OMSO2_CPR: CloudSat-Collocated OMI Sulfur Dioxide Column Data

OMI/Aura Level 2 Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Trace Gas Column Data 1-Orbit Subset and Collocated Swath along CloudSat V003 (OMSO2_CPR) is a specialized subset of the OMSO2 product for the A-Train mission. It provides four different estimates of SO2 column density per pixel in Dobson Units, derived from OMI's UV measurements, with data collection starting August 17, 2004. The subset selects OMI data within +/-100 km of the CloudSat track, creating a ~200 km swath for collocated analysis.

Use Cases

• Analyzing volcanic SO2 plume dispersion and height based on collocated CloudSat and OMI measurements.
• Monitoring long-term trends in anthropogenic sulfur dioxide emissions using the continuous daily global coverage from 2004 onward.
• Comparing SO2 column density estimates derived from different assumed vertical distributions for sensitivity analysis.
• Studying atmospheric chemistry interactions within the A-Train satellite constellation's coordinated observation path.

Strengths

• Provides high-sensitivity SO2 detection, with a minimum detectable mass about two orders of magnitude smaller than the legacy TOMS instrument.
• Offers continuous, near-global daily coverage with 14-15 data granules produced per day during normal operations.
• Data collection spans from August 17, 2004 to the present, providing a long-term time series with only minor gaps.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing or conflicting across platforms: row count, size, and specific column names are unknown; license is listed as both 'other-license-specified' and 'None'.
• Products are not produced when the OMI instrument enters 'zoom mode' for one day every ~32 days, creating periodic data gaps.
• The dataset's structure and specific data variables must be inferred from the description, as no column list is provided.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the EOS Aura satellite.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via ultraviolet measurements, processed into a Level 2 geophysical product and subset for CloudSat collocation.

Time Range

2004-08 17 to present (ongoing)

Freshness

2026-04-10 19:39:50.902905 (datagov)

Geography

Global, sunlit portions of the Aura satellite's orbit, with the subset focused on a ~200 km swath collocated with CloudSat tracks.