NASA Capacity Building Activities: Bridging the gap between science

and policyDr. Ana. I. Prados

Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET)University of Maryland Baltimore County

Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics BranchNASA Goddard Space Flight Center

GAIA Workshop, April 14th, , 2011

Acknowledgements

• Lawrence Friedl, NASA Applied Sciences Program

2

Presentation Overview Project Motivation: NASA satellite imagery for

decision-support

NASA Applications: Air Quality/Health

Capacity Building: The NASA Applied Remote Sensing Education and Training (ARSET) Project

NASA Applications: Water Resources

Project Evaluation: Measuring the impact of trainings on end-user decision-making activities

NASA Thematic Areas for Decision Making (Applied Sciences Program)

• Agriculture • Climate• Disaster Management• Ecosystems• Energy• Oceans• Public Health (includes Air Quality)• Water Resources Management• Weather (Aviation)

Program Motivation

Increase utilization of NASA

observational and model data for

decision-support

Train end-users on how to access, visualize,

interpret, and apply NASA Earth Science Data in

their professional area

Barriers to NASA Data Utilization

Gaps between scientific and end-user communities: Policy-relevant research remains largely inaccessible beyond the relatively small research community

- knowledge gaps regarding data sets and their benefit/application to environmental management activities

Lack of institutional capacity: prioritization, lack of man-power and needed technical expertise

Barriers to NASA Data Utilization Knowledge gaps

- Cost: NASA data are free and easily accessible but many don’t know it

- Data Access: Not aware of resources available (e.g. web tools, or how to order data)

Presentation Overview Project Motivation: NASA satellite imagery for

decision-support

NASA Applications: Air Quality/Health

Capacity Building: The NASA Applied Remote Sensing Education and Training (ARSET) Project

NASA Applications: Water Resources

Project Evaluation: Measuring the impact of trainings on end-user decision-making activities

Air Pollutants Detected from NASA Satellites

• Particulate Pollution (PM2.5 Surrogate) fossil fuels, smoke, industry

• Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2 )- fossil fuels, smoke• Sulfur Dioxide (SO2 )- volcanoes, large coal

plant/smelter emissions• Carbon Monoxide (CO) - fires; mid-troposphere only• Fire Locations (satellite detected hot spots)

* Most products are total atmospheric columns: not necessarily representative of surface air quality or health conditions

NASA Observing Spacecraft for Earth System Science

June 20, 2008

OSTM / Jason-2June 20, 2008

Urban areas and regions with intense fire activity have the highest NO2 pollution emissions

NO2 Fossil Fuel and Fire Emissions -- Satellite View

Google Earth Visualization of Satellite NO2 over the Eastern U.S and Location of Electrical Generating Units (July 2005)

Height of marker proportionalto NEI-2002 NOx emissions

NASA AVDC OMI NO2 and U.S EPA 2002 National Emission Inventory

Air Quality Applications of NASA Satellite Imagery

Not a comprehensive list

• Health: Satellite Surrogate of PM2.5 (fine particles)• Long Range Transport and air quality event analysis:

Air quality attainment is a combination of local and upwind sources

• Trace Gas Emissions Inventories and regulatory effectiveness: (U.S and China Coal Plants)

• Analysis of air pollution trends: particularly where monitor data are lacking.

• Air Quality Forecast Model Evaluation: e.g. CMAQ (needed especially for PM2.5)

Air Quality Applications of NASA Satellite Imagery

• Satellite data cannot be used quantitatively for enforcement purposes such as for example to determine whether a region is in attainment or not (Hoff and Christopher 2009).

Other potential opportunities:

- Air Quality/Climate change co-benefits derived from mitigation activities: air pollutants provide more information for source attribution than GHGs (tropical deforestation, fossil fuel combustion).

- Impact of climate change on air quality

Many areas in the U.S Don’t meet National Ambient Air Quality

Standards (NAAQS) Air Quality has improved considerably in the U.S since

enactment of the 1970 Clean Air Act. Yet many areas do not meet Ozone and/or PM2.5 Federal Standards

The D.C metro area does not meet the current 8-hour ozone standard (in non-attainment), new standard will be even more difficult to meet.

Relating Satellite Column Measurements to PM2.5 Ground Concentrations

June 13, 2008

Figure courtesy, A. Huff

Significant agreement with coincident ground measurements over North America

SatelliteDerived

In-situ

Sate

llite

-Der

ived

[μg/

m3]

In-situ PM2.5 [μg/m3]

Ann

ual M

ean

PM2.

5[μ

g/m

3 ] (20

01-2

006)

r

MODIS τ 0.40

MISR τ 0.54

Combined τ 0.63

With Model 0.78

van Donkelaar et. at.

Long Range Transport of Air Pollution: U.S Example

October 20, 2007 October 21, 2007 October 22, 2007

October 23, 2007 October 24, 2007 October 25, 2007

Central America :Long Range Transport

May 18-21, 2007

Smoke or Dust ?• Reports of poor air quality in Central America

on May 18th, 2007; concerns regarding health effects of transported dust

• Fire Activity in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador

NASA Rapid Fire Near-Real Time MODIS Terra

May 16th, 2007: Global View of Transported Dust and Regional Smoke

DustSmoke

Source: NASA MODIS Giovanni Image on Google Earth

Air Quality Assessment• Satellite data provide global view of air quality

transport events: Dust did not quite make it to Central America

• Fires and Smoke in Central America confirmed by other satellite data sources and model data and provided via SERVIR

Source: NOAA Hazard Mapping System

SERVIRProject PI: Dan Irwin, NASA

• http://www.servir.net/• Regional Visualization and

Monitoring System that integrates Earth Observations (satellite imagery), forecast models and in situ data.

• Areas:- Mesoamerica

(Cathalac, Panama) - Africa- Himalayan Region

• Decision-makers can track natural disasters: floods, fires, earthquakes, volcanoes, and tropical storms

Select language

Select region to explore

SERVIR

• Clicking on a portal brings the user to an interactive, animated map of the selected area

• Map shows current (real time) precipitation, earthquakes, fires, volcano alerts and GDACS alerts

China Applications: NO2 and SO2 Pollution Trends, 2005-2008

Regions of Interest over China

Zhang et. al., GRL, 2009

Satellite NO2 trends over China

• OMI Instrument detects emerging “hot spots” due to new coal plant construction

• Increase in satellite NO2 in these source regions from 2005 to 2007

Zhang et. al., GRL, 2009

2005 2007 Ratio:2007/2005

East

Central

West

Satellite SO2: Coal Power Plant EmissionsInner Mongolia

2005 2006 2007 2008

Can et. al., GRL, 2009.

Increased Pollution Decreased Pollution (FGD)

Central

Western

SO2 Trends over China

• Observed increases in 2005-2007 due to additional coal plant construction

• Decreases in 2008 due to implementation of FGD (flue gas desulfurization) pollution controls (no observed NO2 decreases in 2008)

• Ongoing collaboration between U.S researchers and Chinese counterparts.

Presentation Overview Project Motivation: NASA satellite imagery for

decision-support NASA Applications: Air Quality/Health Capacity Building: The NASA Applied Remote

Sensing Education and Training (ARSET) Project

NASA Applications: Water Resources Project Evaluation: Measuring the impact of

trainings on end-user decision-making activities

NASA Applied Remote Sensing Education and Training (ARSET)

• Air Quality: 2008 - present

• Water Resources: began 2011

• Targeted towards technical staff at regulatory, health, or other decision-making agencies, AQ forecasters

• For 2011: seeking to engage private sector: industry and NGO community

NASA Applied Remote Sensing Education and Training (ARSET)

• Focus is application area: e.g. biomass burning, model evaluation, flood forecasting

• Nationally and internationally

• Intended for users with no remote-sensing background

• Formed a training advisory group comprised of decision-makers and NASA scientists

Satellite Workshop Objectives

• Teach appropriate use of remote sensing data

• Navigate the imagery/analysis web-tool maze

• Improve access to NASA applications-research

• Provide a forum for end-user feedback to help identify information needs and inform future training activities

NASA Air Quality Trainings

• Developed a set of re-usable instructional modules • Conducted 17 national and international training

activities (10-45 students each) reaching +400 users since January 2009.

• Developed a Case Study Inventory

7 SEAS Workshop, Singapore 2009

• Students becoming Teachers:- San Francisco Bay Area

Air Quality District using OMI NO2 – presented at UC Davis workshop Dec.2010

Trainings for Decision-Makers• Developed trainings at

state regulatory agencies: California Air Resources Board - 2-day training preceded by talk for managers, very successful

• Reached applied end-users in Region 3 and 4 state regulatory agencies: MD, VA, DC, DE, NC

Typical Workshop Attendees Include:Local, Regional Federal Policy-makers

Air Quality Professionals and ManagersStudents and Researchers

NASA Training at California Air Resources Board, December 2010

The Challenge: Balancing too much versus too little information

• Avoiding misuse of NASA Data: convey the needed scientific information to ensure appropriate use of the data

• Can’t overwhelm users with too much high level scientific background/algorithm details

• Most training activities have a RANGE in levels of expertise and application areas.

Structure of Remote Sensing Workshops

• Basics of remote sensing: instruments, orbits, • Critical Thinking of Remote Sensing: Strengths and caveats in the data products• Case Studies and Hands-on Activities tailored to the specific audience. • Student surveys

Must know audience first and work closely with host institution

University of North Carolina, October 2009

Case Studies and Hands-On Activities

Decision-Support Template with step-by-step instructions:1) Access to imagery

2) Access to meteorological, model or other information

3) Utilization of image analysis tools

4) Air Quality Assessment:

-Type of event: smoke, dust ?

-Where is the pollution coming from?

-Potential health impacts

Case Study Analysis

Image from one of the training Case Studies showing MODIS fire locations and True Color Imagery – dust and smoke. Google imagery provided by the NRL Fire Locating and Modeling of Burning Emissions (Flambé) Program.

Image from one of the training Case Studies, showing MODIS fire locations and modeled pollution – dust and smoke - from the NRL Fire Locating and Modeling of Burning Emissions (Flambe) Program, which incorporates NASA Satellite real-time observations in its model predictions.

Project Websitehttp://arset.gsfc.nasa.gov

Publicly availableEducational

Modules in English,Chinese and soon

also in Spanish

Interactive Case Studies. Submit

an entry/analysis and win a free

NASA workshop !

Presentation Overview Project Motivation: NASA satellite imagery for

decision-support

NASA Applications: Air Quality/Health

Capacity Building: The NASA Applied Remote Sensing Education and Training (ARSET) Project

NASA Applications: Water Resources

Project Evaluation: Measuring the impact of trainings on end-user decision-making activities

• Many NASA water products have a multitude of applications: Agriculture and food shortages, drought and flood monitoring, disaster management.

• Impacts of climate-change on water resources

• In 2010 developed modules and Case Studies for precipitation, drought and flood monitoring.

Satellite Trainings for Water Resources Management

Satellite Trainings for Water Resources Management: Year I

• Fill knowledge gaps regarding climate change and its impact on water resources

• Identify end-user communities and training venues

Satellite Applications:

• Extreme Rainfall Events in the South Central U.S. (Northern Texas, Oklahoma)

• Drought and snow melt issues in the Western U.S.

NASA Capacity Building Activities: Water Resources Applications

• Heavy rainfall in Guatemala from Tropical Storm Agatha (May 2010)

• Area in and around Guatemala City had some of the highest accumulated rainfall values and rates

http://www.examiner.com/x-23333-Atlantic-Hurricanes-Examiner~y2010m5d31-Tropical-Storm-Agatha-kills-99-in-Central-America-photos

heavy precipitation in Guatemala leads tolandslides, and flooding

Examining Guatemala: Precipitation and Accumulated Rainfall

AgathaAll images generated with GIOVANNI TOVAS

http://giovanni.gsfc.nasa.gov

Examining Guatemala: SERVIR

Areas at risk for landslides 5/29http://www.servir.net/tormenta_tropical_agatha_mayo_2010

Examining Guatemala: SERVIR

Image generated from SERVIR Viz, 5/29/10 at 15:45 UTCPrecipitation, volcano locations, and earthquakes shown

Presentation Overview Project Motivation: NASA satellite imagery for

decision-support

NASA Applications: Air Quality/Health

Capacity Building: The NASA Applied Remote Sensing Education and Training (ARSET) Project

NASA Applications: Water Management

Project Evaluation: Measuring the impact of trainings on end-user decision-making activities

NASA Remote Sensing Training Program Evaluation

• Surveys are used at the completion of every training to continually improve our workshops

• On-going contact with former trainees has provided some information for program assessment.

Source: U.S EPA

Air Quality management activities in the U.S

Source: U.S EPA

NASA

Research

How does NASA research fit into air quality management activities in the U.S ?

Scientists

NASA Remote Sensing Training Program Evaluation

New for 2011: Pre and post-workshop assessments:

• Identify changes in data utilization resulting from training activities

• Assess the value of NASA Earth Science data in improving decision-making activities.

• Identify environmental management activities where NASA data are being integrated

ConclusionsNASA Satellite Applications

- Assess pollution trends and effectiveness of regulatoryactivities (e.g. coal plant pollution in China , U.S.).

- Real time decision-support for regional disasters, air quality (e.g. SERVIR).

NASA Satellite Trainings: Build capacity to integrate remote sensing into decision-support- Fills knowledge gaps regarding data access, imagery

interpretation, and their application- Mature Air Quality project has lead to increased

utilization on NASA imagery at local and stateregulatory agencies

- Emerging water resources/climate project

Other InformationContact: Ana I. Pradosaprados@umbc.edu

NASA Satellite Training Resources:http://arset.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ( Air Quality)http://water.gsfc.nasa.gov/ (Water)

For updates and notification of upcoming workshops you can sign up for our list serv: https://lists.nasa.gov/mailman/listinfo/arset

Back-up Slides

NASA Satellite Instructional Modules

End User Question Scientist/Module Answer

How reliable is this data ? Noise and systematic errors

Can I use this satellite data to make GROUND level air quality/health assessments ?

PBL Sensitivity; vertical distribution of aerosols and trace gases; challenges of working with column data

Is this data valid everywhere in the world ?

Land surface issues, biases due to cloud contamination, etc.

Are all Aerosol products the same ? Instrument – to instrument differences (calibration, footprint, and many others)

Can I use this product to analyze urban scale pollution ?

Satellite resolution (Level 3, Level 2), etc.

Why is there only one image per day and temporal resolution issues ?

Polar orbiting satellites, local overpass time

Main Web-tools for NASA Air Quality Trainings

RapidFire LAADSWeb Browser: image access (L1 and L2) MODIS-Atmos Site: image access Giovanni – visualization and analysis; data

intercomparisons AERONET Synergy Tool: Data intercomparisons RSIG (EPA): Satellite/Monitor/Model Comparisons IDEA (NOAA): Satellite/Monitor comparisons Google Earth: used with most of the above

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What do applied end-users want ?Primarily the regulatory community

Not a comprehensive list !

• Data sets to validate air quality forecast models, especially for PM2.5

• Resources to help constrain emissions inventories, especially from non-point sources, e.g. biomass burning sources (harder to quantify)

• Tools and data to facilitate pollution source apportionment (esp. Mid-Atlantic Region)

• Tools to facilitate CMAQ/Satellite comparisons preferably utilizing their own model output

CALIPSO curtain scene: Vertical profiling of the atmosphere

Planetary Boundary Layer

Free Troposphere

Trop

osph

ere

clouds

Land

aerosols

PBL

532 nm

5km -

10km -

15km -

20km -

25km -

0km -

Longitude

Latit

ude

Tools and Case Studies• A vehicle for teaching data characteristics

- cloud cover and other data gaps

- temporal and spatial variability in

instrument sensitivity, and data biases

- strengths and weakness of various data sets

• Applicability of data tools: suitability varies with application area