20. Merging Satellite Measurement with Ground-Based Air Quality Monitoring Data to Assess Health Effects of Fine Particulate Matter Pollution

Geospatial technologies have been widely used in environmental health research, including air pollution and human health. This chapter demonstrates the potential of integrating satellite air quality measurement with ground-based PM_2.5 data to explore health effects of fine particulate air pollution. This study assesses the association of estimated PM_2.5 concentration with chronic coronary heart disease (CCHD) mortality. Years 2003 and 2004 daily MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) Level 2 AOD images were collated with US EPA PM_2.5 data covering the conterminous USA. Pearson’s correlation analysis and geographically weighted regression (GWR) found that the relationship between PM_2.5 and AOD is not spatially consistent across the conterminous states. GWR predicts well in the east and poorly in the west. The GWR model was used to derive a PM_2.5 grid surface for the eastern US (RMSE = 1.67 μg/m³). A Bayesian hierarchical model found that areas with higher values of PM_2.5 show high rates of CCHD mortality: \(\beta _{{\textrm{PM}}_{2.5} } \)= 0.802, posterior 95% Bayesian credible interval (CI) = (0.386, 1.225). Aerosol remote sensing and GIS spatial analyses and modelling could help fill pervasive data gaps in ground-based air quality monitoring that impede efforts to study air pollution and protect public health.