Can surface air quality be estimated from satellite observations of trace gases?

Abstract

The column-surface relationship for O3 varies greatly among locations, time of year, and meteorological and air pollution conditions. However, under the conditions found in Maryland in summer, satellite-derived hourly lower tropospheric column O3 observations, such as those expected from the future Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite, will be capable of well estimating surface O3. These results suggest that the meaningfulness of satellite observations for surface air quality thus varies greatly with both the region and the prevailing meteorological regime. This relationship for NO2 remains weaker, suggesting greater uncertainty in surface NO2 estimation from satellite data and a need to also characterize the PBL height. Further, the CMAQ model overestimates mixing by turbulent eddies, causing a greater connection between column and surface than seen in the measurements.