Articles | Volume 19, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-1875-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-1875-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Characterization and improvements of the UV radiometric calibration for the TROPOMI operational ozone profile retrieval algorithm
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
Erwin Loots
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Antje Ludewig
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Emiel van der Plas
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Edward van Amelrooy
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Mirna van Hoek
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Maarten Sneep
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Mark ter Linden
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Arno Keppens
Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Uccle, Belgium
J. Pepijn Veefkind
R&D Satellite Observations, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), De Bilt, the Netherlands
Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
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Alexander C. Bradley, Barbara Dix, Fergus Mackenzie, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Joost A. de Gouw
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1675–1687, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1675-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1675-2025, 2025
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Audrey Gaudel, Ilann Bourgeois, Meng Li, Kai-Lan Chang, Jerald Ziemke, Bastien Sauvage, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Debra E. Kollonige, Nadia Smith, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Juan Cuesta, Klaus-Peter Heue, Pepijn Veefkind, Kenneth Aikin, Jeff Peischl, Chelsea R. Thompson, Thomas B. Ryerson, Gregory J. Frost, Brian C. McDonald, and Owen R. Cooper
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The study examines tropical tropospheric ozone changes. In situ data from 1994–2019 display increased ozone, notably over India, Southeast Asia, and Malaysia and Indonesia. Sparse in situ data limit trend detection for the 15-year period. In situ and satellite data, with limited sampling, struggle to consistently detect trends. Continuous observations are vital over the tropical Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, western Africa, and South Asia for accurate ozone trend estimation in these regions.
Mengyao Liu, Ronald van der A, Michiel van Weele, Lotte Bryan, Henk Eskes, Pepijn Veefkind, Yongxue Liu, Xiaojuan Lin, Jos de Laat, and Jieying Ding
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5261–5277, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5261-2024, 2024
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Arno Keppens, Serena Di Pede, Daan Hubert, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Pepijn Veefkind, Maarten Sneep, Johan De Haan, Mark ter Linden, Thierry Leblanc, Steven Compernolle, Tijl Verhoelst, José Granville, Oindrila Nath, Ann Mari Fjæraa, Ian Boyd, Sander Niemeijer, Roeland Van Malderen, Herman G. J. Smit, Valentin Duflot, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Bryan J. Johnson, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, David W. Tarasick, Debra E. Kollonige, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Angelika Dehn, and Claus Zehner
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Adrianus de Laat, Jos van Geffen, Piet Stammes, Ronald van der A, Henk Eskes, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4511–4535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4511-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4511-2024, 2024
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Removal of stratospheric nitrogen oxides is crucial for the formation of the ozone hole. TROPOMI satellite measurements of nitrogen dioxide reveal the presence of a not dissimilar "nitrogen hole" that largely coincides with the ozone hole. Three very distinct regimes were identified: inside and outside the ozone hole and the transition zone in between. Our results introduce a valuable and innovative application highly relevant for Antarctic ozone hole and ozone layer recovery.
Aart Overeem, Else van den Besselaar, Gerard van der Schrier, Jan Fokke Meirink, Emiel van der Plas, and Hidde Leijnse
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 1441–1464, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1441-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-1441-2023, 2023
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Konstantinos Michailidis, Maria-Elissavet Koukouli, Dimitris Balis, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Martin de Graaf, Lucia Mona, Nikolaos Papagianopoulos, Gesolmina Pappalardo, Ioanna Tsikoudi, Vassilis Amiridis, Eleni Marinou, Anna Gialitaki, Rodanthi-Elisavet Mamouri, Argyro Nisantzi, Daniele Bortoli, Maria João Costa, Vanda Salgueiro, Alexandros Papayannis, Maria Mylonaki, Lucas Alados-Arboledas, Salvatore Romano, Maria Rita Perrone, and Holger Baars
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 1919–1940, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1919-2023, 2023
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Comparisons with ground-based correlative lidar measurements constitute a key component in the validation of satellite aerosol products. This paper presents the validation of the TROPOMI aerosol layer height (ALH) product, using archived quality assured ground-based data from lidar stations that belong to the EARLINET network. Comparisons between the TROPOMI ALH and co-located EARLINET measurements show good agreement over the ocean.
John Douros, Henk Eskes, Jos van Geffen, K. Folkert Boersma, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Anne-Marlene Blechschmidt, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Augustin Colette, and Pepijn Veefkind
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 509–534, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-509-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-509-2023, 2023
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We focus on the challenges associated with comparing atmospheric composition models with satellite products such as tropospheric NO2 columns. The aim is to highlight the methodological difficulties and propose sound ways of doing such comparisons. Building on the comparisons, a new satellite product is proposed and made available, which takes advantage of higher-resolution, regional atmospheric modelling to improve estimates of troposheric NO2 columns over Europe.
Miriam Latsch, Andreas Richter, Henk Eskes, Maarten Sneep, Ping Wang, Pepijn Veefkind, Ronny Lutz, Diego Loyola, Athina Argyrouli, Pieter Valks, Thomas Wagner, Holger Sihler, Michel van Roozendael, Nicolas Theys, Huan Yu, Richard Siddans, and John P. Burrows
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6257–6283, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6257-2022, 2022
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The article investigates different S5P TROPOMI cloud retrieval algorithms for tropospheric trace gas retrievals. The cloud products show differences primarily over snow and ice and for scenes under sun glint. Some issues regarding across-track dependence are found for the cloud fractions as well as for the cloud heights.
Johan F. de Haan, Ping Wang, Maarten Sneep, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Piet Stammes
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7031–7050, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7031-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7031-2022, 2022
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We present an overview of the DISAMAR radiative transfer code, highlighting the novel semi-analytical derivatives for the doubling–adding formulae and the new DISMAS technique for weak absorbers. DISAMAR includes forward simulations and retrievals for satellite spectral measurements from 270 to 2400 nm to determine instrument specifications for passive remote sensing. It has been used in various Sentinel-4/5P/5 projects and in the TROPOMI aerosol layer height and ozone profile products.
John T. Sullivan, Arnoud Apituley, Nora Mettig, Karin Kreher, K. Emma Knowland, Marc Allaart, Ankie Piters, Michel Van Roozendael, Pepijn Veefkind, Jerry R. Ziemke, Natalya Kramarova, Mark Weber, Alexei Rozanov, Laurence Twigg, Grant Sumnicht, and Thomas J. McGee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 11137–11153, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11137-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-11137-2022, 2022
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Pieternel F. Levelt, Deborah C. Stein Zweers, Ilse Aben, Maite Bauwens, Tobias Borsdorff, Isabelle De Smedt, Henk J. Eskes, Christophe Lerot, Diego G. Loyola, Fabian Romahn, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Nicolas Theys, Michel Van Roozendael, J. Pepijn Veefkind, and Tijl Verhoelst
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10319–10351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10319-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10319-2022, 2022
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Quintus Kleipool, Nico Rozemeijer, Mirna van Hoek, Jonatan Leloux, Erwin Loots, Antje Ludewig, Emiel van der Plas, Daley Adrichem, Raoul Harel, Simon Spronk, Mark ter Linden, Glen Jaross, David Haffner, Pepijn Veefkind, and Pieternel F. Levelt
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3527–3553, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3527-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3527-2022, 2022
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Nora Mettig, Mark Weber, Alexei Rozanov, John P. Burrows, Pepijn Veefkind, Anne M. Thompson, Ryan M. Stauffer, Thierry Leblanc, Gerard Ancellet, Michael J. Newchurch, Shi Kuang, Rigel Kivi, Matthew B. Tully, Roeland Van Malderen, Ankie Piters, Bogumil Kois, René Stübi, and Pavla Skrivankova
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2955–2978, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2955-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2955-2022, 2022
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Vertical ozone profiles from combined spectral measurements in the UV and IR spectral ranges were retrieved by using data from TROPOMI/S5P and CrIS/Suomi-NPP. The vertical resolution and accuracy of the ozone profiles are improved by combining both wavelength ranges compared to retrievals limited to UV or IR spectral data only. The advancement of our TOPAS algorithm for combined measurements is required because in the UV-only retrieval the vertical resolution in the troposphere is very limited.
Jos van Geffen, Henk Eskes, Steven Compernolle, Gaia Pinardi, Tijl Verhoelst, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Maarten Sneep, Mark ter Linden, Antje Ludewig, K. Folkert Boersma, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2037–2060, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2037-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2037-2022, 2022
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Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the main data products measured by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) satellite. This study describes improvements in the TROPOMI NO2 retrieval leading to version v2.2, operational since 1 July 2021. It compares results with previous versions v1.2–v1.4 and with Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and ground-based measurements.
Tobias Christoph Valentin Werner Riess, Klaas Folkert Boersma, Jasper van Vliet, Wouter Peters, Maarten Sneep, Henk Eskes, and Jos van Geffen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1415–1438, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1415-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1415-2022, 2022
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This paper reports on improved monitoring of ship nitrogen oxide emissions by TROPOMI. With its fantastic resolution we can identify lanes of ship nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution not detected from space before. The quality of TROPOMI NO2 data over sea is improved further by recent upgrades in cloud retrievals and the use of sun glint scenes. Lastly, we study the impact of COVID-19 on ship NO2 in European seas and compare the found reductions to emission estimates gained from ship-specific data.
Daan Hubert, Klaus-Peter Heue, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Tijl Verhoelst, Marc Allaart, Steven Compernolle, Patrick D. Cullis, Angelika Dehn, Christian Félix, Bryan J. Johnson, Arno Keppens, Debra E. Kollonige, Christophe Lerot, Diego Loyola, Matakite Maata, Sukarni Mitro, Maznorizan Mohamad, Ankie Piters, Fabian Romahn, Henry B. Selkirk, Francisco R. da Silva, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Holger Vömel, Jacquelyn C. Witte, and Claus Zehner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7405–7433, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7405-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7405-2021, 2021
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We assess the first 2 years of TROPOMI tropical tropospheric ozone column data. Comparisons to reference measurements by ozonesonde and satellite sensors show that TROPOMI bias (−0.1 to +2.3 DU) and precision (1.5 to 2.5 DU) meet mission requirements. Potential causes of bias and its spatio-temporal structure are discussed, as well as ways to identify sampling errors. Our analysis of known geophysical patterns demonstrates the improved performance of TROPOMI with respect to its predecessors.
Nora Mettig, Mark Weber, Alexei Rozanov, Carlo Arosio, John P. Burrows, Pepijn Veefkind, Anne M. Thompson, Richard Querel, Thierry Leblanc, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Rigel Kivi, and Matthew B. Tully
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6057–6082, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6057-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6057-2021, 2021
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TROPOMI is a nadir-viewing satellite that has observed global atmospheric trace gases at unprecedented spatial resolution since 2017. The retrieval of ozone profiles with high accuracy has been demonstrated using the TOPAS (Tikhonov regularised Ozone Profile retrievAl with SCIATRAN) algorithm and applying appropriate spectral corrections to TROPOMI UV data. Ozone profiles from TROPOMI were compared to ozonesonde and lidar profiles, showing an agreement to within 5 % in the stratosphere.
Steven Compernolle, Athina Argyrouli, Ronny Lutz, Maarten Sneep, Jean-Christopher Lambert, Ann Mari Fjæraa, Daan Hubert, Arno Keppens, Diego Loyola, Ewan O'Connor, Fabian Romahn, Piet Stammes, Tijl Verhoelst, and Ping Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 2451–2476, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2451-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-2451-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The high-resolution satellite Sentinel-5p TROPOMI observes several atmospheric gases. To account for cloud interference with the observations, S5P cloud data products (CLOUD OCRA/ROCINN_CAL, OCRA/ROCINN_CRB, and FRESCO) provide vital input: cloud fraction, cloud height, and cloud optical thickness. Here, S5P cloud parameters are validated by comparing with other satellite sensors (VIIRS, MODIS, and OMI) and with ground-based CloudNet data. The agreement depends on product type and cloud height.
Cited articles
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Short summary
TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) provides daily ozone profile data from ultraviolet bands 1–2. Accurate radiometric calibration is critical below 300 nm where signals are low. A Level-2 soft calibration complements L1 calibration and reveals spectral, temporal, and across-track biases. Re-analysis of calibration data enabled improved L1 corrections to address remaining straylight and residual signal effects, reducing soft calibration magnitude by ~15–20 % and associated biases in L1b v3.0 and ozone processor v2.9.0.
TROPOMI (TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument) provides daily ozone profile data from ultraviolet...