Sensor metadata predictions
EEA-equivalent station area and type predicted for low-cost
PM2.5 sensors from
sensor.community
and PurpleAir,
as processed within the
FILTER
approach (Hassani et al., 2025).
Methodology
- Labels: two classifiers are trained on EEA PM2.5
reference stations: station type (background/traffic; industrial
stations excluded) and station area (rural/suburban/urban).
- Predictors: AlphaEarth 2025 satellite embeddings at the point
and averaged within 25 m to 10 km; for type also GSWIFT
modelled road traffic and distances to major roads.
- Models: XGBoost (type) and a neural network (area), evaluated
with spatial cross-validation and on EEA stations not used in training.
Probabilities are temperature-calibrated; confidence below
0.70 is flagged uncertain.
- Coordinates: precise coordinates are scored at the point. Rounded
positions (the 0.002° grid of Sensor.Community, or 2–3 decimals) are
averaged over random positions inside their cell; 0–1 decimals are not
scored.
- Meaning: the class an EEA reference station at this coordinate
would most likely have, not a verified description of the sensor's
installation.
For more information, please see the
accompanying
paper (in preparation).