OMSO2: Satellite Vertical Column Density of Sulfur Dioxide

The dataset contains approximately 14 orbits per day, with each granule covering the daylit half of an orbit (~53 minutes). It provides Level 2 swath data of sulfur dioxide (SO2) total vertical column density from the OMI/Aura instrument, retrieved using a PCA-based algorithm (v2) optimized for anthropogenic and volcanic sources. Data includes quality flags, geolocation, and ancillary information at a 13x24 km nadir resolution across a 2600 km swath.

Use Cases

• Monitoring industrial SO2 emissions based on the algorithm optimized for anthropogenic retrievals.
• Tracking volcanic eruption plumes and degassing using the volcanic SO2 vertical column density estimates.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models with geolocated, time-stamped satellite swath data.
• Assessing long-term air quality trends from the time-series of approximately 14 daily orbits.

Strengths

• Algorithm uses a PCA-based method (v2) with updated Jacobian tables and a priori profiles, explicitly noted to improve anthropogenic SO2 retrievals.
• Provides high spatial resolution (13x24 km at nadir) and broad swath coverage (2600 km) for detailed mapping.
• Dataset is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA EarthData, Data.gov), indicating reliability and importance.

Limitations

• Column names and detailed schema are unknown across all sources, limiting precise understanding of data structure.
• Conflicting metadata: one source lists an 'other-license-specified', while another lists no license, creating ambiguity.
• No explicit temporal coverage (start/end dates) or row/size statistics are provided, hindering assessment of dataset scope.

Provenance

Source

OMI/Aura satellite instrument, processed by GES DISC. Lead scientist is Can Li.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing retrieval using a principal component analysis (PCA)-based algorithm.

Time Range

null

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:28:02.879592

Geography

Global coverage from satellite swaths.