Application of satellite data and GIS services for studying air pollutants in Basra province, south of Iraq

Abstract

Satellite remote sensing, with its relatively short history, will play a major role in fields that encompass topics related to place and space. Through this innovation in technology, real-time monitoring and mapping of changing phenomena on Earth’s surface is possible. The purpose of this study was to investigate and evaluate the spread of air pollutants in Basra city from 3/12/2018 to 3/1/2019 using stationary environmental station data and satellite data. Satellite data and pollutant data gathered from an air quality monitoring station located in different parts of Basra Province were used. The data were downloaded for the days mentioned above for the geographical boundary of Basra City. The results showed a strong correlation between the SO2 concentration values of the satellites and the ground station, whereas there was some slight convergence of the NO2 concentration values between the satellite data and the ground station. Regarding the BC concentration, a difference was observed between the satellite values and the values measured by the ground station.