Ozone-measuring instrument on NOAA-21 satellite captures first image

On February 9, 2023, an ozone-measuring instrument on the not too long ago launched NOAA-21 satellite opened its doorways and, over the course of per week, gathered information for its first world picture. The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) consists of three sensors that monitor Earth’s ozone layer and observe its restoration.

The map above, created utilizing OMPS information, exhibits total ozone concentrations within the environment across the globe. Greater ozone ranges are concentrated in far northern latitudes, which is typical for this time of 12 months.

OMPS was initially designed to measure ozone excessive within the environment; this ozone layer protects people and different life on Earth from the dangerous results of ultraviolet radiation. This isn’t to be confused with ground-level ozone, a dangerous air pollutant and the principle ingredient in smog.

“We would like to have the ability to measure ozone adjustments to 1% or higher over a 10-year timescale,” mentioned Glen Jaross, NASA’s OMPS instrument scientist for the Joint Polar Satellite tv for pc System.

Within the decade for the reason that first OMPS was launched on the Suomi-NPP satellite, the instrument’s capabilities have expanded to incorporate observations of aerosols, corresponding to smoke from wildfires and sulfur dioxide and ash from volcanoes. For instance, on February 17, 2023, OMPS detected volcanic aerosols nonetheless lingering from the large Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption within the South Pacific, which spewed water vapor and sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere greater than a 12 months in the past.

NASA started measuring ozone from space in 1979, not lengthy earlier than scientists found that dangerous chemical compounds known as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, may trigger harmful depletion of atmospheric ozone. By the mid-Nineteen Eighties, scientists found a “gap” within the ozone layer of the stratosphere over Antarctica. An international effort to ban these gases started with the Montreal Protocol in 1987 and has resulted in stabilization of ozone ranges over the previous three many years. Current measurements point out ozone ranges are starting to get better.

OMPS detects what’s often known as “backscattered” gentle from the environment—daylight that displays off particles and gases within the environment or off of Earth’s floor.

Consider it like a laser shining on a disco ball, Jaross mentioned. “The Solar is sort of a laser, and all of the sparkles are gentle mirrored off the Earth. And OMPS is sitting on the market, selecting up all that gentle.”

The realm on the prime of the map is grey as a result of the North Pole is in a interval of darkness often known as “polar night time,” when the Solar would not rise in any respect. With no backscattered daylight to detect, OMPS is unable to take measurements there throughout this time.

OMPS appears to be like at that backscattered gentle in two methods. The Nadir Mapper and Nadir Profiler level instantly down at Earth to map total ozone over the globe and to gather exact measurements at totally different altitudes. The Limb Profiler examines the environment at an angle.

This newest model of OMPS on NOAA-21 has some enhancements. The spatial resolution on the mapping instrument has been improved from about 30 by 30 miles on the Suomi-NPP satellite to about 6 by 6 miles on NOAA-21. The newest instrument can even measure nitrogen dioxide, a precursor to ground-level ozone.

“Quantifying these atmospheric gases is essential for quite a lot of causes, together with monitoring the ozone layer and its interactions with local weather change, monitoring volcanic sulfur dioxide and ash for air site visitors security, and figuring out air pollution sources and ranges for common air high quality well being assessments,” mentioned NOAA’s JPSS Program Scientist Satya Kalluri.

Collectively, NOAA and NASA oversee the event, launch, testing, and operation of all of the satellites within the Joint Polar Satellite tv for pc System program. NOAA funds and manages this system, operations, and information merchandise. NASA develops and builds the devices, spacecraft, and floor system, and launches the satellites, which NOAA operates.