IDEA-EA Air Quality Forecast and Analysis System: Real-Time Aerosol Detection, Monitoring, and Trajectories in East Asia

A real-time aerosol forecast and analysis system for East Asia was developed based on the adoption of IDEA (Infusing satellite Data into Environmental Applications) system from NOAA/NESDIS (therefore IDEA-EA). Currently, the operational GFS and VIIRS retrievals are utilized for the meteorological and remote sensing inputs. The primary outcome is an aerosol forecasting, visualization, and data synthesis system used for real-time aerosol detection, monitoring, and trajectory analysis.

In order to evaluate IDEA-EA forecast system, as a demo case in East Asia, several ground-base real-time observations from air quality monitoring network and photochemical assessment monitoring stations in northern Taiwan are collected altogether for detecting the East Asia transboundary outflows. It shows that under the prevailing monsoonal flow season, as the IDEA-EA forward trajectory suggested a long-range transport of aerosol loading (with aerosol optical thickness > 0.3) from East Asia reaching surface, the ground measurements also presented relevant uprising criteria, i.e., ozone mixing ratios > 40 ppbv, PM_2.5> 35 μg/m³, and ethane/ethylene > 10 (stand for aged air mass). With the participant of multiple observations near surface, the IDEA-EA system can provide more solid information for serving the air quality forecast.