What is MappAir?
- A suite of air quality modelling products developed in-house by EarthSense.
- Including a high-resolution, near real-time UK air quality model as well as land use regression (LUR) annual averages.
- Uses a wealth of data sources to produce source-apportioned estimates of concentrations that complement data from sensor networks.
- Available in both hourly near real-time nowcast and 48-hour forecasting for NO₂ and PM₂.₅.
- High-performance and high-accuracy, producing 108 million data points each hour for the UK alone - every last one of which is viewable by customers on MyAir.
How does MappAir work?
Every hour, our MappAir systems grab a huge amount of input data, process it through proprietary emissions and dispersion algorithms, and produce a beautiful colour-scaled image of emissions in the area of interest. We do this using state-of-the-art computer science approaches, months of careful honing and validation, and utilising years of air quality experience within the team.
Our methods are far too secret to put down here. But these are the basic elements…
Input data → calculate emissions → calculate pollutant dispersion → colour-scaled MappAir image on MyAir
What data does MappAir use as inputs?
Well, quite a lot. To accurately estimate and forecast pollution across the UK every hour, you need a swathe of data. Here are just some examples of what goes in…
- Live and forecast meteorological data
- Live and forecast regional and global-scale air quality data
- Traffic counts and activity profiles
- Traffic emission factors and fleet profiles
- Road, rail, port, airport, shipping, and dwellings geographical, temporal and emission data
- Residential wood combustion burn profiles
How do I access MappAir?
- In three versions: bespoke 10m city models, a flagship 100m UK model, and a 40km global model.
- Available as an overlay on MyAir, or via the MappAir API.
- Alternatively, add up to 25 Virtual Zephyrs to your map to view MappAir data in the form of a sensor.
How is MappAir validated?
MappAir UK is continuously evaluated by comparing modelled concentrations to measurements by the UK Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN). Periodically, the model is calibrated using archival modelled data and comparing to final release AURN data filtered to only included the highest-level quality data.