1 GEO Task US-09-01a Health SBA SBA: Health – Air Quality Analyst: Rudolf Husar, Washington University/Lantern Co-Analyst: Stefan Falke, Wash. U./Northrop Grumman. Current Status of Report: Awaiting feedback from Task Lead & some AQ members Date Final Report will be completed (if not already): April/May 2010?

Sub-Areas Analyzed Scope Focus: Air Quality 2 AQ Observation Sub-Areas Pollutant Parameters Observation Coverage Observation Strategy/Utility Science-based AQ System Subareas Emissions, Primary/Secondary Ambient Concentrations

Prioritization Methodology Prioritization uses three independent (orthogonal) measures of EOs: Pollutants: What is the health effect potency of the pollutant; Coverage: Spatial-temporal coverage of the EOs; Utility: Applicability of the EO for multiple aspects of AQH EOs are ranked by each measure individually. The overall priority is the subjectively weighed sum of the 3-dimensional rankings. 3

Prioritization Methodology Pollutants: WHO Guidelines Identifies pollutants and their max values Measure: Gap between health needs and obs. frequency 4 Utility: EO application in multiple segments of the AQ system Measure: Number of applications to AQH Note: Bibliometric data used only as a backup/consistency check in the prioritization Coverage: AQ monitoring by country/continent Measure: Gap in monitoring/pers. between developed and developing countries General Approach: Gap Analysis

Priority Observations for AQ-Health Obs. CategoryParameterSpatial Priority Aggregated Observation Characteristics Spatial Resolution Temporal ResolutionAccuracyLatency Tier 1 Ambient PM 2.5 Africa, Asia 1 km city 10km rural1-hr10-20%1-3 hours Ambient SO 2 Africa, Asia 1 km city 10km rural1-hr10-20%1-3 hours Ambient NO 2 Africa, Asia 1 km city 10km rural1-hr10-20%1-3 hours Ambient O3O3 Africa, Asia 1 km city 10km rural1-hr10-20%1-3 hours Ambient PM 10 Africa, Asia 1 km city 10km rural1-hr10-20%1-3 hours Tier 2 Ambient, Emissions, SRRColumn PM 2.5 Global1-10 km1-hr20%1-3 hours Ambient, Emissions, SRRColumn SO 2 Global1-10 km1-hr20%1-3 hours Ambient, Emissions, SRRColumn NO 2 Global1-10 km1-hr20%1-3 hours Ambient, Emissions, SRRColumn O 3 Global1-10 km1-hr20%1-3 hours AmbientPM 10 Global1-10 km1-hr10-20%1-3 hours Tier 3 ExposurePopulationGlobal1 km city 1 year20% AmbientWeatherGlobal1-10 km1-hr20%1-3 hours Ambient, Emissions, SRRPM 2.5 Comp.Global1-10 km1-hr; 1-day10-20%1-3 weeks Emission, SRR VOCsGlobal1-10 km1-hr10-20%1-3 weeks 5

Analyst Feedback on Methodology Pro: Systems and Gap analysis is based on science and data Con: Science and data may not be available Applicability: Applicable to well-defined SBA apps, e.g. agriculture, some disasters? Recommended for future? Yes, the science/gap approach for user requirements is applicable to the next phases of US

Interpretation of Results The list of the main air pollutants is established through national and international standards and guidelines:PM 2.5, The per capita AQ monitoring in the developing regions is times lower than in the developed North America and Western Europe. PM 2.5, the best available indicator of health-related effects, is virtually unmonitored in the developing world, and even the existing monitoring data are not accessible. Hence, there is a need to extend AQ monitoring (esp. PM 2.5 ) in the densely populated developing regions and to improve data access for science, AQ management, and the general public. 7

Limitations/ Caveats Biases: The Analyst is professionally promoting data dissemination; improved data accessibility recommendation is self-serving Ditto for focus on PM 2.5 Limitations: Monitoring coverage gap analysis is clearly incomplete Feedback from Advisory Group marginal Linkages: Health SBA sub-areas: Infectious Diseases and Aeroallergens On the causal side, AQ is linked to the Energy use, Disasters (fires, dust storms, volcanoes), Weather and the Climate SBAs. AQ is influencing Ecosystems and Agricultural plant growth 8