Sulfur Dioxide Data Access and Tools
Commonly Used Sulfur Dioxide Data at a Glance
The following sections will help guide you to topic-specific data and resources for accessing, visualizing, preparing/manipulating (e.g. subsetting), and analyzing data. Each observation, model, and reanalysis data has unique characteristics that should be considered when evaluating its use.
An asterisk (*) next to an entry indicates that near real-time (NRT) data products are available through NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). While not intended for scientific research, NRT data are good resources for monitoring ongoing or time-critical events. To learn more about the difference between NRT and Standard Science Products, see Near Real Time versus Standard Products.
| Spatial Resolution | Spatial Coverage | Temporal Resolution | Temporal Coverage | Spectral Resolution | Satellite/ Platform | Name (Sensor, Model, etc.) | Observation, Model, or Reanalysis | File Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 km x 50 km | Global | 6 minutes | 2002-2023 | 2,378 infrared channels in the 3.74-15.4 micron spectral range | Aqua | *AIRS | Observation | HDF-EOS |
| 13 km x 24 km, 0.25°, 1° | Global | 98 minutes, Daily | 2004-present | 1.0-0.45 nm Full Width and Half Maximum (FWHM) | Aura | Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) | Observation | HDF-EOS5 |
| 7.5 km x 3 km | Global | 101 minutes, Daily | 2018 | 250-420 nm | NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) | Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) | Observation | netCDF-4 |
| 7 x 3.5 km for all spectral bands, with the exception of the UV1 band (7 x 28 km2) and SWIR bands (7 x 7 km2) | Global | Daily | 2017-present | 270 nm-2.3 µm, 0.55 nm | ESA Sentinel-5P | TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) | Observation | netCDF |
| 165 km x 3 km | Near-global (-82º to +82º latitude) | 15 minutes, Twice daily [day, night] | 2021-present | 190 and 240 GHz | Aura | *MLS | Observation | HDF-EOS5 |
| 0.5° x 0.625° | Global | Hourly, 3 hourly, Monthly | 1980-present | N/A | N/A | MERRA-2 | Reanalysis | netCDF |
| 0.25º x 0.25° | Global | 15 min, Hourly | Daily 5-day forecast | N/A | N/A | GEOS-CF | Model | netCDF |
| 0.25º x 0.312° | Global | 3-hourly | Near-real time assimilation (DAS), 10-day forecast at 00z, and 5-day forecast at 12z | N/A | N/A | GEOS FP | Analysis | netCDF |
| Point measurements | Global | Periodic flights occurred during each deployment | 2016-2018 | varies | Airborne Field Campaign | Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) campaign with varying instruments | Observation | netCDF |
Sulfur Dioxide Datasets
| Dataset Sort descending | Version | Platform | Instrument | Temporal Extent | Spatial Extent | Spatial Resolution | Data Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABLE-2B Electra In-Situ Trace Gas Data | 1 | NASA ELECTRA | GRAB SAMPLERS, CHEMILUMINESCENCE, Harvard CO2 | 1987-04-01 to 1987-05-15 |
N: 37.54 S: -84.1 E: -31.29 W: -81.47 |
GTE | |
| ACCLIP WB-57 Aircraft In-situ Trace Gas Data | 1 | NASA WB-57F | ACOS, COMA, LIF-NO, LIF-SO2, ISAF, COLD 2, UASO3 | 2022-07-14 to 2022-09-14 | ICARTT | ||
| ACCLIP WB-57 Aircraft Merge Data | 1 | NASA WB-57F | Computer | 2022-07-16 to 2022-09-14 |
N: 61.5 S: 16.6 E: 180 W: -180 |
ICARTT | |
| ACCLIP WB-57 Aircraft Model Data | 1 | GEOS, NASA WB-57F | Computer, MMS | 2022-07-14 to 2022-09-14 | ICARTT | ||
| ACTIVATE Supplementary Model Data | 1 | MERRA-2 | Computer | 2020-02-14 to 2022-06-30 | ICARTT | ||
| AIRS/Aqua L1B Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V005 (AIRIBRAD) at GES DISC | 005 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L1B Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V8.0 (AIRSAQIRL1B) at GES DISC at GES DISC | 8.0 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L1B Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances in BUFR format V005 (AIRIBRAD_NRT_BUFR) at GES DISC | 005 | Aqua | AIRS | 2015-12-15 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L1B Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V005 (AIRIBRAD_NRT) at GES DISC | 005 | Aqua | AIRS | 2015-12-15 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L1B Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V8.0 (AIRSAQIRL1B_NRT) at GES DISC | 8.0 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L1C Infrared (IR) resampled and corrected radiances V6.7 (AIRICRAD) at GES DISC | 6.7 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L1C Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) resampled and corrected radiances V6.7 (AIRICRAD_NRT) at GES DISC | 6.7 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-09-06 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS-only) V006 (AIRS2RET_NRT) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS | 2016-10-15 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Support Retrieval (AIRS-only) V006 (AIRS2SUP_NRT) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS | 2016-10-15 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU) V006 (AIRX2RET) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS, AMSU-A | 2002-08-30 to 2016-09-24 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU+HSB) V006 (AIRH2RET) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS, AMSU-A, HSB | 2002-08-30 to 2003-02-05 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS-only) V006 (AIRS2RET) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Support Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU) V006 (AIRX2SUP) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS, AMSU-A | 2002-08-30 to 2016-09-25 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Support Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU+HSB) V006 (AIRH2SUP) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS, AMSU-A, HSB | 2002-08-30 to 2003-02-05 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| AIRS/Aqua L2 Support Retrieval (AIRS-only) V006 (AIRS2SUP) at GES DISC | 006 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| Anthropogenic Sulfur Dioxide Emissions, 1850-2005: National and Regional Data Set by Source Category, Version 2.86 | 2.86 | MODELS | Computer | 1850-01-01 to 2005-12-31 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
Excel, PDF, PNG | |
| Aqua/AIRS L2 Near Real Time (NRT) Support Retrieval (AIRS-only) V7.0 at GES DISC | 7.0 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| Aqua/AIRS L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU) V7.0 at GES DISC | 7.0 | Aqua | AIRS, AMSU-A | 2002-08-30 to 2016-09-25 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| Aqua/AIRS L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU+HSB) V7.0 at GES DISC | 7.0 | Aqua | AIRS, AMSU-A, HSB | 2002-08-30 to 2003-02-06 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers | |
| Aqua/AIRS L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS-only) V7.0 at GES DISC | 7.0 | Aqua | AIRS | 2002-08-30 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers |
Featured Sulfur Dioxide Observation Method: OMPS
The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) aboard the joint NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite tracks the health of Earth's ozone layer and measures the concentration of atmospheric ozone. The NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 satellites are also equipped with the instrument. Total column sulfur dioxide data from OMPS are available on a near real-time basis.
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