Skip to main content

Background

Global-scale modeling of air quality and trace gases provides key information in data-sparse regions of importance to the United States (U.S.) Department of State (DoS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USDA, DOE, and NOAA. DoS requests air quality forecasts for health and safety decisions for U.S. Embassies in countries with poorest air quality. EPA and USDA seek air quality (i.e., nitrogen dioxide (NO2)) measurements in agriculture and rural regions: current in situ networks are in urban centers. NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) will integrate data from distributed Pandora sensors into the Goddard Earth Observing System-Composition Forecast (GEOS-CF) model with downscaling approaches used for more precise air quality forecasts at EPA, USDA and DoS sites of interest. There is a multi-agency need to improve the U.S. Government's ability to detect and forecast crucial air quality parameters in poorly sampled locations both domestic and international.  

 

Status

This activity is currently in formulation, with implementation expected to begin later in 2023.

 

Solution Characteristics

PlatformsTemporal FrequencyGeographic DomainLatencyThematic Areas
Pandora Project, GEOS-CF and GEOS-Forward Processing (FP) model output, Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP)HourlySelect U.S. Embassies and agricultural sites1-4 hoursAtmospheric Composition

 

Societal Impact

This activity provides measurements of air quality relevant to human health in international urban and domestic rural locations that lack the advanced measurement capabilities that are provided in domestic urban locations. It will also provide historical analyses and 5-day air quality forecasts at U.S. embassy locations, helping to better understand, anticipate, and mitigate human exposure to harmful air pollution.​ 
 

Solution Resources

Need help using this solution? The Satellite Needs Working Group (SNWG) Stakeholder Engagement Program (SEP) curates relevant training resources focused on how to access and use SNWG solutions. For each solution, resources are aggregated into the following categories: Fundamentals of Remote Sensing, Missions and Instruments, Data Products and Descriptions, Data Access and Code Examples, and Use Case and Application Examples. Information on workshops and open meetings are also included. The resources below are for the Air Quality Forecasts and Distributed Pandora Sensors product. Access Pandora station data.

 

Training Resources

TopicResourceDescription
Fundamentals of Remote SensingSpectroscopy and Remote SensingAn introduction to basic concepts in spectroscopy and remote sensing
What is Spectroscopy?Overview of spectroscopy, the measurement technique used by the Pandora spectrometer system
Passive InstrumentsAn overview of passive instruments used for remote sensing of NASA Earth science data, including spectrometers
TopicResourceDescription
Missions and InstrumentsPandora ProjectThe Pandora Project home page that provides links to other relevant resources
Pandora Spectrometer SystemDetails about the Pandora instrument, its campaign involvement, and its data products
Pandora Instrument ComponentsHardware specifications for each version of the Pandora instrument design
TopicResourceDescription
Data Products and DescriptionsPandonia Global Network (PGN) ReportsTechnical documentation for the Pandonia Global Network (PGN), a network of Pandora sensors distributed globally to assist with satellite validation efforts
NASA CASEI - PandoraThe Catalog of Archived Suborbital Earth Science Investigation's (CASEI) list of NASA Pandora data products 
Air Quality Forecasts and Distributed Pandora Sensors - SNWG Fact SheetSNWG fact sheet for the Air Quality Forecasts and Distributed Pandora Sensors solution that includes an overview of the solution, its societal benefit, and data specifications such as temporal coverage and spatial resolution
Pandora ProductsOverview of the Pandora data products by retrieval type
TopicResourceDescription
Data Access and Code ExamplesPandonia Global Network (PGN) Pandora Data VisualizationsPandora station data visualizations for the PGN (Pandonia Global Network)
Earthdata Search Pandora Data ProductsNASA datasets utilizing the Pandora instrument
Pandonia Global Network (PGN) Pandora DataAccess to PGN (Pandonia Global Network) Pandora station data
TopicResourceDescription
Use Case and Application ExamplesEvaluating Sentinel-5P TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 column densities with airborne and Pandora spectrometers near New York City and Long Island SoundUse of Pandora spectrometers to measure tropospheric column nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for the evaluation of Sentinel-5P TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) NO2 products during the Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS)
The first evaluation of formaldehyde column observations by improved Pandora spectrometers during the KORUS-AQ field studyUse of Pandora spectrometers for formaldehyde observations during the Korea-United States Air Quality Study (KORUS-AQ)
Using networked Pandora observations to capture spatiotemporal changes in total column ozone associated with stratosphere-to-troposphere transportUse of Pandora systems within the Pandonia Global Network (PGN) for total column ozone observations
Sulfur dioxide (SO2) vertical column density measurements by Pandora spectrometer over the Canadian oil sandsArticle describing the use and analysis of sulfur dioxide (SO2) vertical column densities retrieved by the Pandora spectral Sun photometer in Fort McKay, Alberta, Canada, from 2013 to 2015

 

Workshops and Open Meetings

Title and Registration LinkDescriptionDate
Pandonia Global Network 1st WorkshopThe first workshop for the Pandonia Global Network (PGN) that covered PGN operation, algorithms, quality assessment, data processing, calibration, stations, data policy, and other topics.September 17, 2019