went to Washington, DC, there was so much pollution that he could stand on the roof of NASA headquarters and see airborne residues of the neighboring interstate highway. He claims that a cloud of smog extended all the way into Virginia and simply followed the freeway.
NASA has previously experimented with environmental surveillance. Since the 1990s, the organization has been monitoring conditions closer to Earth by using tiny aircraft to fly over the ocean, tropical rainforests, and regions of Asia and Africa. The agency has been analyzing the ozone layer, the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, for decades.
Moreover, TEMPO will be able to monitor changes in local pollution levels. Lefer believes that since lower-income and racially segregated regions are more likely to be close to emissions sources, such ports and refineries, it will be especially helpful for revealing environmental inequality. “And satellite data can show that,” he says. With information being continuously gathered across larger North America, weather forecasting will also improve.
PM 2.5 pollutants, or particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, are of great interest to scientists. Less than 1% of the atmosphere is made up of aerosols like these. Frost notes that while that may not seem like much, these trace components are the root of all air quality issues. They damage crops, impair visibility, and are small enough to enter human lungs, where they may cause respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.
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