Integration of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System for Urban Air Quality Assessment

As environment degradation has caught more and more public attentions, many studies have shown the severe health impacts that air pollution may cause to the general public. Various studies have made efforts using remote sensing technology to study environmental pollution. Concerns of Particle Matter concentration has become one popular subject to examine urban air quality. As the oil & gas industry has been rapidly growing in the Mexico gulf area, the air quality is as well dramatically influenced along the Texas coastal line. In this study, we use remote sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies to examine the urban area air quality in Houston-Galveston region, where air pollution has become a major environmental pollution concern. In order to obtain accurate results, we compare MODIS satellite derived data and ground monitoring air quality data using a simplified conventional model. In addition, this study use PCI Geomatica, a software that processes Landsat 8 satellite image to test the impacts of temperature changes on PM2.5 level, mainly focus on high population dense area. Satellite derived results and site monitoring results will be integrated and use GIS to analyze the spatial distribution of social and economic impacts on population, race, and income.