MappAir nationwide air pollution map updated
MappAir – the first ever high resolution nationwide map of air pollution – has been updated to include small atmospheric particles that can get into the lungs causing serious health problems.
Created by EarthSense - a joint venture between aerial mapping company Bluesky and the University - the air quality monitoring, measuring and modelling specialist, MappAir 2.0 now includes PM2.5 as well as nitrogen dioxide levels for the whole of the UK at 100 metre resolution.
EarthSense has used complex modelling techniques to create the highly accurate map combining data from satellites, its own network of Zephyr air quality monitoring sensors and other published datasets.
In addition to satellite and traffic data used in the original MappAir product, MappAir 2.0 uses the Government’s Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) air quality data as well as non-traffic sources such as the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). MappAir 2.0 also considers the effect of topology and includes factors which determine how pollution behaves for example slope.
The combination of data sources used make MappAir 2.0 a sophisticated service will be further enhanced to deliver nationwide near real-time, historical and forecasting abilities in subsequent releases.