TROPOMI, the Sentinel 5 precursor instrument for air quality and climate observations: status of the current design

Abstract

Abstract-TROPOMI,TROPOMI is the next step, scheduled for launch in 2015. It combines the broad wavelength range from SCIAMACHY from UV to SWIR and the broad viewing angle push-broom concept from OMI, which makes daily global coverage in combination with good spatial resolution possible. Using spectral bands from 270-500nm (UV-VIS) 675-775nm (NIR) and 2305-2385nm (SWIR) at moderate resolution (0.25 to 0.6nm) TROPOMI will measure O3, NO2, SO2, BrO, HCHO and H2O tropospheric columns from the UV-VIS-NIR wavelength range and CO and CH4 tropospheric columns from the SWIR wavelength range. Cloud information will be derived primarily from the O2A band in the NIR. This will help, together with the aerosol information, in constraining the light path of backscattered solar radiation. Methane (CH4), CO2 and Carbon monoxide (CO) are the key gases of the global carbon cycle. Of these, Methane is by far the least understood in terms of its sources and is most difficult to predict its future trend. Global space observations are needed to inform atmospheric models. The SWIR channel of TROPOMI is designed to achieve the spectral, spatial and SNR resolution required for this task.TROPOMI will yield an improved accuracy of the tropospheric products compared to the instruments currently in orbit. TROPOMI will take a major step forward in spatial resolution and sensitivity. The nominal observations are at 7 x 7 km2 at nadir and the signal-to-noises are sufficient for trace gas retrieval even at very low albedos (down to 2%). This spatial resolution allows observation of air quality at sub-city level and the high signal-to-noises means that the instrument can perform useful measurements in the darkest conditions. TROPOMI is currently in its detailed design phase. This paper gives an overview of the challenges and current performances.

Air quality development during the COVID-19 pandemic over a medium-sized urban area in Thailand

“…The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard Sentinel-5P satellite is a high spatial resolution instrument offering global daily coverage from UltraViolet (UV) to ShortWave InfraRed (SWIR) at designated spectral regions which allow for the retrieval of key atmospheric constituents, namely (NO 2 ), (O 3 ), formaldehyde (CH 2 O), (SO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), carbon monoxide (CO), aerosol and clouds ( ESA, 2020 ). Sentinel-5P inherits a high signal-to-noise ratio and consequently can operate in dark conditions ( Voors et al, 2017 ). Sentinel-5 is part of the EU's Copernicus programme and therefore data are provided based on a free and open data policy via the Copernicus Open Access Hub.…”

Prediction model for diffuser-induced spectral features in imaging spectrometers

“…Measurements are conducted in the NIR regime around 777 nm and in the SWIR regime around 1570 nm, which represent wavelength bands with commonly monitored data products, such as water vapor, clouds, CO 2 , aerosols, or the O 2 absorption, which are commonly used to calculate the effective path length and the air mass factor (see Irizar et al, 2019, Meijer et al, 2019, or Voors et al, 2017. The experimental setup is shown in Sect.…”

Preflight calibration of the Chinese Environmental Trace Gases Monitoring Instrument (EMI)

“…These instruments measure sun radiance backscattered from the Earth's atmosphere in the UV-VIS wavelength range. TROPOMI builds upon the heritages of SCIAMACHY and OMI instruments, which were launched in 2017 on ESA's Sentinel 5 precursor satellite (Voors et al, 2012).…”