HAQ_TROPOMI_NO2_CONUS_M_L3: Monthly NO2 Air Pollution Maps for the Continental US

Continental United States monthly averages of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) vertical column density, derived from the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI instrument. The dataset record began in May 2018 and continues to the present, processed by the George Washington University Air, Climate and Health Laboratory for NASA's HAQAST. NO2 is an air pollutant that adversely affects the human respiratory system and is a precursor for ozone and fine particulates.

Use Cases

• Trend analysis of air pollution based on monthly averages from May 2018 onward
• Mapping near-surface NO2 concentrations based on tropospheric vertical column density
• Estimating anthropogenic NOx emissions in urban areas based on the relationship described between NO2 and high-temperature fossil fuel combustion
• Studying the health impacts of air quality based on NO2's role as a precursor for ozone and fine particulates

Strengths

• Provides data from May 2018 to the present, enabling long-term trend analysis
• Oversampled to a high spatial resolution of 0.01˚ x 0.01˚ (~1 km2)
• Uses a consistent algorithm (ESA version 2.4) for processing, likely ensuring temporal consistency

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data is collected once per day at approximately 13:30 local time, which may not capture diurnal variations

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), processed by George Washington University Air, Climate and Health Laboratory

Collection Method

Derived from Level 2 version 2.4 TROPOMI NO2 files from the European Space Agency (ESA), acquired by the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite.

Time Range

May 2018 to present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:43:46.419077; freshness should be verified

Geography

Continental United States (CONUS)