TEMPO Science and Applications

The first ever Geostationary Earth Orbit satellite air quality instrument over the Western Hemisphere,
Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO), has been scanning North America since August
2023 and providing the scientific community with hourly air quality observations. Algorithm science developed
for similar heritage instruments in Low Earth Orbit over the last two decades helped in the rapid development
and validation of key TEMPO products, such as nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, aerosol layer height, total
ozone, etc. Analyzing and demonstrating enhanced capabilities offered by TEMPO hourly observations rests
with the scientific community and the newly formed TEMPO science team. NOAA has been conducting scientific
work with TEMPO air quality products combined with NOAA operational GOES-19 Advanced Baseline Imager
air quality products to demonstrate their value for hazards monitoring and forecasting. This presentation will
showcase how NOAA is developing capabilities to verify emissions inventories in urban areas using TEMPO
nitrogen dioxide diurnal profiles, analyzing geography dependent pollutant exposure, and assessing how
pollution exposures at different times of day impact human health. NOAA’s goal is to use TEMPO data
operationally and help state and local agencies adapt to a new way of using satellite air quality data in their dayto-
day decision making processes.