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IDEA
IDEA Image
Bright red and yellow areas show
elevated concentrations of carbon
monoxide produced by the CMAQ
model over major cities on the U.S.
East Coast. IDEA seeks to improve the
capabilities of the CMAQ model using
NASA satellite data and computer
models.

Credit: Chieko Kittaka/Univ. of Wisconsin/IDEA Team

      The Air Quality Management Applications Program leverages Langley's work in tropospheric chemistry and its relationship with the Environmental Protection Agency. IDEA or Infusing satellite Data into Environmental Applications is Langley's applications project. It seeks to improve the assessment, prediction, and real-time decision-making tools of the air quality management community for the protection of public health and the environment. Officials currently make decisions on air quality from local measurements, such as those provided at ground-based measurement networks. NASA's computer models and satellite data provide a more comprehensive albeit less detailed diagnostic of the nation's air quality than local measurements.

      One computer model IDEA will use is the Regional Air Quality Modeling System (RAQMS). RAQMS is a multi-scale modeling and data assimilation system developed by NASA for predicting air quality. Scientists will use RAQMS both to validate and enhance the capabilities of the EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Ozone Monitoring Instruments on NASA's Aura satellite will provide advance pollutant measurements for the entire globe when it becomes operational in 2004. IDEA scientists will use their participation on the OMI science team to develop specific data products and processes for infusion into the decision-making tools of the air quality management agencies.

      The EPA reports that over 100 million individuals in 114 different areas are exposed to levels of air pollution that exceed one or more health-based ambient standards. The primary effect of this pollution on human health and secondary effects on crops, structures, visibility, transportation, and the medical care system touch the lives of nearly every American. Accurate three-day air quality forecasts will reduce major illnesses and deaths. The ability to identify the source and destination of long-range dust and pollutants also offers the opportunity to reroute air traffic, reducing wear on airplanes and engines.