Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

Toward Global Mapping of Methane With TROPOMI: First Results and Intersatellite Comparison to GOSAT

  • Haili Hu
  • , Jochen Landgraf
  • , Rob Detmers
  • , Tobias Borsdorff
  • , Joost Aan de Brugh
  • , Ilse Aben
  • , Andre Butz
  • , Otto Hasekamp

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), launched on 13 October 2017, aboard the Sentinel‐5 Precursor satellite, measures reflected sunlight in the ultraviolet, visible, near‐infrared, and shortwave infrared spectral range. It enables daily global mapping of key atmospheric species for monitoring air quality and climate. We present the first methane observations from November and December 2017, using TROPOMI radiance measurements in the shortwave infrared band around 2.3 μm. We compare our results with the methane product obtained from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT). Although different spectral ranges and retrieval methods are used, we find excellent agreement between the methane products acquired from the two satellites with a mean difference of 13.6 ppb, standard deviation of 19.6 ppb, and Pearson's correlation coefficient of 0.95. Our preliminary results capture the latitudinal gradient and show expected regional enhancements, for example, in the African Sudd wetlands, with much more detail than has been observed before.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3682-3689
Number of pages8
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume45
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Apr 2018

Funding

We would like to thank the team that has realized the TROPOMI instrument, consisting of the partnership between Airbus Defence and Space, KNMI, SRON and TNO, commissioned by NSO and ESA. Sentinel-5 Precursor is part of the EU Copernicus programme. Part of the data processing was carried out on the Dutch national e-infrastructure with the support of SURF Cooperative. This research has been funded in part by the TROPOMI national program from the Netherlands Space Office (NSO). Rob Detmers acknowledges funding from the ESA Climate Change Initiative Greenhouse Gases project and from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Commission. The GFAS data are obtained from Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service Information (2018). Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. The TROPOMI CH4 data presented in this publication can be found at ftp://ftp.sron.nl/open-access-data/. The GOSAT CAMS41 RemoTeC NRT data set can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.sron.nl/pub/pub/RemoTeC/ PROXY_NRT_L1X_FAST/2017/. The GHG-CCI CRDP3 data set can be found at https://www.esa-ghg-cci.org/ sites/default/files/documents/public/ documents/GHG-CCI_DATA.html.

Funders
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service
ESA Climate Change Initiative Greenhouse Gases
European Commission
Netherlands Space Office

    UN SDGs

    This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

    1. SDG 13 - Climate Action
      SDG 13 Climate Action

    Access to Document

    Persistent URL (handle)

    Other files and links

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Toward Global Mapping of Methane With TROPOMI: First Results and Intersatellite Comparison to GOSAT'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
    View full fingerprint

    Cite this