A Geographical Comparison of the Relationship Between Aerosol Optical Depth and Fine Particulate Matter in Indiana

Abstract

This study looked at the time period of June through mid-October, 2013, based on the results of earlier studies that the strongest correlation between the PM2.5 and AOD data sets occurs during the summer and fall. Terra satellite data was used in this study due to availability of images for the geographic area of the state of Indiana during the time period of the study. PM2.5 measurements from 12 IDEM continuous monitoring sites, which were collected at noon local time, were compared with MODIS AOD data. Despite the limitations of useful data and smaller data sets, this study shows encouraging results, and illustrates that there is a relationship between remotely sensed MODIS AOD data and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) data collected from ground sensors within the geographic region of the state of Indiana. It is believed that this topic should be studied further and expanded upon.