CAREER: Timely Estimation of Nitrogen Oxides Emissions for Improved Monitoring and Simulation of Atmospheric Chemical Processes

This CAREER project has the goal of quantifying the emission sources of nitrogen oxides using new-generation satellite observations and applying an observation-based framework to other atmospheric species that are crucial for air quality and climate change. The framework developed through this project will harness a large volume of observational data from new-generation satellites and transform the data into advanced atmospheric chemistry knowledge that will help to monitor, simulate, and regulate air pollution and greenhouse gases. This project is focused on achieving a more efficient method for estimating pollutant emissions from satellite observations using the directional derivative approach (DDA). This research has following objectives: (1) Assess the accuracy and improve the theoretical understanding of the observation-based framework using well-defined atmospheric model simulations, (2) Validate and calibrate satellite-based nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by ground-truth observations, and (3) Streamline satellite-based NOx emissions for community applications and extend the emission estimation to species beyond NOx. An additional objective is to promote engagement in science and enhance awareness of air pollution and climate change through integrated education, outreach, and research. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.