S5P_L2__CH4____HiR_NRT: Sentinel-5P Near-Real-Time Methane Measurements

Near-real-time methane concentration data from the Sentinel-5P satellite, typically available within three hours of measurement. The data are produced by the European Space Agency's TROPOMI instrument and are intended for rapid assessment, with each file containing one orbit of information and being approximately 82 MB in size. The data are only archived for up to ten days, with users directed to an offline version for long-term analysis.

Use Cases

• Monitoring methane emissions from industrial sources based on the column-averaged dry air mixing ratio.
• Assessing regional methane concentration changes for climate studies based on the high spatial resolution data.
• Providing input for atmospheric models based on the near-real-time availability of the data.
• Detecting and tracking methane plumes from point sources based on the spectral measurements in the SWIR band.

Strengths

• Data are typically available within three hours of measurement, enabling rapid assessment.
• Each data file is approximately 82 MB and contains one complete orbit of information.
• Provides column-averaged dry air mixing ratio of methane, a key atmospheric variable.

Limitations

• Data are only archived for up to ten days, limiting long-term record availability.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency's Sentinel-5P satellite with the TROPOMI instrument, hosted by NASA GES DISC.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via a nadir-viewing hyperspectral spectrometer.

Freshness

Near-real-time, typically within three hours.

Geography

Global coverage from satellite orbit.