title: Satellite remote sensing of industrial air pollution in the Cracow special protected area.
abstract: Cracow has been declared a special protected area in the ecological sense. To determine the industrial aerosol content in the air above the Cracow agglomeration, we interpreted satellite images, obtained mainly from the LANDSAT satellite. The ranges, trajectories, and height of smoke plumes visible on the satellite images were investigated in relation to meterological conditions and orography. Satellite images provided convincing evidence of the profound influence of orography on the propagation of industrial pollutants. River valleys create natural air corridors for smoke propagation and are visible especially in the so-called winter satellite images. The results of our direct measurements and interpretation of satellite images indicate that the Katowice and Cracow regions are the most polluted in Europe and that the atmosphere above them contains increasing amounts of aerosol particles. We also found that Cracow is always downwind from emitters. Depending on specific wind direction, emissions from nearby emitters cover either all or part of the urban area. Emissions from farther away may reach Cracow, depending on meterological conditions and orography. Satellite imagery is a very useful tool in monitoring smoke propagation in urban industrial regions.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Forming and Protection, University of Mining and Metallurgy, Cracow, Poland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chwastek
authors.forename: T Z
authors.initials: TZ
authors.lastname: Dworak
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000032:analysis*; D004391:Dust; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007221:Industry; D011044:Poland
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D004391:Dust