Satellite-based Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Monitoring in Uruguay
report
To strengthen the capacity to monitor air quality at the national level using satellite data and
emission inventory, the Environmental Information Division of the Ministry of the Environment
of Uruguay asked TNO to provide an initial assessment of the availability, quality, and
feasibility of using satellite observations and chemistry transport models (CTMs) for air
pollution and greenhouse gas monitoring in Uruguay.
In this assessment, TNO has used a combination of satellite information (e.g. Sentinel-5P) and
its LOTOS-EUROS model to assess air pollution and greenhouse gas levels in Uruguay and
identify their contributing sources. The conclusion shows that satellite data and chemistry
transport models can help to address the following air quality challenges:
1. Forest fire emissions are underestimated in inventories that are normally used for air
quality prediction.
2. The emission inventory of Uruguay is not always complete in terms of emission sources.
3. The contribution of air pollutants from outside the country is unclear, e.g. from big cities
like Buenos Aires and sudden sources like volcanoes.
4. There is a lack of ground station coverage in some parts of the country.
emission inventory, the Environmental Information Division of the Ministry of the Environment
of Uruguay asked TNO to provide an initial assessment of the availability, quality, and
feasibility of using satellite observations and chemistry transport models (CTMs) for air
pollution and greenhouse gas monitoring in Uruguay.
In this assessment, TNO has used a combination of satellite information (e.g. Sentinel-5P) and
its LOTOS-EUROS model to assess air pollution and greenhouse gas levels in Uruguay and
identify their contributing sources. The conclusion shows that satellite data and chemistry
transport models can help to address the following air quality challenges:
1. Forest fire emissions are underestimated in inventories that are normally used for air
quality prediction.
2. The emission inventory of Uruguay is not always complete in terms of emission sources.
3. The contribution of air pollutants from outside the country is unclear, e.g. from big cities
like Buenos Aires and sudden sources like volcanoes.
4. There is a lack of ground station coverage in some parts of the country.
Topics
TNO Identifier
994022
Publisher
TNO
Collation
28 p.
Place of publication
Utrecht