S5P_L2__AER_LH_HiR: Satellite Aerosol Layer Height Measurements

From August 6, 2019 onward, this dataset provides Level 2 aerosol layer height data from the Sentinel-5P TROPOMI instrument. It offers high spatial resolution (~5.5 km at nadir) measurements derived from spectral fitting in the Oxygen-A band (758-770nm). The product is designed for monitoring elevated non-scattering aerosols like volcanic ash, desert dust, and biomass burning plumes.

Use Cases

• Tracking volcanic ash plume altitude and dispersion for aviation safety.
• Monitoring the vertical distribution of desert dust for climate and air quality models.
• Studying the injection height of biomass burning aerosols to assess long-range transport.
• Validating atmospheric models with satellite-derived aerosol layer pressure and altitude.

Strengths

• Provides high spatial resolution (~5.5 km at nadir) data from a major satellite mission (Sentinel-5P).
• Algorithm employs a neural network for speedy processing and uses the Optimal Estimation Method for spectral fitting.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals importance and broad accessibility.

Limitations

• Key metadata like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is split, requiring users to consult a different collection (S5P_L2__AER_LH_1) for data before August 6, 2019.
• The aerosol model assumes a single uniformly distributed layer, which may not capture complex vertical structures.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands via the Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing using the TROPOMI hyperspectral spectrometer.

Time Range

August 6, 2019 onward (with a separate collection for earlier data).

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-04-09 according to two platform entries.

Geography

Global coverage from a sun-synchronous orbit.