First ozone and nitrogen dioxide measurements from MetOp-A (Forwarded)

ESA News
http://www.esa.int

14 March 2007

First ozone and nitrogen dioxide measurements from MetOp-A

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) on board MetOp-A launched
in October 2006 and currently undergoing commissioning has delivered the
first geophysical products for monitoring the Earth's ozone layer, and
European and global air quality.

This marks the start of a long-term European commitment to monitor the
recovery of the ozone layer and to support the monitoring and forecasting of
air quality, both for European citizens and at a global level. The products
have been developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in partnership with
EUMETSAT's Satellite Application Facility on Ozone and Atmospheric Chemistry
Monitoring (O3M SAF), which is coordinated by the Finnish Meteorological
Institute (FMI). The O3M SAF generates, validates, archives and distributes
atmospheric ozone, trace gases, aerosols and surface-ultraviolet radiation
data products using measurements from MetOp-A.

GOME-2, a scanning spectrometer, follows on from successful GOME flown on
ESA's ERS-2 satellite launched in April 1995, and provides near-global
coverage on a daily basis. The instrument measures profiles of atmospheric
ozone and the distribution of other trace gases in the atmosphere. The
instrument measures profiles of atmospheric ozone and the distribution of
other trace gases in the atmosphere that are related to the depletion of
ozone in the stratosphere, and to natural and anthropogenic sources of
pollution.

The amount of surface ultraviolet radiation is also derived from GOME-2
measurements. The ozone layer at an altitude of 20-30 kilometres shields the
Earth from harmful ultra-violet radiation. However, the depletion of this
protective ozone layer, which is most noticeable over the Arctic and
Antarctic regions, is of particular environmental concern. The resulting
increased levels of ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface of the Earth
can cause serious damage to human health, agriculture, forests and water
ecosystems. High levels of atmospheric pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide
produced by fossil fuel combustion, can damage respiratory health and
contribute to acid deposition which harms soil and vegetation.

Global Ozone

The first image above shows total ozone in the atmosphere as measured by the
GOME-2 instrument on 11 January 2007 during one day of successive orbits of
MetOp-A. This picture illustrates the large variability within the ozone
layer, with ozone-rich air at the northern mid-latitudes and smaller levels
of ozone over the (sub)tropical region. GOME-2 monitors the ozone layer
amount from day to day on a global basis, and will track the evolution of
the ozone-hole above Antarctica during austral spring.

Regional Nitrogen dioxide

The image shows total nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere over Europe on 4
February 2007, as measured by the GOME-2 instrument on MetOp-A. Nitrogen
dioxide is one of the most important contributors to air pollution. With the
GOME-2 instrument, nitrogen dioxide can be measured worldwide on a daily
basis, and at a city-size scale. Clearly visible in this picture are high
tropospheric nitrogen dioxide concentrations over large urban and industrial
areas of Europe. Note that the pollution patterns seen on a daily basis are
also affected by the prevailing weather conditions and the resulting
movement of clean and polluted air.

[NOTE: Images and weblinks supporting this release are available at
http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMXQCQ08ZE_economy_1.html ]