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Extraction of particulate matter surface from MODIS Data for linking stroke mortality with air pollution in Northwest Florida
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Extraction of particulate matter surface from MODIS Data for linking stroke mortality with air pollution in Northwest Florida

Zhiyong Hu
International journal of health geographics, Vol.8(1)
03/01/2009

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Abstract

Using Northwest Florida as the study area, this project intends to determine if there is association between stroke mortality and particulate matter concentration. Stroke death count data at the census tract level was obtained from Florida Vital Statistics in a 5-year (1998-2002) aggregate. Expected counts were calculated by adjusting ages using the National Vital Statistical System data for the US south as standard population. EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) ground-based PM2.5 measurements were obtained for the year 2000. However, the number of monitor stations is too limited to be useful for reliable interpolation for creating a PM₂.₅ surface. Previous studies have demonstrated that NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) has positive relationship with PM₂.₅ during the warm season (April - September). Therefore, Terra MODIS AOD data for April through September of 2000 were grouped and the data values for the monitor sites were regressed on the measured PM₂.₅ concentration values. The regression equation was used to calculate a PM₂.₅ surface. The average PM₂.₅ concentration for each census tract was calculated using a GIS zonal statistic function. A Bayesian hierarchical model allowing for a convolution prior for the random effects was fitted using the Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation method. A 5,000 update burn in followed by a further 20,000 updates yielded the parameter for PM₂.₅ with the mean equal to 1.675 and a 95% credible set of (1.469, 1.875), which shows the strong positive relationship between stroke mortality and PM₂.₅.

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