CityScan - a revolution in air quality monitoring.

CityScan - a revolution in air quality monitoring. Poor air quality has a number of proven links with poor health and shortened life-expectancy. Each city council within the United Kingdom has an obligation to measure and report on air quality to national government. The UK government in turn is required to meet targets set out in European Union directives. Similar requirements exist throughout the world, in addition to requirements for emission monitoring in certain industrial and commercial environments as well as measurements needed for scientific research. CityScan uses scattered sunlight to measure the concentration and distribution of certain air pollutants over city centres and other areas of interest. Using just two ground stations, the distribution of gases such as nitrogen dioxide can be measured over areas up to 100 square kilometers. This provides information on major emission sources, and the subsequent distribution of these gases over surrounding areas. This is key information for local councils who are required to monitor emissions within urban environments and manage air quality for the benefit of residents and workers. The technology used to retrieve all this information is under development at the University of Leicester's space research centre. Techniques used in satellite instruments are being deployed on roof-tops to provide an unprecidented level of information on air quality for the benefit of city councils, scientists and local residents.