S5P_L2__CO____: Sentinel-5P Satellite Carbon Monoxide Column Measurements

Sentinel-5P's TROPOMI instrument provides high-resolution global measurements of atmospheric carbon monoxide (CO) total columns using a spectrometer covering ultraviolet to shortwave infrared wavelengths. The dataset applies the SICOR algorithm, which retrieves CO concentrations from the 2305-2385 nm absorption band and accounts for cloudy and aerosol-loaded atmospheric conditions. These observations support monitoring of air pollution and combustion sources from space.

Use Cases

• Tracking global pollution transport and combustion sources based on high spatial resolution CO column measurements.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models using satellite-derived total column concentrations of carbon monoxide.
• Monitoring regional air quality trends over land and ocean from the SICOR algorithm's clear and cloudy sky observations.
• Studying biomass burning and industrial emission events using the instrument's spectral data from the shortwave infrared band.

Strengths

• Provides data from a dedicated atmospheric composition satellite mission, a joint initiative of ESA and the Netherlands.
• Offers high spatial resolution (~5.5 km at nadir) for carbon monoxide measurements from August 6, III.
• Uses a sophisticated retrieval algorithm (SICOR) designed to work under both clear and cloudy/aerosol-loaded conditions.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• Platforms show conflicting last update dates (2026-04-09 vs. 2019-08-06), creating uncertainty about data freshness.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor mission, processed by GES DISC.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the TROPOMI nadir-viewing push-broom grating hyperspectral spectrometer.

Time Range

Data collection implemented from August 6, 2019 onward.

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: one source shows 2026-04-09, another shows 2019-08-06.

Geography

Global coverage from satellite observations.