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

On February 9, 2023, an ozone-measuring instrument on the just lately launched NOAA-21 satellite opened its doorways and, over the course of every 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 ambiance across the globe. Increased ozone ranges are concentrated in far northern latitudes, which is typical for this time of yr.

OMPS was initially designed to measure ozone excessive within the ambiance; 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 modifications to 1% or higher over a 10-year timescale,” stated Glen Jaross, NASA’s OMPS instrument scientist for the Joint Polar Satellite tv for pc System.

Within the decade because the 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 yr in the past.

NASA started measuring ozone from space in 1979, not lengthy earlier than scientists found that dangerous chemical substances referred to as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, may trigger harmful depletion of atmospheric ozone. By the mid-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 a long time. Current measurements point out ozone ranges are starting to recuperate.

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

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

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

OMPS appears at that backscattered mild 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 ambiance 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 most recent 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 basic air high quality well being assessments,” stated 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.