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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 ResolutionSpatial CoverageTemporal ResolutionTemporal CoverageSpectral ResolutionSatellite/ PlatformName (Sensor, Model, etc.)Observation, Model, or ReanalysisFile Format
50 km x 50 kmGlobal6 minutes2002-20232,378 infrared channels in the 3.74-15.4 micron spectral rangeAqua*AIRSObservationHDF-EOS
13 km x 24 km, 0.25°, 1°Global98 minutes, Daily2004-present1.0-0.45 nm Full Width and Half Maximum (FWHM)AuraOzone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)ObservationHDF-EOS5
7.5 km x 3 kmGlobal101 minutes, Daily2018250-420 nmNASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP)Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS)ObservationnetCDF-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)GlobalDaily2017-present270 nm-2.3 µm, 0.55 nmESA Sentinel-5PTROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI)ObservationnetCDF
165 km x 3 kmNear-global (-82º to +82º latitude)15 minutes,
Twice daily [day, night]		2021-present190 and 240 GHzAura*MLSObservationHDF-EOS5
0.5° x 0.625°GlobalHourly,
3 hourly,
Monthly		1980-presentN/AN/AMERRA-2ReanalysisnetCDF
0.25º x 0.25°Global15 min, HourlyDaily 5-day forecastN/AN/AGEOS-CFModelnetCDF
0.25º x 0.312°Global3-hourlyNear-real time assimilation (DAS), 10-day forecast at 00z, and 5-day forecast at 12zN/AN/AGEOS FPAnalysisnetCDF
Point measurementsGlobalPeriodic flights occurred during each deployment2016-2018variesAirborne Field CampaignAtmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) campaign with varying instrumentsObservationnetCDF

Sulfur Dioxide Datasets

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Dataset Version Platform Instrument Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
AIRS/Aqua L1B Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V8.0 (AIRSAQIRL1B) 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 V8.0 (AIRSAQIRL1B_NRT) 8.0 Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
Aqua/AIRS L2 Standard Physical Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU+HSB) V7.0 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 Support Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU+HSB) V7.0 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 Support Retrieval (AIRS+AMSU) V7.0 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) V7.0 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 Near Real Time (NRT) Support Retrieval (AIRS-only) V7.0 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-only) V7.0 7.0 Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

50 Kilometers x 50 Kilometers
AIRS/Aqua L1C Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) resampled and corrected radiances V6.7 (AIRICRAD_NRT) 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 L1C Infrared (IR) resampled and corrected radiances V6.7 (AIRICRAD) 6.7 Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
MERRA-2 tavgM_2d_adg_Nx: 2d,Monthly mean,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics (extended) 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2TMNXADG) 5.12.4 MERRA-2 NOT APPLICABLE 1980-01-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
MERRA-2 tavgM_2d_aer_Nx: 2d,Monthly mean,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2TMNXAER) 5.12.4 MERRA-2 NOT APPLICABLE 1980-01-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
MERRA-2 tavgU_2d_adg_Nx: 2d,diurnal,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics (extended) 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2TUNXADG) 5.12.4 MERRA-2 NOT APPLICABLE 1980-01-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
MERRA-2 tavgU_2d_aer_Nx: 2d,diurnal,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2TUNXAER) 5.12.4 MERRA-2 NOT APPLICABLE 1980-01-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
MERRA-2 inst3_3d_aer_Nv: 3d,3-Hourly,Instantaneous,Model-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Mixing Ratio 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2I3NVAER) 5.12.4 MERRA-2 NOT APPLICABLE 1980-01-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_adg_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics (extended) 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2T1NXADG) 5.12.4 MERRA-2 NOT APPLICABLE 1980-01-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
MERRA-2 tavg1_2d_aer_Nx: 2d,1-Hourly,Time-averaged,Single-Level,Assimilation,Aerosol Diagnostics 0.625 x 0.5 degree V5.12.4 (M2T1NXAER) 5.12.4 MERRA-2 NOT APPLICABLE 1980-01-01 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

0.625 Decimal Degrees x 0.5 Decimal Degrees
Global Fire Emissions Database, Version 4.1 (GFEDv4) 4.1 Models, TRMM, Terra, ERS-1 Computer, VIIRS, MODIS, ATSR 1995-06-01 to 2016-12-31

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

multiple
Multi-Satellite Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide L4 Long-Term Global Database V4 (MSVOLSO2L4) 4 Meteor-3, Aura, Suomi-NPP, Nimbus-7, EP-TOMS, Aqua, ADEOS-II, Sentinel-5P, NOAA-20 TOMS, OMI, OMPS, AIRS, TROPOMI 1978-10-31 to 2026-05-13

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

JPSS-1 CrIS Level 1B Principal Component Analysis / Rapid Event Detection V3.0 (SNDRJ1CrISL1BPCARED) 3.0 NOAA-20 CrIS 2018-01-05 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

14 Kilometers x 14 Kilometers
TOMS/N7 MS SO2 Vertical Column 1-Orbit L2 Swath 50x50 km V3 (TOMSN7SO2) 3 Nimbus-7 TOMS 1978-11-01 to 1993-05-06

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
Sentinel-5P TROPOMI Near-Real-Time (NRT) Sulphur Dioxide SO2 1-Orbit L2 5.5km x 3.5km V2 (S5P_L2__SO2____HiR_NRT) 2 Sentinel-5P TROPOMI 2025-01-27 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

3.5 Kilometers x 5.5 Kilometers
Multi-Satellite Air Quality Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Database Long-Term L4 Global V2 (MSAQSO2L4) 2 Aura, Suomi-NPP, Sentinel-5P, NOAA-20 OMI, OMPS, TROPOMI 2005-01-01 to 2025-12-31

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

Sounder SIPS: Sun Synchronous 13:30 orbit Climate Hyperspectral InfraRed Product (CHIRP): Calibrated Radiances from JPSS-1/NOAA-20, V2 (SNDR13CHRP1J1Cal) 2 Aqua, Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20 AIRS, CrIS 2018-02-17 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
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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.

Learn More About OMPS
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OMPS Near Real-Time Data

Near real-time Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) data products include total column ozone, total column sulfur dioxide (SO2), vertical ozone profile swath, and aerosol index.

Sulfur Dioxide Data Tools

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