The University of Maryland, Baltimore County's (UMBC) innovative "Smog Blog" air quality tracking web site helped launch a spin-off Central American air pollution blog based in Panama.
The U.S. Smog Blog, now in its sixth year, and new Panamanian SERVIR blog offer realtime analysis and an extensive archive of satellite imagery and air quality data for scientists. They enable scientist to communicate instantly about important pollution events. SERVIR was created in partnership with UMBC, NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
Smog Blog entries for each site are result of analysis by UBMC's science faculty and students and their respective counterparts at the University of Panama in Panama City and Battelle Memorial Institute. They examine incoming data from satellite sensors and combine it with information from ground-based monitoring statons. The bloggers then post the images and daily entries, creating a "one-stop shopping" for information on air pollution in North America and across the globe.
Source: UMBC
Writer: Walaika Haskins