Enhancing Environmental public health tracking with satellite-driven particle exposure modeling And epidemiology

Satellite aerosol remote sensing data may be used as a potential means to extend the coverage of the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Specifically, using remote sensing environmental data from multiple NASA Earth sciences missions together with meteorology and land use information may be used to provide more accurate and timely information on the temporal and spatial characteristics of PM2.5 concentrations through an advanced spatial modeling framework. This integrated framework is a model that can be used by CDC and its federal, state and local partners to support and evaluate public health policy and practice related to health impacts of air pollution, some of which are likely to be mediated by climate change. The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network is incorporated into the MEDS (Monitoring, Early Warning, Data, and Surveillance) pilot project of the US Global Change Research Program's Interagency Group on Climate Change and Human Health and this case study illustrates one example of the potential value of an inventory and expanded accessibility of such types of data across disciplines that will be brought to bear on developing adaptation strategies for climate change impacts on human health.