TROPESS TCR-2: Global Surface Formaldehyde at 2-Hourly Resolution

JPL's MOMO-Chem framework assimilates multiple satellite sensors to simultaneously optimize concentrations and emissions of formaldehyde. This dataset provides surface-level formaldehyde concentrations globally from 2005 to 2021, with a spatial resolution of 1.125 degrees and a temporal resolution of 2 hours. The reanalysis product is part of the Tropospheric Chemical Reanalysis version 2 (TCR-2) led by principal investigator Kazuyuki Miyazaki.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global formaldehyde emission trends based on the assimilated concentration and emission data.
• Modeling regional air quality and atmospheric chemistry using the 2-hourly, 1.125-degree resolution surface concentrations.
• Validating satellite-derived formaldehyde measurements against the TCR-2 reanalysis framework.
• Studying long-term changes in tropospheric composition from 2005 to 2021.
• Investigating formaldehyde as a proxy for volatile organic compound (VOC) activity in the atmosphere.

Strengths

• Provides a 17-year continuous time series (2005-2021) for longitudinal analysis.
• Uses a sophisticated multi-model, multi-constituent assimilation framework (MOMO-Chem) to optimize both concentrations and emissions.
• Offers high temporal resolution (2-hourly) and consistent spatial resolution (1.125 x 1.125 degrees).

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the metadata, limiting detailed understanding of the file contents.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata: one source reports 2026-04-09, another reports 2021-12-31.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further details.

Provenance

Source

GES_DISC (NASA)

Collection Method

Data assimilation using JPL's Multi-mOdel Multi-cOnstituent Chemical (MOMO-Chem) framework from multiple satellite sensors.

Time Range

2005-2021

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:24:03.895140

Geography

Global