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The European Space Agency (ESA) uses space-based atmospheric instruments to detect waste chemicals emitted by industry, power plants, and traffic emissions, as well as ocean colour and radar sensors to reveal the extent of marine pollution. ESA's Envisat sensors compile detailed pollutant maps to help enforce international environmental standards, identify regional 'exporters' and 'importers' of pollution, and enable real-time air quality warnings. ESA's MIPAS instrument looks sideways or rearwards into the atmosphere, gathering vertical profiles of pollutants, while SCIAMACHY detects trace gases and aerosols through the vertical and maps areas of pollution. ESA's projects include POLPO, which monitors pollution hot spots, and GlobAerosol, which produces daily global aerosol maps for weather forecasting and understanding climate change.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Pollution tracking | Space-based atmospheric instruments can detect waste chemicals emitted by industry, power plants, and traffic emissions. |
| Ocean colour and radar sensors reveal the extent of marine pollution. | |
| Envisat's atmospheric instruments can trace the emission of waste chemicals by industry, power generation, and traffic. | |
| MIPAS examines the infrared part of the spectrum to detect the signatures of more than 20 trace gases, including harmful pollutants. | |
| SCIAMACHY detects trace gases and aerosols through the vertical, all the way to ground level, and maps areas of pollution. | |
| GOMOS looks for the presence of ozone-destroying human-made chemicals and nitrogen oxide emissions from aircraft engines. | |
| Satellites can deter polluters and provide early warnings of accidental slicks. | |
| Envisat sensors compile detailed pollutant maps to help enforce international environmental standards, identify regional 'exporters' and 'importers' of pollution, and enable real-time air quality warnings. | |
| Air quality monitoring | PROMOTE (PROtocol MOniToring for the GMES Service Element: Atmosphere) seeks to develop operational services for organisations and citizens that will use atmospheric data to address the concerns of policymakers and citizens. |
| SEVESO applies space-based observations and geo-spatial techniques to the management of industrial risk and technological accidents. | |
| POLPO (Pollution Hot Spot Monitoring from GOME) provides a tool to evaluate the severity, spread, and dislocation of pollution plumes. | |
| GlobAerosol produces daily global aerosol maps needed for accurate information for weather forecasting and understanding climate change and public health. | |
| TEMIS (Tropospheric Emission Monitoring Internet Service) provides tropospheric trace gas concentrations, aerosol, and UV products. | |
| Ozone and UV monitoring/forecasting | Satellites are used to monitor trans-boundary air pollution movement. |
| CERC (UK) delivers air pollution alerts via SMS text to vulnerable individuals. | |
| The usefulness of satellite measurements of greenhouse gases like CH4 and CO2 for climate change studies has been demonstrated. |
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What You'll Learn
- ESA's Envisat sensors compile pollutant maps to enforce international environmental standards
- MIPAS observes the atmosphere sideways and rearwards, gathering vertical profiles of pollutants
- SCIAMACHY observes downwards to map areas of pollution and identify sources
- GOMOS observes the stratosphere for ozone-destroying chemicals and nitrogen oxide emissions
- ESA's satellite observations help monitor trans-boundary air pollution movement
ESA's Envisat sensors compile pollutant maps to enforce international environmental standards
The European Space Agency (ESA) uses Envisat sensors to compile pollutant maps that help enforce international environmental standards. Envisat's atmospheric instruments can trace the emission of waste chemicals by industry, power generation, and traffic, and follow their subsequent movements through the atmosphere. These sensors detect the signatures of harmful pollutants, such as sulphur dioxide, which has been shown to acidify lakes and damage trees in Europe.
ESA's MIPAS instrument looks sideways and rearwards into the atmosphere, gathering vertical profiles of pollutants. This information is crucial as many of these chemicals can react harmfully with other atmospheric gases depending on their altitude. SCIAMACHY, another atmospheric instrument, detects trace gases and aerosols through the vertical, even down to ground level where most pollution is concentrated. It can pinpoint the sources of pollution, watch their movements, and track where they end up.
GOMOS, the third atmospheric spectrometer, is pointed towards the stratosphere and beyond to detect ozone-destroying human-made chemicals and nitrogen oxide emissions from aircraft engines. Together, these Envisat sensors compile detailed pollutant maps, enabling the identification of 'exporters' and 'importers' of pollution and facilitating real-time air quality warnings.
In addition to atmospheric pollution, ESA's Envisat sensors also monitor marine pollution. Ocean colour and radar sensors can detect coastal zone pollution, such as phytoplankton blooms, and reveal the extent of oil pollution in the oceans. These sensors accurately characterise the complex mix of substances, sediments, and living and dead phytoplankton in coastal regions.
ESA's projects, such as AirText, SEVESO, and PROMOTE, further contribute to pollution tracking and management. For instance, SEVESO applies space-based observations and geo-spatial techniques to manage industrial risks and technological accidents, modelling pollutant dispersions in air, soil, and water. PROMOTE aims to develop operational services that use atmospheric data to address the concerns of policymakers and citizens.
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MIPAS observes the atmosphere sideways and rearwards, gathering vertical profiles of pollutants
The European Space Agency (ESA) helps tackle pollution through its Earth observation programme. This includes the use of space-based atmospheric instruments to detect waste chemicals emitted by industry, power plants, and traffic emissions.
One such instrument is MIPAS, a high-resolution Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer designed to measure concentration profiles of various atmospheric constituents on a global scale. MIPAS observes the atmosphere from the side and rear, gathering vertical profiles of pollutants between 5 and 150 km above the Earth's surface. This observation geometry allows for maximum measurement sensitivity and good profiling capability. The rearward viewing range is used for most measurements as it provides good Earth coverage, including the polar regions. However, the sideways range is important for observing special events such as volcanic eruptions, trace gas concentrations above major traffic routes, or concentration gradients across the dawn/dusk border.
MIPAS examines the infrared part of the spectrum to detect the signatures of more than 20 trace gases, including harmful pollutants. It provides detailed insights into the chemistry of the atmosphere by observing emission spectra in the near to mid-infrared. This information enhances studies of the composition, dynamics, and radiation balance of the middle atmosphere (stratosphere and mesosphere) and the upper part of the troposphere.
The data collected by MIPAS is used to create global maps of atmospheric constituents in geophysical coordinates. These maps help enforce international environmental standards, identify regional sources and affected areas of pollution, and enable real-time air quality warnings.
In addition to atmospheric pollution, ESA also helps tackle marine pollution. Ocean colour and radar sensors are used to detect oil slicks and reveal the extent of marine pollution. ESA's Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR), for example, showed the full extent of the double-necked oil spill that resulted from the Prestige tanker disaster in November 2002.
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SCIAMACHY observes downwards to map areas of pollution and identify sources
SCIAMACHY, or the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography, is an imaging absorption spectrometer that observes scattered and reflected spectral radiance in nadir and limb geometry. It observes the atmosphere in two different views: downwards or 'nadir' looking, and making 'limb' observations in the direction of flight.
SCIAMACHY's nadir-sounding technique is used to produce nitrogen dioxide maps. While nitrogen dioxide varies widely across the troposphere, it is evenly spread across the upper atmosphere, the stratosphere. So, nitrogen dioxide levels measured above the remotest parts of the Pacific, for example, can be used to determine a general column for stratospheric nitrogen dioxide, which can then be subtracted from the global data to determine tropospheric vertical column values.
SCIAMACHY observes across a 1000 km swath and can pinpoint the sources of pollution from the surface, watch their movements through the air, and track where they end up being deposited. It can detect CO2 and SO2, and its high spatial resolution means that it can resolve individual city sources of pollution.
SCIAMACHY is just one of the atmospheric instruments on ESA's Envisat, the world's largest satellite for environmental monitoring. Together with other Envisat sensors, SCIAMACHY helps compile detailed pollutant maps to help enforce international environmental standards, identify regional ‘exporters’ and ‘importers’ of pollution across the world, and enable real-time air quality warnings when plumes advance.
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GOMOS observes the stratosphere for ozone-destroying chemicals and nitrogen oxide emissions
The stratosphere, located between 10km and 50km in altitude, contains most of the atmospheric ozone. The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs a portion of the sun's radiation, specifically the harmful UVB rays, and prevents them from reaching the Earth's surface. However, ozone depletion has been a growing concern due to the increase in man-made halogen compounds, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-depleting substances (ODS). These compounds are transported into the stratosphere, where they release chlorine and bromine atoms through photodissociation, which then catalyze the breakdown of ozone molecules.
The ESA's GOMOS (GOMOS) plays a crucial role in observing the stratosphere for these ozone-destroying chemicals and nitrogen oxide emissions. GOMOS is an atmospheric spectrometer that is pointed high into the stratosphere to detect the presence of human-made chemicals that destroy ozone. This includes nitrogen oxide emissions from aircraft engines, which tend to be concentrated along air traffic corridors.
By using instruments like GOMOS, the ESA contributes significantly to pollution tracking and understanding the impact of human activities on the environment. GOMOS provides valuable data on the presence and distribution of these harmful substances in the stratosphere, allowing scientists to study their effects on ozone depletion. This information aids in the enforcement of international environmental standards, identification of pollution sources, and the implementation of measures to mitigate pollution and its consequences.
In addition to GOMOS, the ESA employs other tools such as Envisat's MIPAS and SCIAMACHY sensors. MIPAS examines the infrared part of the spectrum to detect over 20 trace gases, including harmful pollutants. SCIAMACHY, on the other hand, detects trace gases and aerosols by looking forward or straight down, mapping areas of pollution and pinpointing their sources. These sensors work together to compile detailed pollutant maps, enabling real-time air quality warnings and supporting global efforts to reduce pollution and protect the ozone layer.
Through the use of advanced technologies like GOMOS, the ESA actively contributes to addressing pollution issues, particularly those related to the stratosphere and the critical ozone layer that shields us from harmful UV radiation. By monitoring and understanding the complex interactions between human activities and our planet's delicate atmospheric balance, the ESA helps inform policies and strategies aimed at mitigating pollution and promoting a healthier environment for all.
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ESA's satellite observations help monitor trans-boundary air pollution movement
The European Space Agency (ESA) uses space-based atmospheric instruments to detect waste chemicals emitted by industry, power plants, and traffic emissions. These instruments can also identify oil and chemical leaks in the sea. ESA's Envisat sensors compile detailed pollutant maps to help enforce international environmental standards, identify regional 'exporters' and 'importers' of pollution, and enable real-time air quality warnings.
ESA's MIPAS instrument looks sideways or rearwards into the atmosphere, gathering vertical profiles of pollutants between about 5 and 150 km. This information is important because many of these chemicals have the potential to react harmfully with other atmospheric gases, depending on their altitude. SCIAMACHY, on the other hand, works on a wider range of wavelengths, peering forwards to detect trace gases and aerosols through the vertical or straight down to map areas of pollution. It can pinpoint the sources of pollution on the surface, watch their movements, and track where they end up.
The usefulness of satellite measurements to monitor trans-boundary air pollution movement has been demonstrated. Satellites can track indicators of global air pollution and climate change, supporting international efforts to mitigate these issues. They can also provide early warnings of accidental slicks and identify the sources of pollution, which can then be addressed through policy and enforcement.
ESA's PROMOTE consortium, consisting of 35 institutions, started its activities in April 2003. It offers benefits such as improved weather forecasts, better preventive measures in extreme weather events, and increased public awareness of health risks from UV and air pollution exposure.
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Frequently asked questions
ESA uses space-based atmospheric instruments to detect waste chemicals emitted by industry, power plants, and traffic emissions. Ocean colour and radar sensors are also used to reveal the extent of marine pollution.
Some of the projects supported by ESA are SEVESO, PROMOTE, YourAir, POLPO, GlobAerosol, and DRAGON. These projects aim to address issues related to air pollution, stratospheric ozone, UV exposure, and climate change.
Envisat's atmospheric instruments can trace the emission of waste chemicals from various sources and their subsequent movements through the atmosphere. Envisat sensors also compile detailed pollutant maps to help enforce international environmental standards and enable real-time air quality warnings.
ESA's Earth observation radar instruments are effective at identifying oil slicks across wide areas. This technology helps deter polluters and provides early warnings of accidental slicks, supporting efforts to eliminate oil pollution in European waters.
MIPAS gathers vertical profiles of pollutants in the atmosphere by looking sideways or rearwards. This information is crucial for understanding the potential harmful reactions between chemicals and other atmospheric gases at different altitudes.
