Satellite air quality monitoring: an interactive and accessible tool for spatiotemporal analysis using Google Earth Engine

The increasing reliance on satellite-based air quality monitoring is hindered by challenges related to data integration, accessibility, and the technical demands of geospatial processing. This study presents the development of an interactive, publicly accessible tool built on the Google Earth Engine platform that facilitates spatial and temporal analysis of air pollution using satellite and reanalysis data without requiring any coding. The tool standardizes data from Sentinel-5P (Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument, TROPOMI), GEOS-CF, and MODIS at a spatial 1 km resolution, with integrated quality filtering and customizable temporal aggregation. Users can generate distribution raster images, histograms, and time series, with export options in GeoTIFF and CSV formats. The tool’s capabilities were demonstrated through case studies focusing on the detection of increasing carbon monoxide concentrations during large-scale wildfires in Latakia, Syria, and increased PM_2.5 levels following military operations near the Natanz nuclear site in Iran. These applications highlight the tool’s effectiveness in detecting both long-term and abrupt pollution events in data-poor regions. Compared to platforms such as NASA Giovanni or TROPOMI Viewer, the developed tool offers enhanced interactivity, data control, and multi-source integration within a single environment. By simplifying the barrier to access to environmental and health analyses, this tool provides an effective alternative for researchers, particularly in developing countries, and contributes to ongoing efforts to make geospatial air quality information accessible to all.