The Change in Pollutant Levels Over the Bahamas Before and After Hurricane Dorian

Evaluating pollutant levels over regions of the earth is essential to the health of the humans that inhabit them. Being mindful of pollutants leads to the question: How are those pollutants affected by certain natural phenomena, such as hurricanes? Considering the effects of Hurricane Dorian on the levels of certain pollutants above the Bahamas sheds some light on this question. This research project attempts to consider several pollutants, such as CO, NO2, HCHO, and aerosols, and comes to the conclusion that there is a significant increase in the presence of these pollutants shortly after the presence of Hurricane Dorian. An analysis of S5P Tropomi instrument’s aerosol index data shows a substantial increase in the index both in the 340-380nm and 354-388nm ranges. In the days immediately following the storm, both CO and aerosols saw an increase in their column densities immediately after a significant dip. For HCHO and NO2, a spike was apparent in the column densities during the storm followed by a large decrease for the HCHO and a decrease and an inconclusive variation for the NO2.