Using Satellites to Track Indicators of Global Air Pollution and Climate Change Impacts: Lessons Learned From a NASA‐Supported Science‐Stakeholder Collaborative

Abstract

The 2018 NASA Health and Air Quality Applied Science Team (HAQAST) "Indicators" Tiger Team collaboration between NASA-supported scientists and civil society stakeholders aimed to develop satellite-derived global air pollution and climate indicators. This Commentary shares our experience and lessons learned. Together, the team developed methods to track wildfires, dust storms, pollen counts, urban green space, nitrogen dioxide concentrations and asthma burdens, tropospheric ozone concentrations, and urban particulate matter mortality. Participatory knowledge production can lead to more actionable information but requires time, flexibility, and continuous engagement. Ground measurements are still needed for ground truthing, and sustained collaboration over time remains a challenge. Plain Language Summary Recent advances in satellite remote sensing enable observation-based tracking of climate change and air pollution with relatively high spatial resolution globally. The 2018 NASA Health and Air Quality Applied Science Team (HAQAST) "Indicators" Tiger Team launched a collaboration between~20 NASA-supported scientists and civil society stakeholders to develop satellite-derived global air pollution and climate indicators. This Commentary demonstrates the range of air quality and climate change tracking uses for satellite data and shares our experience and lessons learned, which can inform future problem-driven science-stakeholder collaborative efforts. Together, the team developed methods to track wildfires, dust storms, pollen, urban green space, nitrogen dioxide concentrations and asthma burdens, tropospheric ozone concentrations, and urban fine particulate matter mortality. Lessons learned include that participatory knowledge production can lead to more actionable information for stakeholders but requires time and dedicated attention. Stakeholder engagement is valuable at each stage, from developing more nascent data sets to operationalizing mature data sets. Flexibility is critical, since stakeholder needs evolve and new synergies emerge when there are engagements across a wide range of stakeholders and teams. However, additional ground measurements are needed to ground truth satellite observations, and

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“…1). However, meaningful collaboration requires flexibility and sustained dedication to improving mutual communication and building understanding and trust (e.g., Rose et al, 2018;Anenberg et al, 2020).…”

Commentary: AfriqAir’s Mission Towards Cleaner Air for Africa and a Call to Action

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Next-Generation Digital Ecosystem for Climate Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery: A Review of Digital Data Collection Technologies

“…Earth observation (EO) is the practice of collecting data on the Earth's biological, physical, and chemical processes using remote sensing technologies and various earth-surveying techniques (European Commission, 2016 ). In the context of climate tracking, EO-derived data can then be used to develop air pollution and various climate indicators, including wildfires, dust storms, urban green space, and urban particulate matter mortality (Anenberg et al, 2020 ). While earth observation has traditionally relied on government-funded EO programs that have established satellites like the U.S. and European-government funded Sentinel and Landsat programs or commercial IKONOS, emerging technologies like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and miniature satellites (e.g.…”

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