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GEO Task US-09-01aHealth SBA
SBA: Health – Air Quality
Analyst: Rudolf Husar, Washington University/LanternCo-Analyst: Stefan Falke, Wash. U./Northrop Grumman.
Current Status of Report:
Awaiting feedback from Task Lead & some AQ members
Date Final Report will be completed (if not already):
April/May 2010?
Sub-Areas Analyzed
Scope Focus: Air Quality
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AQ Observation Sub-Areas
• Pollutant Parameters
• Observation Coverage
• Observation Strategy/Utility
Science-based AQ System Subareas
• Emissions, Primary/Secondary
• Ambient Concentrations
Prioritization Methodology
Prioritization uses three independent (orthogonal) measures of EOs:
• Pollutants: What is the health effect potency of the pollutant;
• Coverage: Spatial-temporal coverage of the EOs;
• Utility: Applicability of the EO for multiple aspects of AQH
EOs are ranked by each measure individually. The overall priority is the subjectively weighed sum of the 3-dimensional rankings.
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Prioritization Methodology
Pollutants: WHO Guidelines Identifies pollutants and their max values
Measure: Gap between health needs and obs. frequency
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Utility: EO application in multiple segments of the AQ system
Measure: Number of applications to AQH
Note: Bibliometric data used only as a backup/consistency check in the prioritization
Coverage: AQ monitoring by country/continent
Measure: Gap in monitoring/pers. between developed and developing countries
General Approach: Gap Analysis
Priority Observations for AQ-Health
Obs. Category Parameter Spatial Priority
Aggregated Observation CharacteristicsSpatial
ResolutionTemporal
Resolution Accuracy LatencyTier 1
Ambient PM2.5 Africa, Asia1 km city 10km rural 1-hr 10-20%1-3 hours
Ambient SO2 Africa, Asia1 km city 10km rural 1-hr 10-20%1-3 hours
Ambient NO2 Africa, Asia1 km city 10km rural 1-hr 10-20%1-3 hours
Ambient O3 Africa, Asia1 km city 10km rural 1-hr 10-20%1-3 hours
Ambient PM10 Africa, Asia1 km city 10km rural 1-hr 10-20%1-3 hours
Tier 2
Ambient, Emissions, SRR Column PM2.5 Global 1-10 km 1-hr 20%1-3 hours
Ambient, Emissions, SRR Column SO2 Global 1-10 km 1-hr 20%1-3 hours
Ambient, Emissions, SRR Column NO2 Global 1-10 km 1-hr 20%1-3 hours
Ambient, Emissions, SRR Column O3 Global 1-10 km 1-hr 20%1-3 hours
Ambient PM10 Global 1-10 km 1-hr 10-20%1-3 hours Tier 3 Exposure Population Global 1 km city 1 year 20% Ambient Weather Global 1-10 km 1-hr 20%1-3 hours
Ambient, Emissions, SRR PM2.5 Comp. Global 1-10 km 1-hr; 1-day 10-20%1-3 weeksEmission, SRR VOCs Global 1-10 km 1-hr 10-20%1-3 weeks
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Analyst Feedback on Methodology
Pro: Systems and Gap analysis is based on science and data
Con: Science and data may not be available
Applicability: Applicable to well-defined SBA apps, e.g. agriculture, some disasters?
Recommended for future? Yes, the science/gap approach for user requirements is applicable to the next phases of US-0901
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Interpretation of Results
• The list of the main air pollutants is established through national and international standards and guidelines:PM2.5,
• The per capita AQ monitoring in the developing regions is 10-20 times lower than in the developed North America and Western Europe.
• PM2.5, the best available indicator of health-related effects, is virtually unmonitored in the developing world, and even the existing monitoring data are not accessible.
• Hence, there is a need to extend AQ monitoring (esp. PM2.5) in the densely populated developing regions and to improve data access for science, AQ management, and the general public.
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Limitations/ Caveats
Biases:
• The Analyst is professionally promoting data dissemination; improved data accessibility recommendation is self-serving
• Ditto for focus on PM2.5
Limitations:
• Monitoring coverage gap analysis is clearly incomplete
• Feedback from Advisory Group marginal
Linkages:
• Health SBA sub-areas: Infectious Diseases and Aeroallergens
• On the causal side, AQ is linked to the Energy use, Disasters (fires, dust storms, volcanoes) , Weather and the Climate SBAs.
• AQ is influencing Ecosystems and Agricultural plant growth 8