Air Quality Over Baghdad City Using Earth Observation and Landsat Thermal Data

Air pollution problem is a major concern in many large cities and becomesincreasingly critical in this present-day in developed or developing countries aroundthe world. Mapping of urban air pollution dispersion is very complex as it dependsupon various factors including weather conditions, urban structural features and theirtopologies. Air pollution dispersion distribution can be mapped by using mathematicalmodels and interpolation methods based on ground local measurements ofmeteorological parameters. Recently, Satellite images data present a wide applicabilityfor air pollution studies.The rapid growth of Baghdad city in last years has resulted in significant increase inenvironmental pollution. Hence, effective and coordinated measures for controllingpollution need to be put in place without delay for the city.This paper investigates the relationship between Land Surface Temperaturefrom Landsat TM6 (thermal infrared) satellite data and ground base air qualityparameters measurements of major primary pollutants over Baghdad city - Iraq. In-situmeasurements of corresponding air pollution parameters were carried out at sixdifferent locations in the city during November, 2008. Those parameters were TotalSuspended particles matter in the air (TSP), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide(CO2), Sulfur (sulphur) Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2).A linear regression analysis was performed to establish the relationshipbetween apparent Land Surface Temperature (LST) from satellite and in-situmonitoring of various air pollutants data.The results showed significant linear relationships between grounds basedmeasurements of air pollution parameters with temperatures from Landsat satellitedata. Also, this study indicated that satellite imagery was capable for mapping of thepollution parameters concentrations