OMNO2: Satellite-Derived Nitrogen Dioxide Columns

Version 5.0 of the OMI/Aura Nitrogen Dioxide product incorporates high-resolution (~25 km) Global Modeling Initiative simulations and improved algorithms for de-striping and cloud retrieval. Each Level-2 file contains data from the day lit portion of an orbit (~53 minutes), with approximately 14 orbits generated per day. The dataset provides slant column density, total vertical column density, and separated stratospheric and tropospheric vertical column densities for nitrogen dioxide.

Use Cases

• Tracking regional NO2 pollution trends based on total vertical column density measurements.
• Separating stratospheric and tropospheric NO2 contributions for atmospheric chemistry modeling.
• Validating air quality models using satellite-derived slant column density and air mass factors.
• Analyzing cross-track artifacts and row-anomaly corrections using the improved de-striping algorithm flags.

Strengths

• Incorporates high-resolution (~25 km) a-priori profiles from the Global Modeling Initiative simulation.
• Provides multiple data products (Level-2 swath OMNO2, Level-2 gridded OMNO2G, Level-3 gridded OMNO2d) for different analysis needs.
• Algorithm updates include improved treatment of snow/ice and geometry-dependent surface reflectance.

Limitations

• Column names are not provided in the metadata, limiting precise understanding of data structure.
• Metadata conflicts: one source lists a last updated date of 2026-04-09, while another shows no update information.
• Dataset size and row counts are not specified across all platforms.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), processed with the OMNO2 algorithm.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:17:28.463637

Geography

Global coverage from satellite orbits.