Shenandoah Health & Air Quality II

Monitoring Air Quality in Shenandoah National Park to Address National Park Service Initiatives Using NASA Earth Observations

Monitoring Air Quality in Shenandoah National Park to Address National Park Service Initiatives Using NASA Earth Observations

Air quality is considered one of Shenandoah National Park's most fundamental resources. The park's ecological health and visitor attendance is dependent on maintaining high air quality standards. This project utilized the NASA's Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), aerosol extinction profile, and Tropospheric Ozone Residual (TOR) datasets to create a long-term analysis of air quality in the park from May 2007 to August 2017. This analysis was used to identify trends in visibility and tropospheric, or ground-level, ozone throughout the park. In situ station data from Big Meadows monitoring station and 29 Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) stations located within a 120 mi radius from Shenandoah National Park were used to validate the NASA Earth observations. A tutorial of how to download, subset, and analyze TOR and AOD datasets was created to help park staff incorporate remote sensing data into their management practices related to air quality concerns. This project provided statistical and quantitative support for incorporating satellite data into Shenandoah National Park's current air quality monitoring efforts and will aid in future decisions related to visitor education and ecological management.


Project Video:
O Say, Can You See
Location
Virginia – Langley
Term
Fall 2017
Partner(s)
National Park Service, Shenandoah National Park
National Park Service, Air Resources Division, Research & Monitoring Branch
NASA Earth Observations
Aqua, MODIS
Terra, MODIS
Aura, OMI/ MLS
Team
Emily S. Doerner (Project Lead)
Andrew Bonifas
James Ficklin
Nick Gulston
Roger Johnson
Sarah Phillips
Advisor(s)
Dr. Bruce Doddridge (NASA Langley Research Center)
Dr. Rich Ferrare (NASA Langley Research Center)
Dr. Kenton Ross (NASA Langley Research Center)
Project Materials
Poster PDF

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