Implementation of a MODIS Aerosol Algorithm for Air Pollution Detection

Air pollution has several negative consequences to life. The Continuous Air Monitoring Stations (CAMS) can calculate the levels of this contamination, but their range is too small. An alternative for the detection of the pollution is the use of satellites. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), instrument on board of the satellite Terra and Aqua from the NASA, allows the calculation of the Aerosol Optical Thickness (degree in which aerosols prevent the transmission of light). The official product has a pixel resolution of 10 km., not good enough for a deeper analysis. A Simplified high resolution MODIS Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (SARA) is implemented to improve this resolution. The algorithm creates a new raster with a resolution of 500 m. The AERONET data is not used for the calculation, instead, some aerosol models from the software OPAC (Optical Properties of Aerosols and clouds) are used. The algorithm is tested on the region of Bogotá, Colombia. The results are compared to the PM10 observations (Particle matter less than 10 μm/m3) measured by the Bogotá Air Quality Network CAMS showing a correlation of 0.51. Several validations are discussed.