Applications
TEMPO will provide a suite of trace gas and aerosol data at revolutionary spatial and temporal resolution over Greater North America. The hourly and sub-hourly frequency of TEMPO observations throughout the daytime will significantly increase our capabilities to monitor and understand the evolution of air pollution in the troposphere.
The TEMPO Early Adopters Program actively engages a diversity of individuals and organizations to expand their knowledge and abilities in using TEMPO data for applied research. Through these engagement activities, the program aims to maximize and accelerate the value of TEMPO data for societal benefit, with special attention on health and air quality applications. Our TEMPO applications plan can be accessed here.
The high spatiotemporal air pollutant data from TEMPO are ideally suited for enhancing the following application areas:
Air Quality Modeling & Forecasting
The integration or assimilation of high-resolution TEMPO data into operational models will lead to more accurate air quality forecasts and alerts to the public. TEMPO data will also supplement field and airborne data to support more robust model validation for improving future model implementations.
Regulatory Science
TEMPO will provide column observations of several “criteria” air pollutants (i.e., sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone) and toxic air containments (i.e., formaldehyde), which are monitored and regulated by air quality agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These agencies will be able to use TEMPO data to support exceptional event demonstrations, assessments of pollutant trends, and the evaluation of air quality model output.
Air Pollution Emissions & Monitoring
TEMPO will measure the precursor gases of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and formaldehyde every daylight hour at high spatial resolution, which will improve our understanding of the diurnal variability of emission sources, enabling improved emission estimates. The transport of different pollutant concentrations from these sources will also be effectively monitored by the new suite of TEMPO data.
