Use of geostationary satellites to improve air quality characterization and forecasts
Abstract:
We propose to assemble an international team of experts in air quality studies, atmospheric chemistry modeling and remote sensing to make the best use of the most recent and forthcoming high spatial and temporal resolution satellite instruments dedicated to atmospheric composition. Space observations of the chemical composition of the atmosphere are a primary source of information on the formation and fate of large-scale and regional air pollution.
In the very recent period, there have been major advances in space observations of chemical species, with the launch of the Sentinel-4 satellite, which includes the TROPOMI instrument. This unique instrument observes several key air pollution species at a much higher spatial resolution than earlier instruments. Furthermore, in February 2020, a geostationary satellite, GEO-KOMPSAT-2, was successfully launched, which includes the GEMS spectrometer (Kim et al., 2020), the first geostationary instrument measuring air pollution from space. GEMS is the Asian element of a constellation of three geostationary satellites, which will include in a few years the Sentinel-4 European component and the TEMPO component for North America.
The objective of the proposed project is to gather a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, who will jointly investigate and develop novel approaches to make the best use of these high temporal and spatial resolution satellite observations with the aim of improving regional and local air quality monitoring and forecasts. The team will be composed of experts in space observation retrievals, in-situ measurements, meteorological and chemical modeling, data assimilation and inverse modeling and surface emissions. The two projected workshops, one in Beijing and one in Bern, will provide the opportunity for a detailed discussion on the different issues related to optimized use of the most recent and future high-resolution satellite datasets. The first meeting that will be organized in Beijing will give an excellent opportunity for Asian scientists to share the first results from the geostationary GEMS instrument focusing on Asian pollution, and to contribute in the future to the analysis of these space observations.
