A Novel Dataset and Benchmark for Surface No2 Prediction from Remote Sensing Data Including Covid Lockdown Measures

Linus Scheibenreif, Michael Mommert, Damian Borth

Abstract: NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> is an atmospheric trace gas that contributes to global warming as a precursor of greenhouse gases and has adverse effects on human health. Surface NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> concentrations are commonly measured through strictly localized networks of air quality stations on the ground. This work presents a novel dataset of surface NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> measurements aligned with atmospheric column densities from Sentinel-5P, as well as geographic and meteorological variables and lockdown information <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup> <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup> Available at https://github.com/HSG-AIML/NO2-dataset. The dataset provides access to data from a variety of sources through a common format and will foster data-driven research into the causes and effects of NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> pollution. We showcase the value of the new dataset on the task of surface NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> estimation with gradient boosting. The resulting models enable daily estimates and confident identification of EU NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> exposure limit breaches. Additionally, we investigate the influence of COVID-19 lockdowns on air quality in Europe and find a significant decrease in NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> levels.