Estimating fine particulates less than 2.5 microns in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) in Northeastern China: A model approach

Fine particulates less than 2.5 microns in aerodynamic diameter (PM_2.5) has been widely considered to be one of the main pollutant threating human health. Ground-level PM_2.5 monitoring can provide accurate point data, but its value is hard to scale up to large scale. In this respects, satellite data with large coverage areas and long term range, could enhance our ability to estimate PM_2.5 concentration. In this study, a Multilinear correlation model (MLC) based on MODIS AOD level 2 data was developed to estimate PM_2.5 concentration in Northeastern China from 2013-2016, then ground-level PM_2.5monitoring data from 15 stations covering study area were used for validation. Results showed that 1) the annual PM_2.5 is 63.98μg/m2, AOD values agreed well with estimated PM_2.5 concentration, 2) the spatial variations of PM_2.5 were not clear, while the temporal dynamic of PM_2.5 were observed, the highest values were observed in winter, opposite to what were observed in fall. 3) the MLC model coupled with meteorological data could improve the precision of PM_2.5 estimations. Therefore, we suggest that the developed MLC model is useful for the PM_2.5 estimations in northeastern China.