July 1, 2009
Haze over the Atlantic, offshore from the Northern east coast, possible smoke over the Midwestern US
According to today’s TERRA RGB image, haze is hovering over the Atlantic offshore from North Carolina to Massachusetts (top, left). This leads to some significantly stronger TERRA AOD values (top, right) over the area.
According to the SSD fire team at NOAA and their HMS map, a band of thin to moderately dense smoke likely mixed with SO2 covers North and South Dakota, western Minnesota, western Iowa, Missouri, and southern Illinois as well as much of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and north Texas. Much of this smoke is likely to be caused by the numerous fires that were burning yesterday across Kansas and Oklahoma. However, this haze seems to be thin enough not to be visible on the TERRA RGB image as well as the AOD map.
The EPA PM2.5 levels (bottom, left) are, at the most “moderate” over the eastern US and California. On another hand, the ozone levels (bottom, right) are, at the most, “unhealthy for sensitive groups” in Louisiana and California.
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