Estimating ground-level PM2.

5 concentration using Landsat 8 in

Chengdu, China
Yunping Chen1, Weihong Han1, Shuzhong Chen2, Ling Tong1
1. University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
2. Sichuan Shuangliu County Environmental monitoring station

ABSTRACT: An empirical multilinear model was developed for estimating ground-level PM2.5
concentration at city scale (Chengdu, China) using Landsat 8 data. In this model, the improved DDV (dense
dark vegetation) algorithm (V5.2) was used to retrieve aerosol optical thickness (AOT), Image-based Method
(IBM) was used to compute the land surface temperature (LST), and TVDI was calculated to reflect the air
humidity. The three parameters (AOT, LST, TVDI) and in-situ measured PM2.5 (particulate matter) data
were then utilized to establish the empirical model by partial least square (PLS) regression. In the
computation, the band 9, cirrus band, was used to reduce the influence of atmospheric vapor to LST retrieval.
The results show that when considering moisture and temperature, the correlation between AOT (Aerosol
Optical Thickness) and PM2.5 would be efficiently improved; furthermore, moisture shows more impact on
the relationship than temperature. Station record hourly average PM2.5 also shows higher correlation
coefficients than 24-hr average. As a result, PM2.5 concentration distribution across Chengdu was retrieved
using this model developed in this paper. The method could be a beneficial complement to ground-based
measurement and implicate that remote sensing data has enormous potential to monitor air quality at city
scale.
KEYWORDS: Remote Sensing, Aerosol, PM2.5, Landsat 8, Urban, PLS (Partial Least Square)

1. INTRODUCTION
PM2.5 refers to the particles which is less than or equal to 2.5 micron, also known as inhalable particles. Although
PM2.5 is rarely in the atmospheric, it has an important influence on air quality, visibility, etc. In addition, the size of PM2.5
is very small, so, it can be easily inhaled directly into the bronchi, interface with the gas exchange of the lung, causing
some disease such as asthma, bronchitis and cardiovascular disease, etc. Epidemiologic studies indicates that there are
strong links between PM10 or PM2.5 and public morbidity, mortality of respiratory and cardiovascular disease [1, 2]. Natural
(dust and volcanic ash) and anthropogenic aerosols (biomass burning, smoke, industrial pollution) has gained attention
increasingly, because they can change the property of cloud, and affect the atmospheric circulation of the earth-atmosphere
system by increasing the reflection of solar radiation to space through a variety of complex radiation and microphysical
process [3, 4]. The PMs (PM2.5 and PM10) concentration has become an important index of air pollution and gained more
and more attention from the administrations and organizations of environmental protection and public health all over the
world. Along with the rapid development of economy, PMs has become the primary air pollutants in most major cities of
China, which not only decrease the atmospheric visibility and city scenery, but also threatens people’s health[5].
Air quality monitoring devices are deployed in Chengdu city since 2012, monitoring the air quality (include, the

Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere, Clouds, and Precipitation V, edited by Eastwood Im, Song Yang, Peng Zhang,
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 concentration of sulfurous acid anhydride, carbon dioxide, carbon oxide, ozone, PM2.5 and PM10, and air quality index
(AQI), etc.). Ground-based measurement is an efficient method for monitoring the air quality. However, PM2.5 monitoring
stations are sparse and PMs concentrations are highly variable in space, it is inadequate to provide valuable information
for air quality distribution on a city scale.
With the development of satellite technology, remote sensing provides a new way to monitor the air quality of a large
area. Compared with the ground-based measurements, remote sensing image, due to its large spatial coverage and reliable
repeat overpass, provides an effective way to monitor air quality on large spatial scales periodically. One important and
common aerosol parameter retrieved from satellite remote sensing image is AOT, which is mainly determined by the
vertical distribution of aerosols[6]. AOT, as an aerosol optical property, can be retrieved from satellite remote sensing image
obtained by Space-borne sensor, such as Moderate Resolution maging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)[7, 8], Polarisation and
Directionality of Earth’s Reflectance (POLDER)[9], Mulit angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MISR)[10], HJ-1[11], Landsat
TM [12]. In general, a higher AOT value indicates that the area has higher aerosol concentration and lower visibility. So,
some studies had used AOT to represent the aerosol and the relationship with air quality [13].
MOD04, MODIS standard aerosol product, is the columnar aerosol optical thickness at 0.55µm with 10km resolution.
It is widely used by researchers because it is available for free and higher repeat overpass, though the spatial resolution is
low. However, with the resolution 30m, Landsat data is enough to acquire high accuracy AOT in a large scale area, such
as a city.
Some research have been done on the relationship between AOT and ground-level PMs. Liu et.al. studied the
correlations between MODIS AOT and ground-based PMs, and found the correlations were better on the eastern and
Midwest portion of the United Sates (east of 100°W), and poorer on the western US[10]; Kacenelenbogen et.al.
analyzed the relationship between daily PM2.5 and column AOT derived from the POLDER in France, and found the good
correlation (R2=0.55) and good correlation (R2=0.72) between the AOT derived POLDER and integrated volume
distribution derided from ground-based Sun Photometer observation[9]; Li et.al. modified the MODIS algorithm to retrieve
AOT at 1km resolution over Hong Kong, and the correlation coefficient of PM10 is higher than the standard 10km MODIS
AOD products [14]; Koelemeijer et.al. found the seasonal variation of MODIS AOT and PM is distinctly different, and the
seasonal variation in PM differs across Europe, and at many locations the seasonal variation is less marked than that of the
AOT; the correlation between PM and AOT was also improved when the AOT was divided by the boundary layer height
[15]
; Kumar et.al. also examined the relationship between MDOIS AOT with 5km resolution and PM2.5 monitored on the
ground in Delhi Metropolitan; the analysis shown a significant positive association between AOT and PM2.5 [16]. Some
researches et.al also analyzed the relationship between MODIS AOT and PM2.5 (hourly and monthly mean) in Jefferson
country, Alabama[17], mapping PM10 surface concentrations derived from MODIS AOT over South-Eastern France with
a simple linear model[18].
However, the relationship is not a simple linear (between AOT and PMs), which is complex. Other factors such as
meteorological factors or the physical characters of the particulate matter must be taken into account. Studies indicated
[19-21]
that the vertical distribution of aerosols and relative humidity have significant impacts on the relationship . Some
researchers improved the capability of the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and MISR
(Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer) AOT in estimating the ground-level PM2.5 by simulating the factors affecting
the relationship using the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model, and estimated the ground-level PM2.5

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 concentration across North America[22], or over the global[23]; the results show that the use of vertical information, namely
the altitude of the mixed lay or aerosol extinction profiles, could improve the accuracy of particulate matter derived from
AOT. These studies indicated that the mixing height also has an impact on the relationship, and the best correlation is seen
when the mixing height is between 100 and 200m[24]. The relative humidity also has an impact on the relationship by
increasing the size of particulate and changing the refractive index[25]. The change of aerosol scattering or extinction as a
function of relative humidity can be parameterized[26-28], but in most cases the relative humidity vertical profile and the
aerosol hygroscopic properties remain unknown or hard to get the relevant data. TableⅠshows the summary of the models
between the AOT and PM2.5 in previous studies.
The objective of this study is to develop an effective method to predict PM2.5 ground-level concentration at city scale.
To achieve this goal, AOT was firstly retrieved using improved DDV algorithm using Landsat 8 data, After analyzing
the effective of models established through different parameter combinations, multilinear model was established and
PM2.5 concentration distribution across Chengdu was retrieved using the model.

Table 1. Summary of the models between AOT and PM 2.5 established in previous studies

Author(year) Research area Model description Parameter type Correlation coefficie

Wang et al.(2003) Alabama Linear model Single 0.49

Engle-Cox et al.(2004) USA Linear model Single 0.40

Li et al.(2005b) Hong Kong Linear model Single 0.50

Li et al.(2005a) Beijing Linear model Single 0.29

Koelemeijer et al.(2006) Europe Linear model Single 0.59

Liu et al.(2005) Eastern USA Non-linear model Multiple 0.48

Pelletier et al.(2007) France Non-linear model Multiple 0.76

Vidot et al.(2007) Western Europe Non-linear model Multiple 0.61

Pere et al.(2008) South-Eastern France Linear model Single 0.79

2. STUDY AREA AND DATA

2.1 Study area
The study area is the main urban area of Chengdu, which is a central city of the west of China, enjoying the reputation
of "the heart of the west". However, with the rapidly development of the city, some environmental issues has begun to
emerge. With the addition of the significant feature of the climate (cloudy and mist, sunshine is short, high air humidity)
and the special geographic position (located in the center of Sichuan basin), air pollutants in the city cannot diffuse rapidly,
but be easy to accumulate in the city and suburban. In order to understand the air quality, several monitoring stations were
established to monitor air quality since 2012. In the research area, there are seven monitoring stations (Junping Street,
Dashi West Road, Liang’s Lane, Shahe shop, Jinquan River, Three Tile Kiln, and Miles Shop) (Fig.1).

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 2.2 Satellite data
Landsat 8, launched on Feb 11, 2013, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution
measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared.
Compared with Landsat 7 (ETM+), Landsat 8 has enhanced capacities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus
cloud-detection portion of the spectrum, two thermal bands, improved sensor signal-to-noise performance and associated
improvements in radiometric resolution, and an improved duty cycle that allows collection of a significantly greater
number of images per day[28].

) %Oa gift'

Ibkat3t5 _Xi41,i.9 \í)gab act7

N914li w :y.ui[4.YS
V

Fig1. The distribution of the monitoring station of Chengdu city (by Google Earth)
Two Landsat 8 images were used in this study; one taken on 03:33:26(UTC), Aug. 13th, 2014, was utilized to construct
the model; another one taken on 03:35:10, Apr. 20th, 2013, was utilized to validate the result. The track numbers of these
two images are 129/39 (path/row). Since the original products are delivered in 16-bit unsigned integer format (DN), Top
Of Atmosphere (TOA) reflectance conversion was carried out to every band before following procession.
2.3 Ground-based PM2.5 data
The in-situ measured PM2.5 data in our study were collected from Chengdu Environment Monitoring Center
(http://www.cdemc.org/pm25.aspx), which reports the air quality condition (include, the concentration of sulfurous acid anhydride,
carbon dioxide, carbon oxide, ozone, PM2.5 and PM10, and air quality index, etc) hourly measured at ground-level. We collected 24-
hr average PM2.5 concentration and the hourly average when the satellite overpass from the seven monitor sites (Table 2).

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 Table 2 PM2.5 and AQI data by ground-based measurements (2014/8/13)
PM2.5(µg/m3)
Sites AQI
Hour average 24-hr average
Junping Street 27 28 47.5
Dashi West Road 27 38 49
Liang’s Lane 23 33 46
Shahe Shop 28 38 42.5
Jinquan River 55 48 82
Three Tile Kiln 27 40 44.5
Ten Miles Shop 37 39 53

3. METHODOLOGY
3.1 AOT Retrieval
AOT is retrieved using the Look-up Table (LUT) that contains pre-computed simulations of aerosol type and AOT
value at 0.55µm, which is based on the Second Simulation of the Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S) atmosphere
transmission model[29].
In the 6S model, the apparent reflectance, at top of atmosphere (TOA), is a function of successive orders of radiation
interactions, within the coupled surface-atmosphere system. The 6S model assumes that the surface is Lambert surface,
and the atmospheric level is uniform. The atmospheric apparent reflectance (upward reflectance) observed at satellite view
can be described as:
T (θ s ) • T (θν ) • ρ s (θ s , θν , ϕ )
ρtoa (θ s ,θν , ϕ ) = ρ 0 (θ s , θν , ϕ ) + (1)
[1 − ρ s (θ s , θν , ϕ ) • S ]

Where, θs, θv and φ are the solar zenith, the satellite zenith, and the relative azimuth angles(between the sun and satellite);
ρtoa(θs,θv,φ) denote atmospheric apparent reflectance; ρ0(θs,θv,φ) is the reflectance which is equivalent to atmospheric path
radiation; ρs(θs,θv,φ) is the surface reflectance; T(θs) is the normalized downward flux for zero surface reflectance; T(θv)
represents upward total transmission into the satellite field of view; S is the atmospheric backscattering ratios.
DDV algorithm is the widely used algorithm for retrieving aerosol. The algorithm is based on the VIS/SWIR surface
reflectance assumption: over vegetated and dark soiled surfaces (dark pixel), the surface reflectance in some visible
wavelengths correlated with the surface reflectance in the SWIR[30]. Reflectance in 2.2µm band less than 0.15 are usually
considered as dark pixels. Reflectance in 2.2µm band larger than 0.15 are not considered as dark pixels, since the
relationship between the reflectance in the visible channels and the 2.2µm channel is chaotic[31].
Usually, DDV algorithm wasn’t considered to fit to urban area because of its high reflectance. But after analyzing the
imagery of Chengdu city, we found that the reflectance of band 7 (2.2µm) in most area of Chengdu is below 0.15 due to
green mosses and plenty of rooftop garden. In view of this, for most southern China cities with humid climate, the DDV
algorithm could be applied.

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 In this study, the improved DDV algorithm (V5.2) was used. The surface reflectance of 0.48µm and 0.66µm can be
calculated with following formulas[32]:

ρ sred = ρtoa
2.2
* slopered / 2.2 + y int red / 2.2
(2)

ρ sblue = ρ sred * slopeblue / red + y int blue / red (3)

slopered / 2.2 = slopered

NDVI SWIR
/ 2.2 + 0.002Θ − 0.27 (4)

y int red / 2.2 = 0.00025Θ + 0.033 (5)

slopeblue / red = 0.49 (6)
y int blue / red = 0.005 (7)

Θ = cos −1 (− cos θ s cos θv + sin θ s sin θv cos φ ) (8)

0.48 NDVISWIR <0.25

NDVISWIR 
slopered/2.2 =0.58 NDVISWIR >0.75 (9)
0.48+0.2*(NDVI −0.25) 0.25<NDVI <0.75
 SWIR SWIR

NDVI swir = ( ρtoa

1.64
− ρtoa
2.2
) / ( ρtoa
1.64
+ ρtoa
2.2
) (10)

Where, ρred blue

s , ρs are surface reflectance at 0.66µm channel and 0.48µm channel; Θ is the scattering angle; slope and
yint are the slope and the intercept, ρ1.64
toa and ρ2.2
toa are the Landsat observed reflectance of the 1.64µm channel and the 2.2µm

channel, respectively.
The LUT is computed at both red and blue channels using 6S code, and the aerosol model-dependent parameters of eq.
(1) are calculated for a set of AOT value (0.55µm), a variety of geometry conditions, and two aerosol model (continental
and urban). The AOT algorithm in this paper for red and blue channels uses two different LUT, LUTred and LUTblue.
Additionally, the interval (1nm) of Landsat 8’s RSR (relative spectral responses) was resampled to 2.5 nm to fit the spectral
integration step of 6S.
3.2 Land Surface Temperature
Landsat 8 data has thermal infrared band (band 10 and 11) which can be used to retrieve land surface temperature (LST).
Up to now, four main methods are used to retrieve LST: Radioactive Transfer Equation Method (RTEM), Image-based
Method (IBM), Mono-window Algorithm (MWA) and Single-channel Method (SCM). Due to lack of atmospheric
profile when the satellite overpasses, IBM was used to retrieve LST in this study.
Whether IBM, MWA, or SCM, they all need a parameter: land surface emissivity (ε). Different methods were developed
to compute ε [33-35]. In this study, three kinds of land surface features (water surface, town surface and natural surface) were
set: water surface only consists of water body; town surface consists of city and village, mainly include road, all kinds of
construction and buildings; natural surface mainly include all kinds of natural land surface, woodland and farmland, etc.
T maximum likelihood classification mothed was used to divide the whole research area into three kinds of land surface
features.

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 NDVI was calculated using following formula:
NDVI = (b4 − b3) / (b4 + b3) (12)
Where, b4 and b3 are the DN value of band4 and band3, respectively. To NDVI, the larger the value, the higher the
vegetation coverage is, while the smaller the value, the closer the bare soil. In order to improve the accuracy of NDVI,
band 9 (cirrus band) was employed to reduce the influence of atmospheric vapor on red and infrared band. According to
the research of Gao, thin cirrus path radiances in the 0.4-1.0µm spectral region can be corrected by the 1.37µm cirrus
detecting channel using the following formula:

ρ = ρ * − ρc / Ka (13)

Where, ρ is referred to as reflectance of the “cirrus-path-radiance-corrected” band; ρ* is the original reflectance of the
correcting band; ρc is the reflectance of cirrus band. Ka is the empirical parameter derived from landsat 8 data itself. It is
0.65 in this study.
The NDVI value between vegetation and bare soil indicates that the pixel consists of a certain percentage of vegetation
and a certain percentage of bare soil. So, we determined the vegetation coverage of every pixel in the image with the
following formula:

Pv = [( NDVI − NDVI s ) / ( NDVIv − NDVI s ) ] 2 (14)

Where, NDVIv is the NDVI value of vegetation, NDVIs is the NDVI value of bare soil, respectively.
If there are obvious area of dense vegetation in the image, we take the mean NDVI of the dense vegetation area as
NDVIv. Similarly, we take the mean NDVI of the bare soil area as NDVIv. However, if we can’t find the obvious area of
dense vegetation or bare soil, Pv can be calculated with the following assumption, where, NDVIs is 0.05, NDVIv is 0.70.
The vegetation coverage (Pv) of every pixel can be calculated with the following formula:
 0 NDVI < NDVIs

Pv =  [( N D V I − N D V I s ) / ( N D V I v − N D V I s )]2 ND VIs ≤ ND VI ≤ ND VIv (1 5 )
 1 N D VI > N D VIv


In this study, ε of water surface pixels is 0.995, ε of town and natural surface can be calculated with the following
formula:

ε surface = 0.9625 + 0.0614 * Pv − 0.0461* Pv2 (16)

ε town = 0.9589 + 0.086 * Pv − 0.0671* P v
2
(17)

Where, εsurface is the land surface emissivity of natural surface, and εtown is the land surface emissivity of town surface.
In this study, band10 on Landsat 8 to retrieve the brightness temperature of the land surface, and then calculated the
land surface temperature using ε[36].
The land surface brightness temperature can be calculated with the following formula:
Trad =1282.71/ ln[1+ 666.09/ (3.2 + 0.0370588*DN)] (18)
Where, Trad is the land surface brightness temperature, and DN is DN value of Landsat 8 band10.
Finally, land surface temperature (Tlst) was calculated as:
Trad
Tlst = (19)
1 + (λ * Trad / ρ ) * ln(ε )

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 measurements, empirical model developed in this paper can be provide for some valuable information in fitting the gaps
between the monitors. In addition, the method also can be an effective means for monitoring air quality and searching for
pollution sources, will provide for some valuable information for the design of air quality control strategies, air quality
forecasting and a beneficial supplement to the conventional ground-based measurement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This research was funded by the prior Research Program of the 12th Five-year Civil Aerospace Plan (D040201-04)

and the science and technology projects of State Grid Corporation (521997140007).

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[8] Engel-Cox, J.A., C.H. Holloman, B.W. Coutant, et al., Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of MODIS satellite
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[9] Kacenelenbogen, M., J.-F. Léon, I. Chiapello, et al., Characterization of aerosol pollution events in France using
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 [38]
geographical factors . Since these factors show such importance, they should be considered when building the
correlation relationship model.
PM2.5 concentration can be express with following parameters: land surface temperature, elevation data and AOT
based-on satellite, the equation as follows:

[PM 2.5] = eβ0 *( AOT )βAOT *(TVDI )βALT *(LST )βLST (26)

Where, the [PM2.5] data were collected from ground-based measurement, which are PM2.5 concentration one-hour
average and the 24-hour average when the satellite overpasses. The predictor variables are as follows: the AOT are
retrieved from Landsat 8 data, LST is land surface temperature (LST) retrieved from the thermal infrared band data (band10)
of the Landsat 8 data using Image-based Method (IBM). β0, βAOT, βTVDI and βLST are regression coefficients for AOT, LST,
TVDI and other factors, respectively. For the accuracy, (21) is taken a log-transformation as:
ln[ PM 2.5 ] = β0 + β AOT *ln( AOT + 1) + βTVDI *ln(TVDI + 1) + β LST *ln( LST ) (27)
The natural logarithm transformations can increase the accuracy of the regression coefficients by reducing the influence
of the data concentration of AOT, TVDI and LST. AOT+1 and TVDI+1 are to guarantee their result of ln non-negative.
Partial Least Square method was employed to calculate the regression coefficients.
Table 3 Regression coefficients of different pm2.5 prediction model

PM2.5(µg/m3)
AOT LSH LST (K) R2
hour average 24-hr average

* * 0.5820

* * * 0.6872

* * * 0.7011

* * * * 0.7593

* * * * 0.8279

* * * 0.7505

* * * 0.7222

* * 0.6700

The prediction model was established through Matlab and the procedures are mainly processed with the earth resource
data analysis system, ENVI 4.8. The statistical significance of parameter estimates was reported at α=0.05 level. In the
study, we had constructed the PM2.5 prediction model with different parameter combination (AOT, TVDI and LST) in
logarithm form. Table 3 shows the result of different parameter combinations. The result shown that AOT as the only
predictor of the prediction model has the less effective to explain the PM2.5 concentration than the multiple. Moreover,
compared with PM2.5 (24-hour average), PM2.5 (one-hour average) concentration has a higher correlation. Furthermore,
LST had some impact on the model performance, but the influence is less than other factors. With the purpose of improving
the effective and availability of PM2.5 prediction model, AOT, TVDI and LST are taken as the parameters for PM2.5
prediction model and PM2.5 (hourly average) as the ground-level PM2.5 concentration.

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 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 AOT Concentration
In this study, AOT is the main predictor in the PM2.5 prediction model. So, in order to improve the final accuracy, AOT
was retrieved at 0.55µm by two channels, blue and red channel, and the final AOT concentration are the mean of the AOT
of red and blue channel. Fig.1 shows the true color image of Chengdu based on Landsat 8 data (blue=band 2, green=band
3, red=band 4). In the northwest corner, there is covered by cloud. So, the results of AOT and PM2.5 may not accurate in
the northwest area. An object-based cloud and cloud shadow detection algorithm was used to remove the cloud in the
image[39]. Fig.2 shows the result of AOT concentration retrieved over Chengdu. Chengdu is in the center of Sichuan basin
with humid climate. The relative humidity is 82%, wind speeds is less than force three, air pollutants diffusion is very slow,
in addition, the data acquired time is rush hour of the day when the satellite overpass time, so AOT concentration is higher
in general. But the pollutants are not distributed in Chengdu downtown (nearby the Junping monitoring station), but the
suburban area. The spatial distribution of AOT concentration also shows the characteristics that urban is not so high but
suburban is relatively high.

104 ° 0' 0 "E 04° 5' 0"E 104° 1 0' 0"E

%TIP
104° 0' 0"E

a
:1
°
.. ,
104° 5'0 E

AOT
0-0.27
- 0.27 -0.45
- 0.45 - 0.67
-0.57-0.65
- 0.65 - 0.16
. . - 0.78 - 0.96
104° 10' 0 "E

1
-0.96-1.22
. - 1.22 - 1.61
-1.61-2.17
...'` . N' -2.17-9
104° 0'0"E 104° 5'0"E 104° 10'0 "E

Fig.2 Landsat 8 Chengdu true color image Fig 3 AOT distribution of Chengdu City
(blue=band 2, green=band 3, red=band 4,
Green star: PM2.5 monitoring stations)

4.2 Ground-level PM2.5 Concentration Retrieved

The multilinear prediction model with AOT, TVDI and LST as the predictors and PM2.5 (hourly average) concentration
as the ground-level PM2.5 concentration, the regression coefficient is R2=0.7451. The spatial distribution of PM2.5
concentration over Chengdu was retrieved using the model and the results are shown in Fig.3. Finally, To validate the
Landsat 8 retrieved PM2.5 concentration and evaluate the model performance, we compared the predicted PM2.5
concentration with PM2.5 ground-based measurement after reversing the log-transformation by taking the exponential of
the estimated ln[PM2.5]. As a result, the root-mean-square error(RMSE) is 3.3193µg/m3, the R-square is 0.7243. The
differences between the retrieved PM2.5 concentration and the ground-based measurement may be cause by some factors:

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 5. CONCLUSION
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(1).the retrieval of AOT tends to be more easily influence by ambient conditions, such as dense cloud, water, fog, and
terrain et.al, which may make deviations on the estimation of PMs; (2). the ground-based measurement just only reflect
the PM2.5 concentration at one point, which mainly depend on the local pollutant source and the meteorological features,

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while the satellite estimation represents the average situation within a pixel, and thus the information they obtained may
be very different; (3) both LST and TVDI used for correct the relationship between AOT and PM2.5 are also average at
one pixel, which can’t represent the every point region.

and monitoring station.

,
104° 10'0"E
i

,
1

1 z
ò

PM2.5 (µm/m3)
- 9.3- 17.7
- 17.7 -22.4
- 22.4- 25.04
- 25.0 -26.5
- 26.5 -29.2
- 29.2-33.9
- 33.9 -42.3
- 42.3 - 57.2
-57.2 -84.0
- 84.0 -131.8

Fig.4. PM2.5 distribution. Left: PM2.5 distribution over Chengdu city; Right: PM2.5 distribution over Chengdu with the reference of road net

This paper proposes a multilinear model of PM2.5 concentration prediction using Landsat 8 data, the results show that
the model has a higher correlation coefficient (R2=0.7451). When considering TVDI and temperature, the correlation
between AOT and PM2.5 would be significantly improved; furthermore, TVDI shows larger impact on the relationship
than temperature, and using PM2.5 hourly average had higher correlation coefficients than using PM2.5 24-hr average.
Due to lack of air monitor sites, the model performance cannot evaluate effectively, but only compared retrieved PM2.5
concentration with PM2.5 ground-based measurement. Although log-transformation modifies the non-normality of PM2.5
data and gives more accurate standard errors of the regression coefficients, it constrains the relationship between PM2.5
concentration and each of these predictors to an exponential form. So, the model still needs to further modify for applying
in the future. There are some epidemiologic studies of particle which usually under limitation of ground-based

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 measurements, empirical model developed in this paper can be provide for some valuable information in fitting the gaps
between the monitors. In addition, the method also can be an effective means for monitoring air quality and searching for
pollution sources, will provide for some valuable information for the design of air quality control strategies, air quality
forecasting and a beneficial supplement to the conventional ground-based measurement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This research was funded by the prior Research Program of the 12th Five-year Civil Aerospace Plan (D040201-04)

and the science and technology projects of State Grid Corporation (521997140007).

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