Sentinel-5P TROPOMI SO2: High-Resolution Atmospheric Sulfur Dioxide Measurements

Sentinel-5P TROPOMI provides sulfur dioxide (SO2) measurements at a nadir spatial resolution of approximately 5.5 km. The data is generated using the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) method on ultraviolet spectral measurements between 312 and 326 nm. It is part of the European Space Agency's Copernicus program, designed for monitoring atmospheric composition.

Use Cases

• Monitoring volcanic SO2 emissions based on the high spatial resolution (~5.5km) and global coverage.
• Tracking industrial pollution sources using the derived SO2 slant column density (SCD) measurements.
• Studying atmospheric chemistry and sulfur transport based on the spectral retrieval windows (312-326nm, 325-335nm, 360-390nm).
• Assessing air quality compliance and trends using the level-2 product's tropospheric column data.

Strengths

• Provides high spatial resolution data (~5.5 km at nadir) starting from August 6, 2019.
• Uses a sophisticated retrieval algorithm (DOAS) with three specific spectral windows to account for non-linear effects.
• Part of a major, multi-platform satellite mission (Copernicus Sentinel-5P) jointly managed by ESA and the Netherlands.

Limitations

• Dataset structure (columns, row count) is unknown across all sources, limiting precise technical understanding.
• Data collection is split across three different processor versions (S5P_L2__SO2____1, HiR_1, HiR_2), requiring users to select the correct version based on date.
• The last update date conflicts between sources (2026-04-09 and 2020-07-13), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor mission, with the TROPOMI instrument.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing using a nadir-viewing hyperspectral spectrometer and DOAS retrieval algorithm.

Time Range

Data available from before August 6, 2019 onward, with processor updates in August 2019 and July 2020.

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:06:01.412466

Geography

Global coverage from the satellite's 108-degree field-of-view.