How to Operate:
This visualization describes measurements of sulfur dioxide (so2) and ozone (o3) in the atmosphere above Shanghai, China.
The so2 profiles featured here are generated by the Nadir Mapper (NM) component of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS), located on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) mission currently orbiting the Earth.
These measurements consist of of Sulfur Dioxide (so2) profiles and the included Ozone (o3) measurement, expressed in Dobson Units (DU).
A Dobson Unit is a measurement of concentration expressing the number of molecules required to create a layer of gas 0.01 millimeters thick at 1 atmosphere and 0 degrees Celsius.
Here we can observe the seasonal fluctuations in the total so2 and o3 as a function of location and time, where this
can be used to identify areas with consistently high pollution levels.
This relationship can also be examined for the city as a whole, where the graph below illustrates the rise and fall of so3 and o3 as a monthly average of all measurements.
The data displayed here is used to monitor pollution caused by burning fossil fuels in the atmosphere, which allows users to recreate and examine pollution levels and movement above major cities around the world. This data can also be used to train predictive models and map future pollutant output, allowing for scientific guidance on green energy initiatives and continual monitoring of the global atmosphere.
Developer(s): Nicholas VanCise, University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Data Feeds Employed:
Open Source Tools:
Original Posting Date: 26 October 2020