OMSO2: Satellite Vertical Column Density of Sulfur Dioxide

OMI/Aura satellite data provides vertical column density (VCD) estimates of sulfur dioxide (SO2) at a nadir resolution of 13x24 km². The dataset uses a principal component analysis (PCA)-based algorithm (v2) with updated Jacobian tables to improve retrievals for anthropogenic and volcanic SO2 sources. Each granule contains data from the daylit half of an orbit (~53 minutes), with approximately 14 orbits per day covering a 2600 km swath.

Use Cases

• Tracking industrial SO2 emissions based on vertical column density estimates for anthropogenic sources.
• Monitoring volcanic SO2 plumes and ash hazards using the volcanic source retrieval algorithm.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models with geolocated, quality-flagged satellite observations.
• Analyzing long-term trends in regional air pollution from time-series orbital data.

Strengths

• Algorithm updated to version 2 with new SO2 Jacobian lookup tables, which the description states 'significantly improve retrievals for anthropogenic SO2'.
• Provides distinct vertical column density estimates tailored for investigating either anthropogenic or volcanic sources.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates established importance and curation.

Limitations

• Column names and a detailed data dictionary are not provided in the available metadata, limiting immediate usability.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and temporal coverage of the dataset are not stated.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Lead scientist is Can Li.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the OMI instrument, processed to Level 2 swath data.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:28:16.252719

Geography

Global coverage from satellite orbits.