Atlanta metro (IMAGE)
Caption
April 2019 and 2020-2019 difference of inferred ground level nitrogen dioxide (NO2) mixing ratio near Atlanta. The green circle represents downtown Atlanta, the red diamonds represent coal-burning power plants with capacities > 2000 MW. The blue "X" represents Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. The black lines indicate major highways. Satellite-based estimates of air pollution allow us to observe the spatial distribution in a way that ground monitoring cannot. The figure shows 2019 NO2 concentrations and the 2020-2019 difference around Atlanta. The population-weighted NO2 concentration in Atlanta and the surrounding region dropped by 28% from April 2019 to 2020, but with significant spatial variability in the observed change. The greatest NO2 decreases are found near a large coal-powered electricity plant to the southeast of the city, with significant changes near another plant to the northwest (red diamonds). Decreases were also larger near the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (blue "X") and over suburban regions to the west and northeast of the city center, than in the downtown core (green circle).
Credit
Martin Lab/WashU
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