Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensor
This paper presents an analysis of tropospheric NO _2 column measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument onboard the Copernicus Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite (TROPOMI/S5P) for an oceanic area in the central Mediterranean on 2 July 2018. The day and area were selected because of the sta...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2020-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc445 |
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| author | Aristeidis K Georgoulias K Folkert Boersma Jasper van Vliet Xiumei Zhang Ronald van der A Prodromos Zanis Jos de Laat |
| author_facet | Aristeidis K Georgoulias K Folkert Boersma Jasper van Vliet Xiumei Zhang Ronald van der A Prodromos Zanis Jos de Laat |
| author_sort | Aristeidis K Georgoulias |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper presents an analysis of tropospheric NO _2 column measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument onboard the Copernicus Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite (TROPOMI/S5P) for an oceanic area in the central Mediterranean on 2 July 2018. The day and area were selected because of the stable and cloud-free weather conditions with low wind speeds throughout most of the area, while covering one of the busiest worldwide international shipping corridors. In addition, the area was affected by sunglint, i.e. sunlight that is directly reflected by the ocean surface waves to the satellite which greatly enhances the signal-to-noise ratio of the satellite observations. The satellite measurements reveal plume-like emission structures in tropospheric NO _2 columns while automated identification signal (AIS) data of ship locations reveal a total of 185 ships in the area. Combined with information about wind speed and wind direction within 3 h prior to the TROPOMI/S5P overpass, the ship tracks can almost perfectly be aligned with the plume-like tropospheric NO _2 structures. In addition, information about ship length and ship speed, combined with an analysis of ship tracks and ship position, reveal that nearly all emission plume-like tropospheric NO _2 structures can be attributed to the largest ships, mostly container ships and crude oil tankers. Overall, our results show for the first time ever that NO _2 emission plumes from ships can be detected and attributed to individual ships using satellite measurements, while also providing strong support for using satellite sunglint measurements. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:54:59Z |
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| id | doaj.art-a209a1823dad477d88e4061b65003b1f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:54:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-a209a1823dad477d88e4061b65003b1f2023-08-09T14:58:27ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262020-01-01151212403710.1088/1748-9326/abc445Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensorAristeidis K Georgoulias0K Folkert Boersma1Jasper van Vliet2Xiumei Zhang3Ronald van der A4Prodromos Zanis5Jos de Laat6Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) , De Bilt, The Netherlands; Department of Meteorology & Climatology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki , Thessaloniki, GreeceRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) , De Bilt, The Netherlands; Meteorology and Air Quality Group, Wageningen University , Wageningen, The NetherlandsHuman Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) , Utrecht, The NetherlandsNanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST) , Nanjing, People’s Republic of ChinaRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) , De Bilt, The Netherlands; Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST) , Nanjing, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Meteorology & Climatology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki , Thessaloniki, GreeceRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) , De Bilt, The NetherlandsThis paper presents an analysis of tropospheric NO _2 column measurements from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument onboard the Copernicus Sentinel 5 Precursor satellite (TROPOMI/S5P) for an oceanic area in the central Mediterranean on 2 July 2018. The day and area were selected because of the stable and cloud-free weather conditions with low wind speeds throughout most of the area, while covering one of the busiest worldwide international shipping corridors. In addition, the area was affected by sunglint, i.e. sunlight that is directly reflected by the ocean surface waves to the satellite which greatly enhances the signal-to-noise ratio of the satellite observations. The satellite measurements reveal plume-like emission structures in tropospheric NO _2 columns while automated identification signal (AIS) data of ship locations reveal a total of 185 ships in the area. Combined with information about wind speed and wind direction within 3 h prior to the TROPOMI/S5P overpass, the ship tracks can almost perfectly be aligned with the plume-like tropospheric NO _2 structures. In addition, information about ship length and ship speed, combined with an analysis of ship tracks and ship position, reveal that nearly all emission plume-like tropospheric NO _2 structures can be attributed to the largest ships, mostly container ships and crude oil tankers. Overall, our results show for the first time ever that NO _2 emission plumes from ships can be detected and attributed to individual ships using satellite measurements, while also providing strong support for using satellite sunglint measurements.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc445shipspollutionNO2AISTROPOMIwind |
| spellingShingle | Aristeidis K Georgoulias K Folkert Boersma Jasper van Vliet Xiumei Zhang Ronald van der A Prodromos Zanis Jos de Laat Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensor Environmental Research Letters ships pollution NO2 AIS TROPOMI wind |
| title | Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensor |
| title_full | Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensor |
| title_fullStr | Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensor |
| title_full_unstemmed | Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensor |
| title_short | Detection of NO2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the TROPOMI/S5P satellite sensor |
| title_sort | detection of no2 pollution plumes from individual ships with the tropomi s5p satellite sensor |
| topic | ships pollution NO2 AIS TROPOMI wind |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc445 |
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