New Applications in the Use of Satellite Data Monitoring of Air Quality for Population Health, Exposure
Risk Estimation, and Public Outreach: Project Summary/Abstract
Emerging associations between acute elevations of air pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and
ozone (O3), and the incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates of multiple disease states are increasing
awareness in the scientific community of the need for integration of reliable, real-time satellite remote-
sensing data into decision support systems across multiple domains, including healthcare. The
proposed conference, New Applications in the Use of Satellite Data Monitoring of Air Quality for
Population Health, Exposure Risk Estimation, and Public Outreach, seeks to initiate the collaborative,
multidisciplinary effort needed to design strategies for use of the wide suite of satellite data products
describing the impact of air quality (AQ) changes upon human health. Although NASA satellite data and
tools are freely available, the transformative potential of using them in epidemiological health and
translational research has been limited due to end users’ lack of knowledge regarding access to and
potential utility of the observations. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO)
instrument, set for launch in late 2019 or early 2020, will assess the spatiotemporal variation of air
pollution, clouds, and aerosols over North America at intervals not historically available (e.g., hourly or
better in daylight, 10 km2 at the center of the field of regard). The proposed conference anticipates
bringing together a group of 75-100 stakeholders in healthcare from the public and private sectors,
atmospheric scientists with expertise in TEMPO instrumentation, and commercial cloud-service
providers to present and review the wide suite of AQ data products that will flow from TEMPO. Use of
TEMPO data products will fill an existing gap in the need for highly granular AQ measurements needed
to enhance current models in health/AQ research. Presenters will describe the potential applications for
data products in selected healthcare use cases, and define strategies for rapid dissemination of
TEMPO products to end users who need enhanced knowledge on environmental exposures to improve
decision making. The anticipated date for the conference, which will be held on the campus of the
University of Alabama in Huntsville, is August 3, 2019. The conference will be broadcast live for remote
attendees, and include opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to attend, present
posters, and serve on the Organizing Committee, along with offering assistance at activities
(registration, room monitors, AV needs) on the day of the event.
