NCAR scientists have demonstrated how new types of satellite data could improve how agencies monitor and forecast air quality, both globally and by region. The scientists used computer simulations to test a method that combines analysis of chemistry-climate model output with the kind of data that could be obtained from a planned fleet of geostationary satellites, each of which would view a large area of Earth on a continuous basis from high orbit. For example, with a constellation of satellites, the system could be used to measure, track, and predict the effects of pollution emitted in Asia and transported to the western U.S., or the impacts of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest on air quality in the Midwest. The NCAR team reported their test of the system's potential in a paper co-authored with a NASA scientist that appears in the journal Atmospheric Environment. Current observations are mostly taken from low-elevation, globally orbiting satellites that provide only one or two measurements over a given location per day, thus limiting critical air quality observations, such as vehicle emissions during rush hour. To read further, please visit https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/just-published/17531/tracking-air-quality-high-sky.