STAQS Air Quality Conceptual Illustrations
While poor air quality affects everyone, there are pollution hotspots that can adversely affect those nearest. For example, neighborhoods located near highways and warehouses can be hotspots of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and hazardous particles called PM2.5, which are more than 35 times smaller in diameter than a grain of sand.
For other residents, such as those located downwind from major cities like Chicago and New York, ozone can be an issue. While ozone high in the atmosphere protects Earth from dangerous solar radiation, at the ground level it can cause respiratory diseases and drive smog. Ozone ‘brewed’ in cities can travel to rural communities.
Ground-level ozone along with another hazardous pollutant – tiny particles called PM2.5 – lead to over 100,000 premature deaths each year in the U.S.
Still image depicting the impacts of idling trucks in nearby neighborhoods.
Still image depicting a conceptual view of pollution disparity in Chicago, IL.
A still image depicting the evolution of air pollution over a region.
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Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Animators
- Kim Dongjae (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Producer
- Kathleen Gaeta (Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc.)
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Writer
- Sally Younger (NASA/JPL)
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Project support
- Katie Jepson (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
- Jenny Marder Fadoul (Telophase)
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Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Release date
This page was originally published on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.
This page was last updated on Monday, October 23, 2023 at 2:07 PM EDT.
Related
- ID: 14432
![This vertical version of the video is for social media.NASA and NOAA, among other agencies, worked together this summer through the STAQS and AEROMMA missions to calibrate and validate NASA’s new TEMPO satellite. The satellite and missions combined aim to not only better measure air quality, and the major pollutants that impact it, but also to improve air quality, from street to stratosphere. This effort was documented during the August 2023 campaign leg, which took place over the Chicago region. Universal Music Production: Night Swimmer Instrumental [PRS], Living In The Light Instrumental [PRS], Nanofiber Instrumental [PRS], Results Take Time Instrumental [PRS], Spin Foam Instrumental [PRS], and Mindful Instrumental [PRS].
Additional images courtesy of Rafael Méndez Peña Additional images courtesy of Community Research On Climate and Urban Science Department of Energy Integrated Urban Field LaboratoryThis video can be freely shared and downloaded. While the video in its entirety can be shared without permission, some individual imagery provided by ASF is obtained through permission and may not be excised or remixed in other products. For more information on NASA’s media guidelines, visit https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/guidelines/index.htmlComplete transcript available.](/vis/a010000/a014400/a014432/FINAL_IG.jpg)
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