CESSRST Cohort 3 Master’s Fellow Jemma Przybocki contributed to research examining the value of ingesting near-real-time NOAA satellite fire detections and emissions data into National Weather Service (NWS) air quality forecasting models.

Przybocki’s work was recently highlighted by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) in an article about the monitoring of a historic smoke event. The event also provided a unique opportunity for researchers to study wildfire smoke and its impacts on public health.

“It’s been a very eye-opening experience to work on the analysis of an event this extreme that I saw happen in real time,” said Jemma Przybocki, a master’s student and NOAA Educational Partnership Program (EPP) fellow at the Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies II (CESSRST-II) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). “Looking at the impacts of people exposed to bad air quality while also being able to look outside and see the haze really reiterates the importance of this type of work.” – Jemma Przybocki, 

Her research highlights the important role that satellite-based fire detection and emissions data can play in improving air quality forecasts and helping researchers and forecasters better understand the effects of wildfire smoke on communities.  Jemma is a master’s student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and mentored by Dr. Chris Hennigan (UMBC) and Shobha Kondragunta (NESDIS)

For more information about Przybocki’s work and NOAA satellite fire detection capabilities, visit the NESDIS : https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaa-satellites-played-critical-role-monitoring-historic-smoke-event