MINDS: Multi-Decadal Nitrogen Dioxide Satellite Columns and Emissions

Multi-Decadal Nitrogen Dioxide and Derived Products from Satellites (MINDS) provides consistent global nitrogen dioxide (NO2) data records spanning over two decades. The dataset adapts OMI algorithms to create Level 2-4 products from five satellite instruments, including GOME (1996-2011) and TROPOMI (2018-present). These quality-assured tropospheric, stratospheric, and total column measurements are available in CF-compliant HDF5 and netCDF formats via NASA GES DISC.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term global trends in nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions based on multi-decadal satellite records.
• Estimating surface NO2 concentrations and NOx emissions using derived Level 4 (L4) value-added products.
• Studying regional air quality changes by comparing data from five different satellite instruments across two decades.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models with consistent, trend-quality Level 2 (L2) and Level 3 (L3) column data.

Strengths

• Covers over two decades of data, from 1996 to present, enabling long-term trend analysis.
• Integrates measurements from five distinct satellite instruments, systematically accounting for instrumental differences.
• Provides multiple data product levels (L2 swath, L3 gridded, L4 derived emissions) for varied research needs.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided across all platform entries.
• The dataset's 'last updated' date is listed as 2026-04 09, which is a future date and may indicate a metadata error.
• Documentation on the specific 'other-license-specified' terms is not detailed in the provided sources.

Provenance

Source

NASA's Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments (MEaSUREs) program, produced by the GES DISC.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from GOME, SCIAMACHY, OMI, GOME-2, and TROPOMI instruments, processed with adapted OMI algorithms.

Time Range

1996 to present

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:33:13.301279

Geography

Global