Detection and Monitoring of Sulfur Dioxide from Satellite-based UV Sensors

Sulfur dioxide column amounts are retrieved from near-UV spectral radiance data with exceptional precision. The high sensitivity coupled with daily global coverage with unprecedented spatial resolution from Aura/OMI has provided a wealth of new information. Sulfur dioxide is a short-lived constituent of the atmosphere that is produced by volcanoes and from combustion of sulfur-containing fossil fuels. It is oxidized to sulfate aerosols at a rate that depends on altitude. Sulfate aerosols change the reflectance of the atmosphere, making sulfur dioxide an important climate constituent. While fossil fuel burning constitutes a large, broadly distributed source of sulfur dioxide, volcanic eruptions can inject very large sulfur dioxide clouds into the upper atmosphere in a few hours. Explosive eruptions also produce volcanic ash as frothy liquid magma freezes in the atmosphere. Ash clouds are a hazard to aviation but are sometimes difficult to discriminate from other clouds while sulfur dioxide is a unique marker. Volcanic clouds can drift global distances at aircraft cruise altitudes as they are carried by the upper air winds. Thus, satellite observations of sulfur dioxide are invaluable for locating fresh volcanic clouds. A near realtime data production capability has been developed for operational use at NOAA NESDIS where the data are distributed via internet to the Decision Support Systems. The UV algorithms are designed to operate with data from OMI and GOME-2 and future instruments like OMPS. The sensitivity is adequate to monitor pre-eruptive emissions from volcanoes for detection of new activity. In addition, large sources of sulfur dioxide from fossil fuel burning and from smelting of ores are being monitored.

[1]  S. Carn,et al.  Tracking volcanic sulfur dioxide clouds for aviation hazard mitigation , 2009 .

[2]  Arlin J. Krueger,et al.  El Chichon: The genesis of volcanic sulfur dioxide monitoring from space , 2008 .

[3]  Arlin J. Krueger,et al.  Retrieval of large volcanic SO2 columns from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument: Comparison and limitations , 2007 .

[4]  Heikki Saari,et al.  The ozone monitoring instrument , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[5]  N. A. Krotkov,et al.  Volcanic eruption detection by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instruments: a 22-year record of sulphur dioxide and ash emissions , 2002, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[6]  J. Burrows,et al.  Tropospheric sulfur dioxide observed by the ERS‐2 GOME instrument , 1998 .

[7]  Arlin J. Krueger,et al.  Optimization of TOMS wavelength channels for ozone and sulfur dioxide retrievals , 1997 .

[8]  Michael Buchwitz,et al.  The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (Gome) : Mission, instrument concept, and first scientific results , 1997 .

[9]  Arlin J. Krueger,et al.  Volcanic sulfur dioxide measurements from the total ozone mapping spectrometer instruments , 1995 .

[10]  John Burris,et al.  SO2 absorption cross sections in the near U.V. , 1987 .

[11]  A. Robock,et al.  Circumglobal Transport of the El Chich�n Volcanic Dust Cloud , 1983, Science.

[12]  A. Krueger,et al.  Sighting of El Chich�n Sulfur Dioxide Clouds with the Nimbus 7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer , 1983, Science.

[13]  Arlin J. Krueger,et al.  The Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet and Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (SBUV/TOMS) for NIMBUS G , 1975 .

[14]  J. Dave,et al.  A Preliminary Study on the Possibility of Estimating Total Atmospheric Ozone from Satellite Measurements , 1967 .