S5P_L1B_RA_BD3_HiR_NRT: Near-Real-Time Satellite Radiance for Atmospheric Monitoring

Sentinel-5P TROPOMI's Near Real Time (NRT) Level-1B radiance data for the ultraviolet-visible (UVIS) detector is typically available within three hours of satellite measurement. Each ~0.650 GB netCDF4 file contains one orbit of calibrated radiance, irradiance, and engineering data at a 5.5km x 21km spatial resolution. This NRT product is intended for rapid assessment and is archived for only up to ten days, with users directed to the offline version for long-term analysis.

Use Cases

• Rapid assessment of atmospheric scattering events based on UV-VIS radiance measurements.
• Near-real-time calibration validation for downstream atmospheric trace gas retrievals.
• Monitoring short-term changes in Earth's radiative budget using irradiance and radiance products.
• Supporting the Land Atmosphere NRT Capability Earth Observing System (LANCE) for three-hour data delivery.

Strengths

• Data is available within three hours of measurement, enabling rapid operational use.
• Files contain complete orbital information with a consistent size of ~0.650 GB per granule.
• Produced by the authoritative Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut (KNMI) processor for the joint ESA/Netherlands mission.

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact size are unknown across all sources.
• The NRT data is only archived for up to ten days, limiting its use for historical analysis.
• One source lists a 'V2' product version while others list 'V3', indicating a potential version conflict.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) / Kingdom of the Netherlands Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission, processed by KNMI, distributed by NASA GES DISC.

Collection Method

Generated by the KNMI TROPOMI L01B processor from Level-0 satellite data and auxiliary products.

Time Range

Near-real-time, with measurements from the ongoing Sentinel-5P mission.

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:26:32.211194

Geography

Global coverage from the Sentinel-5P satellite's nadir-viewing, 108-degree field-of-view instrument.