Assessment and Statistical Modeling of the Relationship Between Remotely Sensed Aerosol Optical Depth and PM_2.5 in the Eastern United States

This report describes a study to assess the ability of satellite-based measurements from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellites to fill spatial and temporal gaps in existing monitoring networks in the eastern United States. Dr. Paciorek and colleagues developed statistical models for integrating monitoring, satellite, and geographic information system (GIS) data to estimate monthly ambient PM_2.5 concentrations and used those models to estimate monthly average PM_2.5 concentrations across the eastern United States. They then developed and applied statistical methods to quantify how uncertainties in exposure estimates based on ground-level monitoring data might be reduced. This study was funded under the Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award.