Master Thesis Defense: “Assessing Air Pollution in Urban Environments: A Comprehensive Analysis Using Earth Observation and In Situ Measurements” on Friday, March 08 at 13:00

Master Thesis Defense: “Assessing Air Pollution in Urban Environments: A Comprehensive Analysis Using Earth Observation and In Situ Measurements” on Friday, March 08 at 13:00

March 4, 2024

On Friday, March 08,  at 13:00, Andreas Bury will present his master thesis on “Assessing Air Pollution in Urban Environments: A Comprehensive Analysis Using Earth Observation and In Situ Measurements” in seminar room 3, John-Skilton-Str. 4a.

 

From the abstract:

This master’s thesis investigates the feasibility of using Earth Observation and low-cost environmental sensors in urban areas to complement existing government monitoring systems to provide a sharper picture of air quality, which is a growing concern for the health and well-being of urban dwellers. The work uses NO2 tropospheric column data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, regulatory PM10 readings and self-constructed low-cost sensor systems measuring PM10, ambient temperature and relative humidity. The environmental monitors were developed with computer-aided design, 3D printed, and their performance evaluated. A network of static sensors and a mobile system were deployed to better cover the urban space in Wuerzburg, Germany, and detect spatio-temporal patterns. Each of the three layers has its own limitations with satellites facing temporal and spatial resolution issues and cloud cover interference, regulatory data providing site-specific measurements but only publishing hourly averages, and low-cost sensors being sensitive to elevated relative humidity and cold ambient temperatures. However, the work also shows that with appropriate data and procedures, calibration of low-cost sensors is possible and that all three levels can be intertwined to make a valuable contribution to research and understanding of urban space and its pollution levels.

 

1st Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hannes Taubenböck

2nd Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Tobias Ullmann

 

you may also like:

John Friesen gives a talk at DLR

John Friesen gives a talk at DLR

On the 17th of July, Dr. John Friesen gave a inspiring talk at the seminar of the department "Georisks and Civil Security (GZS)" at the Earth Observation Center (EOC) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The talk was titled "Urbanization and infrastructure in the...

Presentation at the largest volcano conference

Presentation at the largest volcano conference

On July 3, 2025, our habilitation candidate and guest lecturer from DLR Dr. Simon Plank presented a study on the evolution of newly born volcanic islands at the largest international conference of the volcano science community, the Scientific Assembly of the...