We are in the process of migrating all NASA Earth science data sites into Earthdata from now until end of 2026. Not all NASA Earth science data and resources will appear here until then. Thank you for your patience as we make this transition.
Read about the Web Unification Project
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OMI/Aura Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Total Column Daily L3 1 day Best Pixel in 0.25 degree x 0.25 degree V3 (OMSO2e) at GES DISC | 003 | Aura | OMI | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
0.25 Decimal Degrees x 0.25 Decimal Degrees | |
| OMI/Aura Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Total Column Daily L3 1 day Best Pixel in 0.25 degree x 0.25 degree V4 (OMSO2e) at GES DISC | 004 | Aura | OMI | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| OMI/Aura Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Total Column 1-orbit L2 Swath 13x24 km V003 (OMSO2) at GES DISC | 003 | Aura | OMI | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
24 Kilometers x 13 Kilometers | |
| OMI/Aura Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Total Column 1-orbit L2 Swath 13x24 km V004 (OMSO2) at GES DISC | 004 | Aura | OMI | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
24 Kilometers x 13 Kilometers | |
| OMI/Aura Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Total Column Daily L2 Global Gridded 0.125 degree x 0.125 degree V004 (OMSO2G) at GES DISC | 004 | Aura | OMI | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| OMI/Aura Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) Total Column Daily L2 Global Gridded 0.125 degree x 0.125 degree V3 (OMSO2G) at GES DISC | 003 | Aura | OMI | 2004-10-01 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
24 Kilometers x 13 Kilometers | |
| OMPS-N20 NM PCA SO2 Step 1 Total Column 1-Orbit L2 Swath 17x13km | 1 | NOAA-20 | OMPS | 2018-01-16 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| OMPS-N20 NM PCA SO2 Step 1 Total Column 1-Orbit L2 Swath 17x13km NRT | 1 | NOAA-20 | OMPS | 2018-01-16 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
netCDF | |
| OMPS-NPP L2 NM Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Total and Tropospheric Column swath orbital V2 (OMPS_NPP_NMSO2_L2) at GES DISC | 2 | Suomi-NPP | OMPS | 2012-01-26 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| OMPS/NPP L3 NM PCA Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Total Column Daily Best Pixel Global Gridded 0.25 degree x 0.25 degree V1 (OMPS_NPP_NMSO2_PCA_L3_DAILY) at GES DISC | 1 | Suomi-NPP | OMPS | 2012-01-26 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| OMPS/NPP PCA SO2 Total Column 1-Orbit L2 Swath 50x50km NRT | 2 | Suomi-NPP | OMPS | 2011-10-28 | |||
| OMPS/NPP PCA SO2 Total Column 1-Orbit L2 Swath 50x50km V2 (OMPS_NPP_NMSO2_PCA_L2) at GES DISC | 2 | Suomi-NPP | OMPS | 2012-01-26 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
||
| OWLETS-2 Surface (Ground) Data | 1 | GROUND STATIONS, Vaisala HydroMet AWS | GAS SENSORS, LGR CRDS, Picarro G2401, TEMPERATURE SENSORS, PRESSURE SENSORS, HUMIDITY SENSORS | 2018-05-23 to 2018-08-02 | ICARTT | ||
| OWLETS-2 University of Maryland Cessna Aircraft Data | 1 | UMD Cessna, HU-25A | GPS, GAS SENSORS, TSI-3563 Neph, AETHALOMETER, PSAP, Picarro G2401, LGR CRDS, GeoTASO | 2017-07-07 to 2018-07-20 | ICARTT, HDF5 | ||
| POLARIS Ground Site Data | 1 | GROUND STATIONS | CPFM | 1997-01-06 to 1997-09-26 | AMES | ||
| SAFARI 2000 Biomass Burning Emissions, Selected Sites, Dry Season 2000 | 1 | LABORATORY | CHEMILUMINESCENCE, ION CHROMATOGRAPHS, GAS CHROMATOGRAPHS, IR CO2 ANALYZER | 2000-11-24 to 2001-01-16 |
N: 0 S: -35 E: 50 W: 10 |
Shapefile | |
| SAFARI 2000 CV-580 Aerosol and Cloud Data, Dry Season 2000 (CARG) | 1 | CONVAIR CV-580 | UV OZONE DETECTORS, FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY, CHEMILUMINESCENCE, IR CO2 ANALYZER, PYRANOMETERS, CNC, AEROSOL/CLOUD PARTICLE SIZER, THERMOMETERS | 2000-08-10 to 2000-09-18 |
N: -14 S: -26 E: 36 W: 11 |
Shapefile | |
| SAFARI 2000 JRA Aerocommander Trace Gas, Aerosol, and CCN Data, Dry Season 2000 | 1 | AC-680E | IR CO2 ANALYZER, HUMIDITY SENSORS, THERMOCOUPLES, PRESSURE SENSORS, CNC, UV OZONE DETECTORS, CHEMILUMINESCENCE, FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY | 2000-08-15 to 2000-09-07 |
N: -17.8293 S: -30.1916 E: 33.1635 W: 22.156 |
ASCII | |
| SAFARI 2000 JRB Aerocommander Trace Gas and Aerosol Data, Dry Season 2000 | 1 | AC-680E | IR CO2 ANALYZER, HUMIDITY SENSORS, THERMOCOUPLES, PRESSURE SENSORS, CNC, UV OZONE DETECTORS, CHEMILUMINESCENCE, FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY | 2000-08-15 to 2000-09-07 |
N: -17.8293 S: -30.1916 E: 33.1635 W: 22.156 |
ASCII | |
| SEAC4RS DC-8 Aircraft In-Situ Trace Gas Data | 1 | NASA DC-8 | AVOCET, GC-MS, DACOM, LWCC, CAMS, TD-LIF, CIMS, CHEMILUMINESCENCE, CIT-ToF-CIMS, PTR-MS | 2013-08-02 to 2013-09-24 | ICARTT | ||
| SEAC4RS DC-8 Aircraft Miscellaneous Data | 1 | GEOS-5 | Computer | 2013-08-06 to 2013-09-23 | NetCDF-3, ICARTT | ||
| SEAC4RS ER-2 Aircraft Miscellaneous Data | 1 | GEOS-5 | Computer | 2013-08-06 to 2013-09-23 | NetCDF-3, ICARTT | ||
| SEAC4RS Merge Data Files | 1 | NASA DC-8, NASA ER-2 | Computer | 2013-08-06 to 2013-09-24 | ICARTT | ||
| Sentinel-5P TROPOMI Near-Real-Time (NRT) Sulphur Dioxide SO2 1-Orbit L2 5.5km x 3.5km V2 (S5P_L2__SO2____HiR_NRT) at GES DISC | 2 | Sentinel-5P | TROPOMI | 2025-01-27 to Present |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
3.5 Kilometers x 5.5 Kilometers | |
| Sentinel-5P TROPOMI Sulphur Dioxide SO2 1-Orbit L2 5.5km x 3.5km V1 (S5P_L2__SO2____HiR) at GES DISC | 1 | Sentinel-5P | TROPOMI | 2019-08-06 to 2020-07-13 |
N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180 |
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.
OMPS SIPS is responsible for processing, reprocessing, production and general assessment of Suomi NPP VIIRS OMPS Nadir products.
Data from the next-generation Instruments will help atmospheric scientists advance air quality measurements and standards.
20 MIN READ
The new PyroCumuloNimbus product for the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) makes it easier to track and analyze high concentrations of aerosols from wildfires and similar events.
4 MIN READ
Frequently Asked Questions
Earthdata Forum
Our online forum provides a space for users to browse thousands of FAQs about research needs, data, and data applications. You can also submit new questions for our experts to answer.
Submit Questions to Earthdata Forumand View Expert Responses