Gridded Level 3 formaldehyde (HCHO) column densities derived from the Metop/GOME-2-instruments.

In the troposphere HCHO is a short-lived atmospheric constituent caused by incomplete combustion processes, e.g. fossil fuel consumption or biomass buring or it is build by atmospheric chemical species from other volatile organic component (VOCs). It plays an important role in the build up of tropospheric ozone.

The total HCHO column is retrieved from GOME solar back-scattered measurements in the UV wavelength region 328.5nm to 346nm [using the DOAS method]. In addition, an air mass factor based on monthly climatological HCHO profiles is considered.

The Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) instrument continues the long-term monitoring of atmospheric trace gas constituents started with GOME / ERS-2 and SCIAMACHY / Envisat. Three instruments operate on board EUMETSAT's Meteorological Operational satellites MetOp-A, -B, and -C, launched in 2006, 2012, and 2018, respectively. GOME-2 measures a range of atmospheric trace constituents, with the emphasis on global ozone distribution. Furthermore, cloud properties and intensities of ultraviolet radiation are retrieved. These data are crucial for monitoring the atmospheric composition and the detection of pollutants.

DLR generates operational GOME-2 / MetOp products in the framework of EUMETSAT's Satellite Application Facility on Atmospheric Composition Monitoring (AC-SAF).