Research
Climate Observations
In the Climate Observations division we study the global and regional
atmospheric composition using satellite observations of trace gases, aerosols
and clouds. The observations contribute to monitoring and research of Climate,
Ozone, and Air Quality. The main satellite instruments used in our division are
OMI, GOME, GOME2, SCIAMACHY and SEVIRI. We develop calibration and retrieval
algorithms for these instruments, and process and distribute the satellite data
to users, e.g. via TEMIS, in collaboration with international partners. To
validate the satellite observations and to provide local monitoring we also
operate several ground-based instruments, like the Brewer, the ozone sonde and
the NO2 sonde. Our division has the Principal Investigatorship for the
Dutch-Finnish instrument OMI, launched in 2004 on NASA's EOS-Aura satellite,
and for the Dutch-ESA instrument TROPOMI, to be launched in 2014/15 on ESA's
Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite.
A thirty year time series of the ozone hole (left) and a global air
pollution map of NO2 (right).
News
2011-12-15: Phd defense of Tim Vlemmix
On Thursday, December 15, Tim Vlemmix succesfully defended his PhD-thesis 'Tropospheric Nitrogen Dioxide Inversions based on Spectral Measurements of Scattered Sunlight' at the technical university of Eindhoven.
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2011-12-02: OMI instrument used in pollution reduction study
Scientists using the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite observed major reductions in sulfur dioxide (SO2) between 2005 and 2010 in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Led by Vitali Fioletov of Environment Canada, the research team found that sulfur dioxide levels near the region’s coal-fired power plants fell by nearly half since 2005.
Original Article on NASA's Earth Observatory
2011-09-20: Validation of Operational Ozone Profiles from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument
It is with pleasure that I announce the publication on September 20th, 2011 of our paper “Validation of operational ozone profiles from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument” in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres. This paper describes the operational OMI ozone profile retrieval algorithm in ample detail, and presents the results of validation against a multitude of reference data sources, including cross-platform validation with EOS Aura instruments.
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