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Use of satellite observations for long-term exposure assessment of global concentrations of fine particulate matter.
Environ Health Perspect. 2015 Feb; 123(2):135-43.EH

Abstract

BACKGROUND

More than a decade of satellite observations offers global information about the trend and magnitude of human exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5).

OBJECTIVE

In this study, we developed improved global exposure estimates of ambient PM2.5 mass and trend using PM2.5 concentrations inferred from multiple satellite instruments.

METHODS

We combined three satellite-derived PM2.5 sources to produce global PM2.5 estimates at about 10 km × 10 km from 1998 through 2012. For each source, we related total column retrievals of aerosol optical depth to near-ground PM2.5 using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to represent local aerosol optical properties and vertical profiles. We collected 210 global ground-based PM2.5 observations from the literature to evaluate our satellite-based estimates with values measured in areas other than North America and Europe.

RESULTS

We estimated that global population-weighted ambient PM2.5 concentrations increased 0.55 μg/m3/year (95% CI: 0.43, 0.67) (2.1%/year; 95% CI: 1.6, 2.6) from 1998 through 2012. Increasing PM2.5 in some developing regions drove this global change, despite decreasing PM2.5 in some developed regions. The estimated proportion of the population of East Asia living above the World Health Organization (WHO) Interim Target-1 of 35 μg/m3 increased from 51% in 1998-2000 to 70% in 2010-2012. In contrast, the North American proportion above the WHO Air Quality Guideline of 10 μg/m3 fell from 62% in 1998-2000 to 19% in 2010-2012. We found significant agreement between satellite-derived estimates and ground-based measurements outside North America and Europe (r = 0.81; n = 210; slope = 0.68). The low bias in satellite-derived estimates suggests that true global concentrations could be even greater.

CONCLUSIONS

Satellite observations provide insight into global long-term changes in ambient PM2.5 concentrations. Satellite-derived estimates and ground-based PM2.5 observations from this study are available for public use.

Links

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Authors+Show Affiliations

van Donkelaar A
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Martin RV
No affiliation info available
Brauer M
No affiliation info available
Boys BL
No affiliation info available

MeSH

Air PollutantsAir PollutionEnvironmental ExposureEnvironmental MonitoringHumansParticle SizeParticulate MatterSatellite Imagery

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

25343779

Citation

van Donkelaar, Aaron, et al. "Use of Satellite Observations for Long-term Exposure Assessment of Global Concentrations of Fine Particulate Matter." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 123, no. 2, 2015, pp. 135-43.
van Donkelaar A, Martin RV, Brauer M, et al. Use of satellite observations for long-term exposure assessment of global concentrations of fine particulate matter. Environ Health Perspect. 2015;123(2):135-43.
van Donkelaar, A., Martin, R. V., Brauer, M., & Boys, B. L. (2015). Use of satellite observations for long-term exposure assessment of global concentrations of fine particulate matter. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123(2), 135-43. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408646
van Donkelaar A, et al. Use of Satellite Observations for Long-term Exposure Assessment of Global Concentrations of Fine Particulate Matter. Environ Health Perspect. 2015;123(2):135-43. PubMed PMID: 25343779.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Use of satellite observations for long-term exposure assessment of global concentrations of fine particulate matter. AU - van Donkelaar,Aaron, AU - Martin,Randall V, AU - Brauer,Michael, AU - Boys,Brian L, Y1 - 2014/10/24/ PY - 2014/05/02/received PY - 2014/10/22/accepted PY - 2014/10/25/entrez PY - 2014/10/25/pubmed PY - 2015/10/6/medline SP - 135 EP - 43 JF - Environmental health perspectives JO - Environ Health Perspect VL - 123 IS - 2 N2 - BACKGROUND: More than a decade of satellite observations offers global information about the trend and magnitude of human exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). OBJECTIVE: In this study, we developed improved global exposure estimates of ambient PM2.5 mass and trend using PM2.5 concentrations inferred from multiple satellite instruments. METHODS: We combined three satellite-derived PM2.5 sources to produce global PM2.5 estimates at about 10 km × 10 km from 1998 through 2012. For each source, we related total column retrievals of aerosol optical depth to near-ground PM2.5 using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model to represent local aerosol optical properties and vertical profiles. We collected 210 global ground-based PM2.5 observations from the literature to evaluate our satellite-based estimates with values measured in areas other than North America and Europe. RESULTS: We estimated that global population-weighted ambient PM2.5 concentrations increased 0.55 μg/m3/year (95% CI: 0.43, 0.67) (2.1%/year; 95% CI: 1.6, 2.6) from 1998 through 2012. Increasing PM2.5 in some developing regions drove this global change, despite decreasing PM2.5 in some developed regions. The estimated proportion of the population of East Asia living above the World Health Organization (WHO) Interim Target-1 of 35 μg/m3 increased from 51% in 1998-2000 to 70% in 2010-2012. In contrast, the North American proportion above the WHO Air Quality Guideline of 10 μg/m3 fell from 62% in 1998-2000 to 19% in 2010-2012. We found significant agreement between satellite-derived estimates and ground-based measurements outside North America and Europe (r = 0.81; n = 210; slope = 0.68). The low bias in satellite-derived estimates suggests that true global concentrations could be even greater. CONCLUSIONS: Satellite observations provide insight into global long-term changes in ambient PM2.5 concentrations. Satellite-derived estimates and ground-based PM2.5 observations from this study are available for public use. SN - 1552-9924 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/25343779/Use_of_satellite_observations_for_long_term_exposure_assessment_of_global_concentrations_of_fine_particulate_matter_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -