S5P_L2__AER_AI: Sentinel-5P TROPOMI Aerosol Index Satellite Data

Sentinel-5P TROPOMI Aerosol Index 1-Orbit L2 7km x 3.5km V1 provides high-resolution global measurements of atmospheric aerosols. The data is produced by the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite, a joint mission of the European Space Agency and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It calculates an Aerosol Index based on wavelength-dependent Rayleigh scattering in the ultraviolet spectrum using specific wavelength pairs (340/380 nm and 354/388 nm).

Use Cases

• Tracking long-range transport of dust and smoke plumes based on the UV Aerosol Index measurement.
• Monitoring volcanic ash clouds for aviation safety using the instrument's global, high-resolution coverage.
• Studying aerosol-cloud interactions by correlating aerosol index data with other atmospheric measurements from the same platform.
• Validating and improving atmospheric models with near-real-time, orbital-scale aerosol observations.

Strengths

• Provides high spatial resolution data at approximately 5.5 km at nadir, implemented from August 6, 2019.
• Derived from a sophisticated hyperspectral spectrometer (TROPOMI) covering UV-VIS, NIR, and SWIR wavelengths.
• Designed for long-term continuity, using a specific wavelength pair (354/388 nm) to maintain a consistent record with prior instruments.

Limitations

• Key metadata is incomplete or conflicting across sources: column names, row counts, and exact license terms are unknown.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is ambiguously described, referencing a start date but not an end date or update frequency.
• One source lists a last update date in the future (2026-04-09), indicating potential metadata errors.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands via the Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI mission, hosted by NASA GES DISC.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the TROPOMI instrument, processed to Level 2 (geophysical variables).

Time Range

Data collection implemented from August 6, 2019 onward.

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:26:59.168235

Geography

Global coverage from the satellite's nadir-viewing, sun-synchronous orbit.