Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI

Level 2 Product User Manual

Methane

document number : SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001

authors : Arnoud Apituley, Mattia Pedergnana, Maarten Sneep, J. Pepijn Veefkind, Diego Loyola,
Otto Hasekamp, Alba Lorente Delgado, Tobias Borsdorff
CI identification : CI-7570-PUM
issue : 2.4.0
applicable to processor release : 2.4.0
date : 2022-07-11
status : released
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Document approval record

This document was prepared by Arnoud Apituley, Mattia Pedergnana, Maarten Sneep, J. Pepijn Veefkind,
Diego Loyola, Otto Hasekamp, Alba Lorente Delgado, Tobias Borsdorff.
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Document change record

issue date item comments

1.0.0 2021-06-24 Released with L2 processor update July 2021
1.1.0 2021-10-20 Added sun glint retrievals, with some new variables.
2.4.0 2022-07-11 Updated for processor release 2.4.0
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Contents
Document approval record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Document change record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1 Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2 Purpose and objective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Document overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Applicable and reference documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1 Applicable documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Standard documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3 Reference documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.4 Electronic references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.1 Terms and definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 Acronyms and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4 Overview of the Sentinel 5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.1 File name convention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5 Data Distribution and Product Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5.1 Information to supply with a support request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6 General Reader and Visualisation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7 Instrument description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
8 S5p/TROPOMI L2 Methane Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
8.1 History of product changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
8.2 Data Product Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
8.3 Product Geophysical Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
8.3.1 Version 02.02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.4 Using the S5p/TROPOMI L2 Methane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
8.4.1 Use of column averaging kernel for the XCH4 product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
9 General structure of S5P/TROPOMI Level 2 files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
9.1 Dimensions and dimension ordering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
9.2 Time information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
9.3 Geolocation, pixel corners and angles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
10 Description of the CH4 product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
10.1 Group “PRODUCT” in “CH4___” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
10.1.1 Group “SUPPORT_DATA” in “PRODUCT” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
10.2 Group “METADATA” in “CH4___” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
10.2.1 Group “QA_STATISTICS” in “METADATA” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
10.2.2 Group “ALGORITHM_SETTINGS” in “METADATA” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
10.2.3 Group “GRANULE_DESCRIPTION” in “METADATA” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
11 Units. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
12 Quality Assurance parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
13 Generic metadata and attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
13.1 The Climate and Forecast conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
13.2 NetCDF User Guide Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
13.3 Global attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
13.4 ESA earth observation header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
13.5 Inspire directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
13.6 ISO and OGC standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
13.7 Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
A Flag descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
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List of Tables
1 Standard S5P L2 products with name, identifier and responsible institutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 Components of an S5P file name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3 Reference times available in a S5P L2 file. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4 Quality assurance parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5 Abbreviations used in metadata descriptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
6 Metadata in the fixed header required by the ESA earth observation file format standard . . . 118
7 Fields in the Validity_Period group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
8 Fields in the source group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
9 netCDF-4 type definitions and fill values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
10 Attributes for variables used in S5p netCDF-4 files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
11 Processing quality flags, errors, processing failures and filter conditions for S5P Level 2 . . . . 122
12 Processing quality flags, warnings for S5P Level 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
13 Surface classification for S5P Level 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

List of Figures
1 Panoply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2 TROPOMI measurement principle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3 Global XCH4 distribution as obtained with TROPOMI measurements averaged over the period
of 12 November to 30 December 2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4 TROPOMI XCH4 over western and central Africa averaged from 12 November to 30 December
2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5 (a) Mean differences between TROPOMI and TCCON XCH4 (∆XCH4 ), the standard deviation
of the differences (σXCH4 ) and the number of collocations for each of the stations selected for
the validation. (b) Correlation of daily average XCH4 measured by TROPOMI and TCCON for
all the stations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
6 Graphical description of the generic structure of a Level 2 file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
7 Pixel corner coordinates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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1 Introduction
1.1 Identification
This document, identified as SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001, describes the technical characteristics of the S5p/TROPOMI
Level 2 products that are needed for efficient and correct use of the data contained. This product user manual
is specific for Methane.

1.2 Purpose and objective

The Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5p) mission is a low Earth orbit polar satellite system to provide information and
services on air quality, climate and the ozone layer. The S5p mission is part of the Global Monitoring of the
Environment and Security (GMES/COPERNICUS) space component programme. The S5p mission consists
of a satellite bus, the payload consisting of the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), and a
ground system. A journal paper describing the mission and its objectives can be found in [RD1], while a
comprehensive description of the mission can be found in [RD2]. Furthermore, various websites are maintained
with S5p/TROPOMI information, e.g. [ER1, ER2].
From the data collected by the TROPOMI instrument, a number of geophysical (L2) products are derived.
The algorithms for the raw data treatment (L0 – L1b) and the actual L2 data processing are each described in
an algorithm theoretical basis document (ATBD). This Product User Manual (PUM) describes the technical
characteristics of the S5p/TROPOMI Level 2 geophysical data products that are needed for efficient and correct
use of the data contained.
In the PUM, the common structure of the datafiles and metadata used in all the delivered L2 products as
well as a specific section related to the Methane product are described.

1.3 Document overview

We start with a summary of the S5p L2 products and information needed to obtain and inspect data, as well as
how to obtain product support. The Methane data product is described next, with examples, and information
about the use of the data. Format, L2 structure and metadata are addressed in the next chapter, followed
by the detailed description of the Methane data. We then continue with a discussion of units and quality
assurance parameters. The final chapter contains information about generic metadata and the Appendix lists
measurement flags, processing quality flags, and surface classifications.
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2 Applicable and reference documents

2.1 Applicable documents
[AD1] Tailoring of the Earth Observation File Format Standard for the Sentinel 5 precursor Ground Segment.
source: ESA/ESTEC; ref: S5P-TN-ESA-GS-106; issue: 2.2; date: 2015-02-20.

2.2 Standard documents

There are no standard documents

2.3 Reference documents

[RD1] J. P. Veefkind, I. Aben, K. McMullan et al.; TROPOMI on the ESA Sentinel-5 Precursor: A GMES
mission for global observations of the atmospheric composition for climate, air quality and ozone layer
applications. Remote Sens. Environ.; 120 (2012), 70; 10.1016/j.rse.2011.09.027.

[RD2] Input/output data specification for the TROPOMI L01b data processor.
source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L01B-0012-SD; issue: 10.0.0; date: 2019-07-19.

[RD3] S5P/TROPOMI ATBD Cloud Products.

source: DLR; ref: S5P-DLR-L2-ATBD-400I; issue: 2.3.0; date: 2021-06-25.

[RD4] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Cloud.

source: DLR; ref: S5P-L2-DLR-PUM-400I; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD5] S5P-NPP Cloud Processor ATBD.

source: RAL Space; ref: S5P-NPPC-RAL-ATBD-0001; issue: 1.0.0; date: 2016-02-12.

[RD6] S5P/TROPOMI HCHO ATBD.

source: BIRA; ref: S5P-BIRA-L2-400F-ATBD; issue: 2.4.1; date: 2022-06-22.

[RD7] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual HCHO.

source: DLR; ref: S5P-L2-DLR-PUM-400F; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD8] S5P/TROPOMI SO2 ATBD.

source: BIRA; ref: S5P-BIRA-L2-400E-ATBD; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-06-22.

[RD9] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual SO2 .

source: DLR; ref: S5P-L2-DLR-PUM-400E; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD10] S5P/TROPOMI Total ozone ATBD.

source: DLR; ref: S5P-L2-DLR-ATBD-400A; issue: 2.3.0; date: 2021-06-04.

[RD11] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Total Ozone Column.
source: DLR; ref: S5P-L2-DLR-PUM-400A; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD12] TROPOMI/S5P ATBD of tropospheric ozone data products.

source: DLR/IUP; ref: S5P-DLR-IUP-L2-400C; issue: 2.3.0; date: 2021-06-04.

[RD13] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Ozone Tropospheric Column.
source: DLR; ref: S5P-L2-DLR-PUM-400C; issue: 2.3.0; date: 2021-06-04.

[RD14] TROPOMI ATBD of the Aerosol Layer Height product.

source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0006-RP; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-04-08.

[RD15] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Aerosol Layer Height.
source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0022-MA; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD16] TROPOMI ATBD of the UV aerosol index.

source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0008-RP; issue: 2.0.0; date: 2021-07-05.
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[RD17] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Aerosol Index.

source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0026-MA; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD18] TROPOMI ATBD Ozone profile and tropospheric profile.

source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0004-RP; issue: 1.0.0; date: 2021-10-22.

[RD19] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Ozone Profile and Tropospheric Ozone
Profile.
source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0020-MA; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD20] TROPOMI ATBD of the total and tropospheric NO2 data products.
source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0005-RP; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD21] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Nitrogen Dioxide.

source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0021-MA; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-11.

[RD22] Algorithm Theoretical Baseline Document for Sentinel-5 Precursor: Carbon Monoxide Total Column
Retrieval.
source: SRON; ref: SRON-S5P-LEV2-RP-002; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07-12.

[RD23] Sentinel-5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Product User Manual Carbon Monoxide Column.
source: SRON/KNMI; ref: SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-002; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-07.11.

[RD24] Algorithm Theoretical Baseline Document for Sentinel-5 Precursor methane retrieval.
source: SRON; ref: SRON-S5P-LEV2-RP-001; issue: 2.4.0; date: 2022-05-30.

[RD25] Tailoring of the Earth Observation File Format Standard for the Sentinel 5 precursor Ground Segment.
source: ESA/ESTEC; ref: S5P-TN-ESA-GS-106; issue: 2.2; date: 2015-02-20.

[RD26] Algorithm theoretical basis document for the TROPOMI L01b data processor.
source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L01B-0009-SD; issue: 9.0.0; date: 2019-07-19.

[RD27] A. Lorente, T. Borsdorff, A. Butz et al.; Methane retrieved from TROPOMI: improvement of the data
product and validation of the first 2 years of measurements. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques;
14 (2021) (1), 665; 10.5194/amt-14-665-2021. URL https://amt.copernicus.org/articles/
14/665/2021/.

[RD28] M. Birk., G. Wagner, J. Loos et al.; Methane and water spectroscopic database for TROPOMI Sentinel
5 Precursor in the 2.3µ m region. volume 19; (p. 4652) (EGU General Assembly, 2017).

[RD29] S5P Mission Performance Centre Methane [L2__CH4___] Readme.

source: ; ref: Version 1.04.00, S5P-MPC-SRON-PRF-CH4; date: 2020.

[RD30] Haili Hu, Jochen Landgraf, Rob Detmers et al.; Toward Global Mapping of Methane With TRO-
POMI: First Results and Intersatellite Comparison to GOSAT. Geophysical Research Letters; 45
(2018) (8), 3682; 10.1002/2018GL077259. https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/pdf/10.1002/2018GL077259; URL https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
doi/abs/10.1002/2018GL077259.

[RD31] Earth Observation – Ground segment file format standard.

source: ESA/ESTEC; ref: PE-TN-ESA-GS-0001; issue: 2.0; date: 2012-05-03.

[RD32] Geographic information – Metadata.

source: ISO; ref: ISO 19115:2003(E); issue: 1; date: 2003-05-01.

[RD33] Geographic information – Metadata – Part 2: Extensions for imagery and gridded data.
source: ISO; ref: ISO 19115-2:2009(E); issue: 1; date: 2009-02-12.

[RD34] Geographic information – Data quality.

source: ISO; ref: ISO 19157; issue: 1; date: 2013-10-10.

[RD35] Earth Observation Metadata profile of Observations & Measurements.

source: Open Geospatial Consortium; ref: OGC 10-157r3; issue: 1.0; date: 2012-06-12.
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[RD36] Data Standards Requirements for CCI Data Producers.

source: ESA; ref: CCI-PRGM-EOPS-TN-13-0009; issue: 1.1; date: 2013-05-24.

[RD37] Metadata specification for the TROPOMI L1b products.

source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L01B-0014-SD; issue: 6.0.0; date: 2019-07-19.

[RD38] Data elements and interchange formats – Information interchange – Representation of dates and
times.
source: ISO; ref: ISO 8601:2004(E); issue: 3; date: 2004-12-01.

[RD39] M.L. Carroll, J.R. Townshend, C.M. DiMiceli et al.; A new global raster water mask at 250 m resolution.
International Journal of Digital Earth; 2 (2009) (4), 291; 10.1080/17538940902951401.

[RD40] Geographic information – Metadata – XML schema implementation.

source: ISO; ref: ISO 19139:2007(E); issue: 1; date: 2010-12-13.

[RD41] Observations and Measurements – XML Implementation..

source: Open Geospatial Consortium; ref: OGC 10-025r1; issue: 2.0; date: 2011-03-22.

[RD42] Sentinel 5 precursor/TROPOMI KNMI and SRON level 2 Input Output Data Definition.
source: KNMI; ref: S5P-KNMI-L2-0009-SD; issue: 15.0; date: 2021-08-05.

[RD43] Sentinel-5 Precursor Level 2 UPAS Processor Input/Output Definition Document.

source: DLR-IMF; ref: S5P-L2-DLR-IODD-3002; issue: 3.3.0; date: 2017-06-01.

[RD44] S5P-NPP Cloud Processor IODD.

source: RAL; ref: S5P-NPPC-RAL-IODD-0001; issue: 0.10.0; date: 2014-05-28.

[RD45] John Caron; Annotated Schema for NcML (2011). URL http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/
software/netcdf/ncml/v2.2/AnnotatedSchema4.html.

[RD46] INSPIRE Metadata Regulation, Commission Regulation (EC), No1205/2008.

source: EC; ref: Commission Regulation (EC) No 1205/2008; date: 2008-12-03.

[RD47] INSPIRE Metadata Implementing Rules: Technical Guidelines based on EN ISO 19115 and EN ISO
19119.
source: EC JRC; ref: MD_IR_and_ISO_v1_2_20100616; issue: 1.2; date: 2010-06-16.

[RD48] Geographic Information – Observations and Measurements.

source: ISO; ref: ISO 19156:2011(E); date: 2011-12-20.

[RD49] Observations and Measurements - XML Implementation.

source: OGC; ref: OGC 10-025r1; issue: 2.0; date: 2011-03-22.

2.4 Electronic references

[ER1] Tropomi official website. URL http://www.tropomi.eu.

[ER2] S5P official website. URL https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/missions/

sentinel-5p.

[ER3] Robert B. Schmunk; Panoply netCDF, HDF and GRIB Data Viewer. URL http://www.giss.nasa.
gov/tools/panoply/.

[ER4] Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE) Directive 2007/2/EC. URL
http://inspire.jrc.ec.europa.eu/.

[ER5] Brian Eaton, Jonathan Gregory, Bob Drach et al.; NetCDF Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata
Conventions. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2014). Version 1.7 draft; URL http://
cfconventions.org.

[ER6] ESIP; Attribute Conventions for Dataset Discovery (ACDD). 1st edition (2013). URL http://wiki.
esipfed.org/index.php/Attribute_Convention_for_Data_Discovery_(ACDD).
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[ER7] NetCDF Users Guide (2011). URL http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/netcdf/docs/

netcdf.html.

[ER8] USGS; Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0 (2012). Website last visited on March
6, 2017; URL https://lta.cr.usgs.gov/glcc/globdoc2_0.

[ER9] The ECS SDP Toolkit (2012). DEM and land-sea mask data itself is available from ftp://
edhs1.gsfc.nasa.gov/edhs/sdptk/DEMdata; URL http://newsroom.gsfc.nasa.gov/
sdptoolkit/TKDownload.html.

[ER10] UDUNITS 2 Manual (2011). URL http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/software/udunits/.

[ER11] Cooperative Ocean/Atmosphere Research Data Service; Conventions for the standardization of
NetCDF files (1995). URL http://ferret.wrc.noaa.gov/noaa_coop/coop_cdf_profile.
html.
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3 Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms

Terms, definitions, and abbreviated terms that are specific for this document can be found below.

3.1 Terms and definitions

ATBD Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document
TBA To be Added
TBC To be Confirmed
TBD To be Defined

3.2 Acronyms and Abbreviations

ATBD Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document
DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt
ESA European Space Agency
KNMI Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut
IODD Input Output Data Definition
OCRA Optical Cloud Recognition Algorithm
PUM Product User Manual
ROCINN Retrieval of Cloud Information using Neural Networks
QA Quality Assurance
UPAS Universal Processor for UV/VIS Atmospheric Spectrometers

4 Overview of the Sentinel 5 precursor/TROPOMI Level 2 Products

The Sentinel 5 Precursor mission aims at providing information and services on air quality and climate in
the timeframe 2017–2023. The S5p mission is part of the Global Monitoring of the European Programme
for the establishment of a European capacity for Earth Observation (COPERNICUS). TROPOMI makes daily
global observations of key atmospheric constituents, including ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon
monoxide, methane, formaldehyde as well as cloud and aerosol properties. The list of standard S5p/TROPOMI
L2 products is given in table 1. Other products, such as UV index, are under development and will made
available at a later date.

Table 1: Standard S5P L2 products with name, identifier, and responsible institutes.

Product ATBD PUM Identifier Institution

Cloud [RD3] [RD4] L2__CLOUD_ DLR
NPP-VIIRS Clouds [RD5] [RD5] L2__NP_BDx RAL
HCHO [RD6] [RD7] L2__HCHO__ BIRA/DLR
SO2 [RD8] [RD9] L2__SO2___ BIRA/DLR
O3 Total Column [RD10] [RD11] L2__O3____ BIRA/DLR
O3 Tropospheric Column [RD12] [RD13] L2__O3_TCL IUP/DLR
Aerosol layer height [RD14] [RD15] L2__AER_LH KNMI
Ultra violet aerosol index [RD16] [RD17] L2__AER_AI KNMI
O3 Full Profile [RD18] [RD19] L2__O3__PR KNMI
NO2 [RD20] [RD21] L2__NO2___ KNMI
CO [RD22] [RD23] L2__CO____ SRON/KNMI
CH4 [RD24] This document L2__CH4___ SRON/KNMI
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4.1 File name convention

The table specifies an identifier that is a substring of real name. The complete filename conventions for all the
S5p products can be found in [RD25, chapter 4]. Note that intermediate L2 products beside those listed in
table 1 may exist within the PDGS framework. For each of the products listed in the table, a PUM is available.
Note that product documentation, e.g. ATBDs and PUMs, will be updated with new releases of processors.
User documentation is distributed through the tropomi website [ER1]. Information about S5p mission can be
found at the official ESA website for the Sentinel 5 precursor mission [ER2].
In the current PUM the Methane product is described and an example of the full real name is as following:
S5P_NRTI_L2__CH4____20190920T054303_20190920T054803_10028_01_010302_20190920T062930.nc
The components of this file name are given in table 2

Table 2: Components of an S5P product file name. Components are separated by underscores, except for the
file extension at the end, which is separated by a period. Character indices start counting at 0, the end-index is
a Python style index, it lists the first character not in the block.

Start End Length Meaning

0 3 3 Mission name, always “S5P”
4 8 4 Processing stream, one of “NRTI” (near real-time), “OFFL” (offline) or “RPRO”
(reprocessing)
9 19 10 Product identifier, as listed in table 1
20 35 15 Start of granule in UTC as “YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS”. The “T” is a fixed character.
36 51 15 End of the granule in UTC as “YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS”. The “T” is a fixed character.
52 57 5 Orbit number
58 60 2 Collection number
61 67 6 Processor version number as “MMmmpp”, with “MM” the major version number, “mm”
the minor version number, and “pp” the patch level.
68 83 15 The time of processing for this granule in UTC as “YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS”. The “T”
is a fixed character.
84 86 2 The file name extension. All Sentinel 5 precursor files are netCDF-4 files and use
the extension “nc”

5 Data Distribution and Product Support

The TROPOMI Methane product data are available from the Copernicus Open Data Hub https://scihub.copernicus.eu.
The access and use of any Copernicus Sentinel data available through the Sentinel Data Hub is governed
by the Legal Notice on the use of Copernicus Sentinel Data and Service Information and is given here: https:
//sentinels.copernicus.eu/documents/247904/690755/Sentinel_Data_Legal_Notice.

5.1 Information to supply with a support request

We have been very careful in the preparation of the processors, the processing system, the data distribution
system and all other components that generate the level 2 products for the Sentinel 5 precursor mission. You
may encounter problems when reading the level 2 files despite our care, or you may not understand what we
have written in the product user manual or the ATBD. You can contact us through the earth observation help
desk operated by ESA at EOSupport@copernicus.esa.int. Please clearly indicate that you are requesting
support for Sentinel 5 precursor (S5p) / TROPOMI mission.
If you are requesting technical support it is helpful to provide us with details of the file you are try-
ing to read. The easiest way to do this is to provide a “dump” of the header of the file. This can be
generated using the “ncdump” tool provided with the netCDF-4 library. Only the header is required, so
“ncdump -h FILE.nc > FILE.cdl” will provide us with all metadata in the file and help us pinpoint how
the file was produced. Here you replace FILE.nc with the actual file name on the command line.
If generating the header fails, please provide us with the exact original file name of the granule you are
trying to read, the exact error message you get and the exact version of the software you are using, including
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Figure 1: Panoply

the versions of netCDF-4 and HDF-5. Providing us with a checksum to verify file integrity can also speed up
our response.

6 General Reader and Visualisation Tools

For reading and visualising you may find Panoply [ER3] a useful tool. Panoply is a cross-platform application
that plots geo-gridded and other arrays from netCDF, HDF, GRIB, and other datasets, including the Sentinel 5
precursor Level 2 datafiles. With Panoply 4 you can:

• Slice and plot geo-gridded latitude-longitude, latitude-vertical, longitude-vertical, or time-latitude arrays

from larger multidimensional variables.
• Slice and plot "generic" 2D arrays from larger multidimensional variables.
• Slice 1D arrays from larger multidimensional variables and create line plots.
• Combine two geo-gridded arrays in one plot by differencing, summing or averaging.
• Plot lon-lat data on a global or regional map using any of over 100 map projections or make a zonal
average line plot.
• Overlay continent outlines or masks on lon-lat map plots.
• Use any of numerous color tables for the scale colorbar, or apply your own custom ACT, CPT, or RGB
color table.
• Save plots to disk GIF, JPEG, PNG or TIFF bitmap images or as PDF or PostScript graphics files.
• Export lon-lat map plots in KMZ format.
• Export animations as AVI or MOV video or as a collection of invididual frame images.

7 Instrument description
On 13 October 2017 the Copernicus Sentinel 5 Precursor (S5P), the first of the European Sentinel satellites
dedicated to monitoring of atmospheric composition, was launched. The mission objectives of S5P are to
globally monitor air quality, climate and the ozone layer in the time period between 2017 and 2023. The
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first 6 months of the mission were used for special observations to commission the satellite and the ground
processing systems; the operational phase started in April of 2018.
The single payload of the S5P mission is TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), which has
been developed by The Netherlands in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA). TROPOMI is a
nadir viewing shortwave spectrometer that measures in the UV-visible wavelength range (270 – 500 nm), the
near infrared (710 – 770 nm) and the shortwave infrared (2314 – 2382 nm).
The instrument uses passive remote sensing techniques to attain its objective by measuring at the top
of the atmosphere the solar radiation reflected by and radiated from the Earth. The instrument operates in
a push-broom configuration with a wide swath. Light from the entire swath is recorded simultaneously and
dispersed onto two-dimensional imaging detectors: the position along the swath is projected onto one direction
of the detectors, and the spectral information for each position is projected on the other direction.
The instrument images a strip of the Earth on a two dimensional detector for a period of approximately 1
second during which the satellite moves by about 7 km. This strip has dimensions of approximately 2600 km
in the direction across the track of the satellite and 7 km in the along-track direction. After the 1 second
measurement a new measurement is started thus the instrument scans the Earth as the satellite moves. The
two dimensions of the detector are used to detect the different ground pixels in the across track direction and
for the different wavelengths. The measurement principle of TROPOMI is shown in figure 2.

across track (swa

th)

hs
gt
en
el
av
w

Flight direction

~7 km
(1 s flight)
~2600 km

Figure 2: TROPOMI measurement principle.

On August 6th, 2019, the instrument settings of TROPOMI were changed. The nominal integration time
was reduced from 1080 ms to 840 ms. Before the change the pixel size is 7.2 × 3.6 km2 for bands 2 –6, (UVN)
7.2 × 7.2 km2 for bands 7 and 8 (SWIR), and 21.6 × 28.8 km2 for band 1 (deep UV), after co-addition in the
flight direction. After the change in the settings, the pixel dimension in the flight direction is reduced. The new
sizes become 5.6 × 3.6 km2 for bands 2 –6, 5.6 × 7.2 km2 for bands 7 and 8, and 28 × 28.8 km2 for band 1, after
co-addition in the flight direction.
For the UVN spectrometers about 20 million spectra are observed per day. With that resolution TROPOMI
is a major step forward compared to its predecessors OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument), SCIAMACHY
(Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography) and GOME-2 (Global Ozone
Monitoring Experiment-2). The spatial resolution is combined with a wide swath to allow for daily global
coverage. The TROPOMI/S5P geophysical (Level 2) operational data products are listed in section 4.
The S5P will fly in a so-called loose formation with the U.S. Suomi NPP (National Polar-orbiting Partnership)
satellite. The primary objective for this formation flying is to use the high spatial resolution cloud observation
capabilities of the VIIRS instrument (Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite). The temporal separation
between TROPOMI and VIIRS is less than 5 minutes, both having an equator crossing time near 13:30 local
solar time. This formation enables synergistic data products and scientific research potentials.
The spectral range is split over 4 different detectors. By design these detectors do not observe on the
same geographic grid. Combining products that were derived from different detectors will require some careful
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re-mapping to take care of this spatial mismatch.

More details on the TROPOMI instrument and the operational concepts can be found in the Level 0 to 1B
ATBD [RD26, parts I – III].
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8 S5p/TROPOMI L2 Methane Product Description

Methane (CH4 ) is after carbon dioxide (CO2 ), the most important contributor to the anthropogenically enhanced
greenhouse effect. Monitoring CH4 abundances in the Earth’s atmosphere is the dedicated goal of several cur-
rent and future satellite missions. Such space borne observations aim at providing CH4 column concentrations
with high sensitivity at the Earth’s surface, with good spatio-temporal coverage, and with sufficient accuracy to
facilitate inverse modeling of sources and sinks.
Scattering by aerosols and cirrus clouds is the major challenge for retrievals of methane from space-borne
observations of backscattered sunlight in the SWIR spectral range. While contamination by optically thick
clouds can be filtered out reliably, optically thin scatterers are much harder to detect, yet still modify the light
path of the observed backscattered sunlight and thus can lead to underestimation or overestimation of the true
methane column if not appropriately accounted for. The net light path effect strongly depends on the amount,
the microphysical properties, and the height distribution of the scatterers as well as on the reflectance of the
underlying ground surface.
The operational S5P level-2 processor employs the RemoTeC full-physics algorithm that simultaneously
retrieves the amount of atmospheric CH4 and the physical scattering properties of the atmosphere from Earth
radiance measurements in the near-infrarred (NIR) and shortwave infrarred (SWIR) spectral bands. A detailed
description of the algorithm is given in the TROPOMI Methane ATBD [RD24].

8.1 History of product changes

A brief description of data product changes is given here. Detailed description of the changes can be found in
appropriate versions of the ATBD.

• L2 Version 02.04.00 The dependency with wavelength of the surface reflectance is modelled using a
second order spectral dependence instead of a first order.

• L2 Version 02.03.00
Retrievals over ocean scenes under sun-glint geometries are included in the processing since version
02.03.00. Details can be found on Sect. 5.7 in the ATBD [RD24].

• L2 Version 02.02.00 / L1B version 02.02

The main updates of version 02.02.00 are related to the regularization scheme of the inversion, the
spectroscopic database for the absorption cross-sections and an a posteriori bias correction derived
using only TROPOMI data. Details can be found on [RD24], [RD27].
The HITRAN 2008 spectroscopic database used in version 01.xx is replaced by the SEOM-IAS (Scientific
Exploitation of Operational Missions – Improved Atmospheric Spectroscopy Databases) for the inter-
pretation of TROPOMI observations (https://www.wdc.dlr.de/seom-ias/) [RD28]. Using the SEOM-IAS
database results in better spectral fitting quality parameters in the retrieved XCH4 [RD27].
To account for the albedo dependence, we apply an a posteriori bias correction to the retrieved XCH4 .
In version 01.0x.00 a few months after TROPOMI was operational, we applied a correction based on
the comparison of TROPOMI XCH4 with GOSAT retrievals. After more than 2 years of measurements,
we have sufficient data to derive a new correction using only TROPOMI XCH4 measurements. We
use a similar approach to the “small area approximation” applied to OCO-2, assuming a uniform XCH4
distribution as a function of albedo in several regions. This approach makes the correction completely
independent of any reference data (e.g. GOSAT, TCCON) that could introduce additional biases when
applying the correction and does not allow for an independent verification of the correction.
We now select a constant regularization optimized for real observations in the inversion procedure.
This includes a dedicated regularization parameter for the target absorber and each of the scattering
parameters.

• L2 Version 01.02.00 ; 01.03.00 ; 01.04.00 / L1B Version This processor version is in operation since
the XCH4 data release, and there are no changes in between these versions that affect the retrieved
XCH4 .

Note that the processor version for CH4 is changing when there is a change to any of the products belonging
to the NL-L2 processor suite (NO2 , CO, CH4 , AI, ALH, O3 PR) even if the change is not affecting the CH4
product.
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Figure 3: Global XCH4 distribution as obtained with TROPOMI measurements averaged over the period of 12
November to 30 December 2017.

8.2 Data Product Examples

After the successful launch of TROPOMI on October 13th, 2017 as the single payload of ESA’s Sentinel-5
Precursor (S-5P) satellite, first calibrated SWIR radiance data were received at November 9th, 2017. The
official TROPOMI XCH4 data processing in the off-line data stream (OFFL) was released on April 2019.
Already early in the mission the data quality was sufficient to process the total column-averaged dry-air
mole fraction of methane (XCH4 ). An example of the XCH4 retrieved from the first two months of radiance
measurements of TROPOMI is shown in Fig. 3. Here only data are used with a quality assurance value
(qa_value) > 0.5. The data selection approach and the specifics on the recommendations for data usage and
quality assurance are provided in the Methane Product Readme File [RD29].
To assure that the data with the highest quality is used, we select clear-sky scenes using a filter based
on observations of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi-NPP satellite
that observes the same scene as TROPOMI approximately 5 min earlier. Other filtering criteria are based
on retrieved scattering properties, surface albedo, signal-to-noise-ratio, terrain roughness and fitting quality
[RD29].
Already in this early phase of the mission TROPOMI demonstrated its capability to detect XCH4 enhance-
ments over different sources, like wetlands or biomass burning. For example, Fig. 4 shows enhanced XCH4
values over western and Central Africa, where the Sudd wetland region in South Sudan shows a strong XCH4
enhancement. This illustrates the benefits of TROPOMI’s strongly improved coverage combined with high
spatial resolution with respect to previous satellite instruments.

8.3 Product Geophysical Validation

Up to date validation results are available in the Routine Operations Consolidated Validation Reports (ROCVR)
that are accessible through the MPC Validation Data Analysis Facility (VDAF) website at http://mpc-vdaf.tropomi.eu.
The ROCVR reports are issued quarterly.
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L2 PUM Methane
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Figure 4: TROPOMI XCH4 over western and central Africa averaged from 12 November to 30 December 2017,
from [RD30]

The main validation sources for TROPOMI XCH4 data are XCH4 measurements by the Thermal and
Near Infrared Sensor for Carbon Observation Fourier transform spectrometer (TANSO-FTS) on board the
Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) and independent ground-based XCH4 measurements from
the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON).

8.3.1 Version 02.02

Details on the validation of this data version can be found in [RD27]. Here we summarize the main validation
results.
We perform a detailed comparison of the TROPOMI XCH4 corrected with XCH4 measured at 13 TCCON
stations selected for the validation. The mean bias is below 1% for all stations; the average bias for all stations
is -0.2% (-3.4 ppb), and the station-to-station variability is 0.3% (5.6 ppb). Compared to the uncorrected
TROPOMI XCH4 , the mean bias is reduced significantly (from -3.4% to 0.2 %). Figure 5a shows the mean bias
and the standard deviation for each of the stations, and Fig. 5b shows the correlation plot.

8.4 Using the S5p/TROPOMI L2 Methane

The TROPOMI CH4 data product is given in the form of total column-averaged dry-air mole fraction, XCH4 . It
is calculated from the methane vertical sub-column elements xi and the dry-air column Vair,dry calculated with
meteorology input from ECMWF:
n
xi
XCH4 = ∑ . (1)
V
i=0 air,dry

We perform a bias correction of the TROPOMI XCH4 data based on the retrieved surface albedo in the
SWIR to further improve the accuracy and the fitness for purpose of the TROPOMI CH4 product. Details about
the correction are found in the ATBD [RD24].
The units of the XCH4 TROPOMI product are ’1e−9 mol·mol−1 ’, or parts-per-billion (ppb). This represents
the total column-averaged concentration of methane, so it is representative of the complete column of the
atmosphere, thus it should not be interpreted as the surface concentration of methane.
For data use, it is sufficient to focus on the XCH4 bias corrected product, the precision available in the data
product (defined as the standard deviation of the retrieval noise, which describes the effect of the measurement
noise on the retrieval) and the quality descriptor (qa_value). The qa_value indicates the status and quality of
the retrieval output. To assure that the highest quality data is used, only pixels that are classified with qa_value
> 0.5 should be used.

e: 45, Issue: 8, Pages: 3682-3689, First published: 26 March 2018, DOI: (10.1002/2018GL077259)
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(a) (b)

Figure 5: (a) Mean differences between TROPOMI and TCCON XCH4 (∆XCH4 ), the standard deviation of
the differences (σXCH4 ) and the number of collocations for each of the stations selected for the validation. (b)
Correlation of daily average XCH4 measured by TROPOMI and TCCON for all the stations.

Since version 02.03.xx pixels classified with qa_value > 0.5 also contain measurements over ocean under
sun-glint geometries. In case ocean and land measurements need to be used separately, either the ‘processing
quality flag’ or ‘surface classification’ mask should be used to select pixels with ‘sun glint warning’ and ‘water’
flag.
The XCH4 product contains a column averaging kernel that describes the sensitivity of the retrieved CH4
column to partial columns in different altitude layers in the atmosphere. The use of the column averaging kernel
is explained in the next section.

8.4.1 Use of column averaging kernel for the XCH4 product

If the TROPOMI XCH4 data are to be compared with other XCH4 data for which vertical profile information
is available (e.g. inverse modeling, comparison to models, comparison to measured profiles), the column
averaging kernels should be used. Here it should be noted that the column averaging kernels are to be applied
to layer sub-columns (cm−2 ), as these are the quantities directly retrieved in the RemoTeC algorithm.
Below we describe the procedure to compare the S5P XCH4 product to a reference profile, which can e.g.
come from a model or a validation measurement. For such comparisons, the S5P XCH4 product shall be
compared to
XCH4avg avg
re f = VCH4re f /VAIRdry,re f , (2)
where VAIRdry,re f is the total dry air column corresponding to the reference profile and

N
VCH4avg
re f = VCH4apriori + ∑ ai (∆VCH4re f ,i − ∆VCH4apriori,i ). (3)
i=1

Here, VCH4apriori is the a priori methane total column (in cm−2 ), N is the number of layers of the retrieval
vertical grid, ai is the column averaging kernel for layer i, and ∆VCH4re f ,i is the partial methane column (in
cm−2 ) of the reference profile in retrieval layer i. The partial methane column of the reference profile in retrieval
layer i should be calculated by
∆VCH4re f ,i = XCH4re f ,i ∆VAIRdry,re f (4)
where XCH4re f ,i is the dry air mixing ratio of the reference profile in retrieval layer i. To obtain XCH4re f ,i either
all reference XCH4 values within layer i should be averaged (if the reference vertical grid is finer than the
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retrieval grid) or the reference XCH4 profile shall be interpolated to the mid-pressure value of retrieval layer i (if
the reference vertical grid is coarser than the retrieval grid).
The procedure described above assumes the availability of VAIRdry,re f and ∆VAIRdry,re f . In case these
quantities are not available the corresponding values provided in the S5P methane product shall be used.
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9 General structure of S5P/TROPOMI Level 2 files

This section gives an overview of the basic structure of all Sentinel 5 precursor level 2 files. In subsections 9.1 –
9.3 and sections 11 – 13 some details are provided on the background of the structure of the level 2 files
of Sentinel 5 precursor. A complete description of the variables in the Methane files is given in section 10.
Figure 6 gives a graphical representation of the generic structure of a TROPOMI Level 2 file. The outermost
layer is the file itself. Within the file different groups are used to organise the data and make it easier to find
what you are looking for. Within the file there are two groups: “PRODUCT” and “METADATA”. Both of these
groups contain sub-groups. The purpose of each group are discussed below.

PRODUCT The variables in this group will answer the questions what, when, where and how well. This
group stores the main data fields of the product, including the precision of the main parameters, latitude,
longitude and variable to determine the observation time and the dimensions needed for the data (a time
reference dimension (time), the number of measurements in the granule (scanline), the number of spectra
in a measurement (ground_pixel) and depending on the product also a pressure-level dimension, or
state-vector dimensions). The “qa_value” parameter summarizes the processing flags into a continuous
value, giving a quality percentage: 100 % is the most optimal value, 0 % is a processing failure, in
between lies a continuum of values1 .
In the ‘PRODUCT’ group a sub-group ‘SUPPORT_DATA’ can be found:

SUPPORT_DATA Additional data that is not directly needed for using and understanding the main data
product is stored in sub-groups of this group.
The data in this group is further split up into the following sub groups:
GEOLOCATIONS Additional geolocation and geometry related fields, including the pixel boundar-
ies (pixel corners), viewing- and solar zenith angles, azimuth angles, and spacecraft location.
DETAILED_RESULTS Additional output, including state-vector elements that are not the main
parameter(s), output describing the quality of the retrieval result, such as a χ 2 value, and
detailed processing flags.
INPUT_DATA Additional input data, such as meteorological input data, surface albedo values,
surface altitude and other data that was used to derive the output. Note that input profile
information is not stored here, but is available for download from elsewhere.

METADATA This is a group to collect metadata items, such as the items that appear in the header file [RD31,
section 7] and items required by INSPIRE [ER4], ISO 19115 [RD32], ISO 19115-2 [RD33], ISO 19157 [RD34]
and OGC 10-157r3 [RD35]. These metadata standards are all meant to facilitate dataset discovery.
The metadata will be stored as attributes, while grouping attributes that belong to a specific standard
will be done by using sub-groups in the Metadata group. Some attributes are required to be attached to
the global level by convention, such as the CF metadata conventions [ER5], the Attribute Convention
for Dataset Discovery [ER6], the NetCDF-4 user guide [ER7] and the ESA CCI project [RD36]. For
interoperability reasons the conventions are followed, and the specified global attributes are added to the
output files at the root-level.

ALGORITHM_SETTINGS An attribute is added to this group for each key in the configuration file. The
exact contents differ for each processor.
GRANULE_DESCRIPTION Parameters describing the granule, such as an outline of the geolocations
covered in the granule, the time coverage, and processing facility.
QA_STATISTICS Quality assurance statistics. This group contains two types of data:
1. The total number of pixel matching a certain criterion: number of input pixels, number of pixels
successfully processed and the number of pixels that failed for specific reasons. Also part of
the pixel counting are the number of warnings that were raised, including those for the south
Atlantic anomaly, sun glint and solar eclipse. This is collectively known as ‘event counting’.
2. Histogram(s) of the main parameter(s) in the file. Histograms are additive and allow for easy
monitoring of changes over time. This can be a valuable addition for quality monitoring of the
science data.
ESA_METADATA The metadata items that are required in the ESA header.
ISO_METADATA The ISO metadata items, organized in subgroups.
1
More detailed processing flags indicating precisely why the 100 % value isn’t reached, are available elsewhere in the product.
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Sentinel 5P Level 2 product

Global attributes

PRODUCT

main precision qa_value …

latitude longitude delta_time

scanline ground_pixel time …

SUPPORT_DATA
GEOLOCATIONS SZA …

DETAILED_RESULTS processing_quality_flags …

INPUT_DATA surface_pressure …

METADATA

ALGORITHM_SETTINGS Attributes

GRANULE_DESCRIPTION Attributes

QA_STATISTICS
Attributes

Histogram_axis Histogram

ESA_METADATA Attributes

ISO_METADATA Attributes and sub-groups

Legend
Root level First level group Second level group

Third level group Variable Attributes

Dimension

Figure 6: Graphical description of the generic structure of a Level 2 file. The elements labelled as a dimension
are coordinate variables. See section 9 for a full description.
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EOP_METADATA The EOP metadata items, organized in subgroups.

The work of Level 1B on metadata as described in the metadata specification for TROPOMI L01b
data processor [RD37] is used as the basis for the level 2 metadata, in particular for the items in the
‘ISO_METADATA’ and ‘EOP_METADATA’ subgroups. The listed metadata standards give a data model
and an implementation guideline for producing an XML file with the metadata – as a side-file to the
data-file itself. The Level 1B IODS [RD2] describes a method to store the metadata in the NetCDF-4 file,
and produce XML side-files as needed. A detailed discussion on metadata as it applies to Level 2 can
be found in section 13.

Details of the specific format of the level 2 product file for the Methane product is given in section 10. Here all
variables are described in detail.

9.1 Dimensions and dimension ordering

All variables in a NetCDF-4 file use named and shared dimensions. This explicitly connects variables to
dimensions, and to each other. A few of the dimension names were already shown in figure 6.

time A time dimension. The length of this dimension is 1, at least for S5P. The reason this dimension is used
are compatibility with Level 1B, and forward compatibility with Sentinel 4 and Level 3 output. Details are
provided in sections 9.2.

scanline The dimension that indicates the flight direction.

ground_pixel The dimension perpendicular to the flight direction.

level For profiles this dimension is used for the vertical grid. The levels indicate the interfaces between layers
following the CF metadata conventions [ER5, Appendix D]. .

layer For profiles this dimension is used for the vertical grid. The layers contain the bulk between the levels, a
layer has a thickness, a level is at an altitude. This is not fully CF compliant, but saves a lot of memory.

Other dimensions can be added as needed, but these names shall be the default for these roles.
The climate and forecast metadata conventions recommend a specific order for dimensions in a vari-
able [ER5, section 2.4]. Spatiotemporal dimensions should appear in the relative order: “date or time” (T ),
“height or depth” (Z ), “latitude” (Y ), and “longitude” (X ). Note that the ordering of the dimensions in CDL, our
documentation and C/C++ is row-major: the last dimension is stored contiguously in memory2 .
Using straight latitude and longitude is fine with model parameters, but the S5P/TROPOMI Level 1B/Level 2
observation grid is not a regular grid. Because of the polar orbit, the across track dimension (‘ground_pixel’)
corresponds most closely with the longitude, and therefore is associated with the X -dimension, while the
along track dimensions (‘scanline’) corresponds most directly with latitude, and is therefore labelled as the
Y -dimension.
However, in the CF conventions goes on to recommend that additional dimensions are added before the
(T, Z,Y, X) axes, that is to have contiguous (T, Z,Y, X) hyperslabs, and spread out the data in other dimensions.
We do not follow this recommendation. Instead we recommend to keep units that are likely to be accessed as
a unit together in memory, but following the recommended order for (T,Y, X). Note that we do not follow the CF
conventions for profiles as they are more likely accessed as complete profiles rather than horizontal slices. A
few examples will help:

Tropospheric NO2 column This variable contains a single value per ground pixel, and the dimensions are
(time, scanline, ground_pixel).

O3 profile This variable provides a column per ground pixel. Since the vertical axis is clearly defined we have
the dimensions for this variable as (time, scanline, ground_pixel, level). Note that we do not follow the
CF conventions in this case as ozone profiles are more likely accessed as complete profiles rather than
horizontal slices.

The state_vector_length variable that accompanies the state_vector_length dimension is a string array,
giving the names of the state vector elements.
2
Fortran uses column-major order, effectively reversing the dimensions in the code compared to the documentation.
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9.2 Time information

Time information is stored in two steps. We have the time dimension, which indicates the reference time. This
reference time is defined to be UTC midnight before the start of the orbit, which itself is defined by spacecraft
midnight. The time variable contains the reference time in seconds since 2010-01-01, UTC midnight.
Alternative representations of the reference time are listed in table 3. The offset of individual measurements
within the granule is given in milliseconds with respect to this reference time in the variable delta_time.
The reason for this double reference is to more closely follow the CF conventions. Because the flight
direction relates the latitude and the time within the orbit, we have Y and T dimensions that are closely related.
By separating these into a time dimension of length 1 and a scanline dimension, we obtain independent Y
and T dimensions. The actual observation time of an individual observation must be reconstructed from an
offset and a time-delta.
As a service to the users, the time is also stored in the ‘time_utc’ variable. This variable is a string array,
with each observation time stored as an ISO date string [RD38].

Table 3: Reference times available in a S5P L2 file. Types: (A) global attribute, (D) dimensional variable, (V)
variable. All reference times ignore leap seconds.

Name Type Description

time_reference (A) ISO date/time string [RD38]
time_reference_days_since_1950 (A) The number of days since January first, 1950, UTC mid-
night, as used in several weather and climate models
(ECMWF, TM5).
time_reference_julian_day (A) The Julian date of the reference time as used in astronomy.
This is the reference time system as used in IDL.
time_reference_seconds_since_1970 (A) The number of seconds since January first, 1970, UTC
midnight. This is also known as the unix epoch. Time
functions on many systems will accept this number.
time (D) This variable contains the number of seconds since 2010-
01-01, UTC midnight.
time_utc (V) Array of ISO date/time strings [RD38], one for each obser-
vation, i.e. one for each element in the scanline dimension

9.3 Geolocation, pixel corners and angles

The latitude, longitude, pixel corner coordinates and related angles and satellite position in the level 2 files are
copied from the level 1B input data [RD26, chapters 26 and 27]. Details about the definitions can be found
there. Note that the latitude and longitude have not been corrected for the local surface altitude, but are instead
given at the intersection of the line of sight with the WGS84 ellipsoid.
The geo-coordinates of the pixel corners are shown in Figure 7. Note that this choice follows the CF
metadata standard [ER5, section 7.1].
The azimuth angles, i.e. the solar azimuth angle ϕ0 and the viewing azimuth angle ϕ give the angle of
the sun and the instrument respectively at the intersection of the line of sight with the WGS84 ellipsoid. Both
angles are given as degrees east relative to the local north. This definition is identical to the definition of
the azimuth angles in both the OMI and GOME-2 instruments, but requires some care when comparing to a
radiative transfer model. A radiative transfer model will typically use ϕ − ϕ0 which differs by 180◦ as it follows
the path of the light.
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)
, i+1
(j+1
2=
, i-1)
(j+1
3=

Fligh
(j, i)

t dir
i+1)
ectio
(j-1,
1=
n i-1)
(j-1,
0=

Figure 7: Pixel corner coordinates. The sequence {0, 1, 2, 3} refers to the elements in the corner dimension.

10 Description of the CH4 product

Description of the main output file for the CH4 product from the TROPOMI instrument on the Sentinel 5-
precursor mission.
These are the file-level attributes.
If the ECMWF dynamic auxiliary data is not available a fallback solution will be used. In this case the
Level 2 output file will be flagged using the “Status_MET_2D” global attribute.
If the TM5 dynamic auxiliary data is not available a fallback solution will be used. In this case the Level 2
output file will be flagged using the “Status_CTM_CO” or “Status_CTMCH4” global attribute.
If the VIIRS dynamic auxiliary data is not available a fallback solution will be used. In this case the Level 2
output file will be flagged using the “Status_NPP_VIIRS” global attribute.

Global attributes in CH4___

Group attributes attached to CH4___

Name Value Type
Conventions ‘CF-1.7’ (static) NC_STRING
Name of the conventions followed by the dataset. Note that while we try to follow the climate and forecast
metadata conventions, there are some features – notably the use of groups to hierarchicaly organize the
data – that are not part of version 1.6 of the CF metadata conventions. In those cases we try to follow the
spirit of the conventions. This attribute originates from the NUG standard.
institution ‘%(institute)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The institute where the original data was produced. The actual processing center is given in the
ProcessingCenter attribute, here we would like to indicate the responsible parties. The value is a
combination from BIRA, DLR, ESA, FMI, IUP, KNMI, MPIC, SRON, . . . . The actual value is a combination
of the ATBD institute and the institute that developed the processor. This attribute originates from the NUG
standard.
source ‘Sentinel 5 precursor, TROPOMI, space-borne remote NC_STRING
sensing, L2’ (dynamic)
Method of production of the original data. Value includes instrument, generic description of retrieval, product
level, and adds a short product name and processor version. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
history NC_STRING
Provides an audit trail for modifications to the original data. Well-behaved generic netCDF filters will
automatically append their name and the parameters with which they were invoked to the global history
attribute of an input netCDF file. Each line shall begin with a timestamp indicating the date and time of day
that the program was executed. This attribute originates from the NUG, CF standards.
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summary NC_STRING
Miscellaneous information about the data or methods used to produce it.
If processing in a degraded mode occured, then a note should be placed in this attribute. A degraded
processing mode can occur for several reasons, for instance the use of static backup data for nominally
dynamic input or an irradiance product that is older than a few days. A machine-parseable description is
available in the “processing_status” attribute. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
tracking_id NC_STRING
This unique tracking ID is proposed by the Climate Change Initiative – European Space Agency project.
This ID is a UUID and allows files to be referenced, and linked up to processing description, input data,
documentation, etc. The CCI-ESA project uses version 4 UUIDs (random number based) for consistency
with CMIP5. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
id ‘%(logical_filename)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The “id” and “naming_authority” attributes are intended to provide a globally unique identification for each
dataset. The “id” value should attempt to uniquely identify the dataset. The naming authority allows a further
refinement of the “id”. The combination of the two should be globally unique for all time. We use the logical
file name for the “id” attribute. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
time_reference ‘YYYY-MM-DDT00:00:00Z’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
UTC time reference as an ISO 8601 [RD38] string. This corresponds to the UTC value in the time
dimensional variable. By definition it indicates UTC midnight before the start of the granule.
time_reference_days_- 0 (dynamic) NC_INT
since_1950
The reference time expressed as the number of days since 1950-01-01. This is the reference time unit used
by both TM5 and ECMWF.
time_reference_julian_day 0.0 (dynamic) NC_DOUBLE
The reference time expressed as a Julian day number.
time_reference_seconds_- 0 (dynamic) NC_INT64
since_1970
The reference time expressed as the number of seconds since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC. This is the
reference time unit used by Unix systems.
time_coverage_start ‘YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.mmmmmmZ’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Start of the data granule in UTC as an ISO 8601 [RD38] string. See the discussion of the time_delta
variable on page 31 for details.
time_coverage_end ‘YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.mmmmmmZ’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
End of the data granule in UTC as an ISO 8601 [RD38] string. See the discussion of the time_delta
variable on page 31 for details.
time_coverage_duration NC_STRING
Duration of the data granule as an ISO 8601 [RD38] duration string (“PT%(duration_seconds)sS”). This
attribute originates from the CCI standard.
time_coverage_resolution NC_STRING
Interval between measurements in the data granule as an ISO 8601 [RD38] duration string (“PT%(interval_-
seconds)fS”). For most products this is 1080 ms in nominal operation, except for “L2__O3__PR”, which
uses 3240 ms due to coaddition. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
orbit 0 (dynamic) NC_INT
The absolute orbit number, starting at 1 – first ascending node crossing after spacecraft separation. For
pre-launch testing this value should be set to “−1”.
references ‘%(references)s’ (static) NC_STRING
References that describe the data or methods used to produce it. This attribute originates from the CF
standard.
processor_version ‘%(version)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The version of the data processor, as string of the form “major.minor.patch”.
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keywords_vocabulary ‘AGU index terms, http://publications.agu.org/author- NC_STRING

resource-center/index-terms/’ (static)
The guidelines followed for the keywords attribute. We use the index terms published by the AGU.
keywords ‘%(keywords_agu)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Keywords from the “keywords_vocabulary” describing the contents of the file. To be provided by the
ATBD authors.
standard_name_vocabulary ‘NetCDF Climate and Forecast Metadata Conventions NC_STRING
Standard Name Table (v29, 08 July 2015), http://
cfconventions.org/standard-names.html’ (static)
The table followed for the standard_name attributes.
naming_authority ‘%(naming_authority)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Specify who is giving out the id attribute. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
cdm_data_type ‘Swath’ (static) NC_STRING
The THREDDS data type appropriate for this dataset, fixed to “Swath” for S5P level 2 products. This
attribute originates from the CCI standard.
date_created ‘YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS.ffffffZ’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The date on which this file was created. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
creator_name ‘%(credit)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The name of the creator, equal to the value of the “gmd:credit” attribute. For S5P this attribute is set
to “The Sentinel 5 Precursor TROPOMI Level 2 products are developed with funding from the European
Space Agency (ESA), the Netherlands Space Office (NSO), the Belgian Science Policy Office, the German
Aerospace Center (DLR) and the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft und Medien, Energie und
Technologie (StMWi).” This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
creator_url ‘%(creator_url)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Hyperlink to a location where more information on the product can be found. Set to http://www.tropomi.
eu/. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
creator_email ‘EOSupport@Copernicus.esa.int’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Point of contact for more information and support for this product. Set to
“mailto:EOSupport@Copernicus.esa.int”. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
project ‘Sentinel 5 precursor/TROPOMI’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The name of the scientific project that created the data. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
geospatial_lat_min NC_FLOAT
Lowest latitude present in the file in decimal degrees. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
geospatial_lat_max NC_FLOAT
Highest latitude present in the file in decimal degrees. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
geospatial_lon_min NC_FLOAT
Lowest longitude present in the file in decimal degrees. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
geospatial_lon_max NC_FLOAT
Highest longitude present in the file in decimal degrees. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
license ‘No conditions apply’ (static) NC_STRING
describe the restrictions to data access and distribution. For S5P “No conditions apply”. This attribute
originates from the CCI standard.
platform ‘S5P’ (static) NC_STRING
Name of the satellite, set to “S5P”. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
sensor ‘TROPOMI’ (static) NC_STRING
Name of the sensor, set to “TROPOMI”. This attribute originates from the CCI standard.
spatial_resolution NC_STRING
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Spatial resolution at nadir. For most products this is “3.5 × 7 km2 ”, except for “L2__O3__PR”, which uses
“28 × 21 km2 ” and “L2__CO____” and “L2__CH4___”, which both use “7 × 7 km2 ”. This attribute originates
from the CCI standard.
cpp_compiler_version NC_STRING
The version of the compiler used for the C++ code. The value of this attribute is set via the Makefile.
cpp_compiler_flags NC_STRING
The compiler flags passed to the C++ compiler. The value of this attribute is set via the Makefile.
f90_compiler_version NC_STRING
The version of the compiler version used for the Fortran code. The value of this attribute is set via the
Makefile. Note that not all processors make use of Fortran code.
f90_compiler_flags NC_STRING
The compiler flags passed to the Fortran compiler. The value of this attribute is set via the Makefile. Note
that not all processors make use of Fortran code.
build_date NC_STRING
The date on which the processor was built.
revision_control_identifier ‘%(revision_control_source_identifier)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Revision control system identifier for the source used to build this processor.
geolocation_grid_from_band NC_INT
The band from which the geolocation was taken, useful for colocating the level 2 output with other products.
identifier_product_doi ‘%(product_doi)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
This is the DOI (“Digital Object Identifier”) of the current product. It allows to easily find download and
background information, even if that location is moved after the file has been created.
identifier_product_doi_au- ‘http://dx.doi.org/’ (static) NC_STRING
thority
This attribute defines the authoritative service for use with DOI values in resolving to the URL location.
algorithm_version ‘%(algorithm_version)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The algorithm version, separate from the processor (framework) version, to accomodate different release
schedules for different products.
title ‘TROPOMI/S5P Methane %s L2 Swath %sx%skm’ (dy- NC_STRING
namic)
This is a short description of the product. Methane is only produced in offline processing, not in near real
time. The granule size is always 1 orbit. The nominal value is “TROPOMI/S5P CO Column 1-Orbit L2 Swath
yx7.0km”, with the y dimension adjusted according to the spatial sampling of the input (7.0 or 5.5). This
attribute originates from the NUG standard.
product_version ‘1.5.0’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Included for compatibility with the CCI project, where this item is defined as “the product version of this data
file.” We will use the file format version for this attribute following several CCI sub-projects. This attribute
originates from the CCI standard.
processing_status ‘Nominal’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Description the processing status of the granule on a global level, mainly based on the availability of auxiliary
input data.
Possible values: Nominal, Degraded
Status_MET_2D NC_STRING
The status of ECMWF input, either “Nominal” or “Fallback”. Note that the “MET_2D” auxiliary input is used
as an achor point for all meteorological data (where applicable).
Possible values: Nominal, Fallback
Status_CTM_CO NC_STRING
The status of TM5 CO input, either “Nominal” or “Fallback”.
Possible values: Nominal, Fallback
Status_CTMCH4 NC_STRING
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The status of TM5 CH4 input, either “Nominal” or “Fallback”.

Possible values: Nominal, Fallback
Status_NPP_VIIRS NC_STRING
The status of NPP-VIIRS input, either “NRTI, ”, “Nominal” or “Fallback”. In NRTI mode, this auxiliary input is
expected to be missing.
Possible values: NRTI, Nominal, Fallback

10.1 Group “PRODUCT” in “CH4___”

This is the main group containing the CH4 product. At this level the dimensions and the main data fields are
defined. Support data can be found in the “SUPPORT_DATA” group.
The dimensions that are common to all products. These are all located in the “PRODUCT” group, and
can be accessed from that group and all sub-groups of the “PRODUCT” group, that is everywhere except the
“METADATA” group.
All dimensions have an associated variable. These variables give a meaning to the dimension, spanning
the axis of other variables.
The latitude and longitude. Used in all products, placed in the “PRODUCT” group.
Dimensions in CH4___/PRODUCT

scanline The number of measurements along the swath, in the flight-direction.

size Unlimited.
ground_pixel The number of ground pixels across track. This depends on the product and will follow the
dimension found in the main input Level 1B product.
size -1 (dynamic)
source L1B.
corner The number of corners for a pixel.
size 4 (fixed)
time The time dimension. See the discussion of the associated dimensional variable on page 30 for details.
size 1 (fixed)
layer The number of layers on which the retrieval is done.
size -1 (dynamic)
source Processor.
level The number of levels (layer interfaces) on which the retrieval is done. The number of levels is one larger
than the number of layers.
size -1 (dynamic)
source Processor.

Variables in CH4___/PRODUCT

scanline in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: The coordinate variable scanline refers to the along-track dimension of the measurement.
The scanlines are time-ordered, meaning that “earlier” measurements have a lower index
than “later” measurements. This variable merely contains an index to ensure that when
indicating a pixel in a file the same index is used. This avoids the off-by-one confusion that
frequently occurred in OMI discussions.

Dimensions: scanline (coordinate variable).

Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
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Attributes: Name Value Type

units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
Dimensionless, no physical quantity. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
axis ‘Y’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘along-track dimension index’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘This coordinate variable defines the indices along NC_STRING
track; index starts at 0’ (static)
ground_pixel in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: The coordinate variable ground_pixel refers to the across-track dimension of the meas-
urement. The ground_pixel ordering is from left to right with respect to the flight direction.
For the Sentinel 5 precursor orbit this corresponds to west to east during the ascending
part of the orbit, i.e. a higher index corresponds to a higher longitude. This variable merely
contains an index to ensure that when indicating a pixel in a file the same index is used.
This avoids the off-by-one confusion that frequently occurred in OMI discussions.
Dimensions: ground_pixel (coordinate variable).
Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
Dimensionless, no physical quantity. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
axis ‘X’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘across-track dimension index’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘This coordinate variable defines the indices across NC_STRING
track, from west to east; index starts at 0’ (static)
time in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: The variable time(time) is the reference time of the measurements. The reference
time is set to YYYY-MM-DDT00:00:00 UTC, midnight UTC before spacecraft midnight, the
formal start of the current orbit. The delta_time(scanline) variable indicates the time
difference of the observations with the reference time. Thus combining the information
of time(time) and delta_time(scanline) yields the measurement time for each
scanline as UTC time. The reference time(time) corresponds to the global attribute
time_reference which is specified as a UTC time specified as an ISO 8601 [RD38] date.
Dimensions: time (coordinate variable).
Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘seconds since 2010-01-01 00:00:00’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘time’ (static) NC_STRING
axis ‘T’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘reference time for the measurements’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘The time in this variable corresponds to the time in NC_STRING
the time_reference global attribute’ (static)
corner in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: An index for the pixel corners. We follow the CF-Metadata conventions [ER5, section 7.1].
The full coordinate system is right-handed, and the order of the pixel corners is counter-
clockwise, starting in the “lower-left” corner (i.e. the smallest value in both latitude and
longitude on the ascending part of the orbit, or equivalently for TROPOMI the lowest value for
both the ground_pixel and scanline indices). See figure 7 on page 25 for a graphical
depiction of the corners.
Dimensions: corner (coordinate variable).
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Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
Dimensionless, no physical quantity. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
long_name ‘pixel corner index’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘This coordinate variable defines the indices for the NC_STRING
pixel corners; index starts at 0 (counter-clockwise,
starting from south-western corner of the pixel in
ascending part of the orbit)’ (static)
layer in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: Index to count the number of layers.
Dimensions: layer (coordinate variable).
Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
axis ‘Z’ (static) NC_STRING
positive ‘down’ (static) NC_STRING
level in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: Index to count the number of levels.
Dimensions: level (coordinate variable).
Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
axis ‘Z’ (static) NC_STRING
positive ‘down’ (static) NC_STRING
delta_time in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: The delta_time(scanline) variable indicates the time difference with the reference
time time(time) (see page 30). Thus combining the information of time(time) and
delta_time(scanline) yields the start of the measurement time for each scanline as
TAI2010 time. Combining the information in the global attribute time_reference with
delta_time(scanline) yields the start of the measurement time in UTC time. The UTC
time derived for the first scanline corresponds to the global attribute time_coverage_-
start. However, the UTC time derived for the last scanline does not correspond to
global attribute time_coverage_end. One scanline measurement is the result of adding
independent measurements during one coaddition period. The scanline measurement is
given the measurement time of the first sample in this co-addition. It is the measurement
time of the last sample in the coaddition period of the last scanline that corresponds to
time_coverage_end.
This variable gives the time offset in ms accuracy.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘offset of start time of measurement relative to NC_STRING
time_reference’ (static)
units ‘milliseconds’ (static) NC_STRING
time_utc in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: The time of observation expressed as ISO 8601 [RD38] date-time string.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
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Type: NC_STRING.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘Time of observation as ISO 8601 date-time string’ NC_STRING
(static)
qa_value in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: A continuous quality descriptor, varying between 0 (no data) and 1 (full quality data). The
value will change based on observation conditions and retrieval flags. Detailed quality flags
are provided in the processing_quality_flags elsewhere in the product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_UBYTE.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
scale_factor 0.01 (static) NC_FLOAT
add_offset 0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_min 0 (static) NC_UBYTE
valid_max 100 (static) NC_UBYTE
long_name ‘data quality value’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘A continuous quality descriptor, varying between 0 NC_STRING
(no data) and 1 (full quality data). Recommend to
ignore data with qa_value < 0.5’ (static)
coordinates ‘longitude latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
latitude in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: The latitude of the pixel centers of the ground pixels in the data. Latitude, longitude
coordinates for the ground pixel center and the ground pixel corners are calculated at the
WGS84 ellipsoid.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘pixel center latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘degrees_north’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
valid_min -90.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 90.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
bounds ‘/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS/ NC_STRING
latitude_bounds’ (static)
A link to the boundary coordinates, i.e. the pixel corners. Note that the use of group-names
in this attribute is an extension of the climate and forecasting metadata conventions.
longitude in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: The longitude of the pixel centers of the ground pixels in the data. Latitude, longitude
coordinates for the ground pixel center and the ground pixel corners are calculated at the
WGS84 ellipsoid.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘pixel center longitude’ (static) NC_STRING
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units ‘degrees_east’ (static) NC_STRING

standard_name ‘longitude’ (static) NC_STRING
valid_min -180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
bounds ‘/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS/ NC_STRING
longitude_bounds’ (static)
A link to the boundary coordinates, i.e. the pixel corners. Note that the use of group-names
in this attribute is an extension of the climate and forecasting metadata conventions.
methane_mixing_ratio in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: Retrieved column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of atmospheric methane, in literature
referred to as “XCH4 ”.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1e-9’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘dry_atmosphere_mole_fraction_of_methane’ NC_STRING
(static)
long_name ‘column averaged dry air mixing ratio of methane’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘longitude latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
ancillary_vari- ‘methane_mixing_ratio_precision column_aver- NC_STRING
ables aging_kernel chi_square degreess_of_freedom’
(static)
Provide a connection with associated data. For the XCH4 retrieval these are the precision of
XCH4 , the column averaging kernel, the χ 2 of the fit and the degrees of freedom in the fit.
This attribute originates from the NUG, CF standards.
methane_mixing_ratio_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: Precision of the column-averaged dry-air mixing mole fraction of CH4 , as a 1 σ width.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1e-9’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘dry_atmosphere_mole_fraction_of_methane NC_STRING
standard_error’ (static)
long_name ‘precision of the column averaged dry air mixing NC_STRING
ratio of methane’ (static)
coordinates ‘longitude latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
methane_mixing_ratio_bias_corrected in CH4___/PRODUCT
Description: Corrected column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of CH4 .
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1e-9’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘dry_atmosphere_mole_fraction_of_methane’ NC_STRING
(static)
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long_name ‘corrected column-averaged dry-air mole fraction NC_STRING

of methane’ (static)
coordinates ‘longitude latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
ancillary_vari- ‘methane_mixing_ratio_precision column_aver- NC_STRING
ables aging_kernel chi_square degrees_of_freedom’
(static)
Provide a connection with associated data. For the XCH4 retrieval these are the precision of
XCH4 , the column averaging kernel, the chi squared of the fit and the degrees of freedom in
the fit. This attribute originates from the NUG, CF standards.
comment ‘This value will be filled with data after the commis- NC_STRING
sioning phase, this is known to be empty for now’
(static)

10.1.1 Group “SUPPORT_DATA” in “PRODUCT”

10.1.1.1 Group “GEOLOCATIONS” in “SUPPORT_DATA”

Variables in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS

satellite_latitude in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: Latitude of the geodetic sub satellite point on the WGS84 reference ellipsoid.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘sub satellite latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘degrees_north’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘Latitude of the geodetic sub satellite point on the NC_STRING
WGS84 reference ellipsoid’ (static)
valid_min -90.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 90.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
satellite_longitude in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: Longitude of the geodetic sub satellite point on the WGS84 reference ellipsoid.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘satellite_longitude’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘degrees_east’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘Longitude of the geodetic sub satellite point on the NC_STRING
WGS84 reference ellipsoid’ (static)
valid_min -180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
satellite_altitude in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: The altitude of the satellite with respect to the geodetic sub satellite point on the WGS84
reference ellipsoid.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
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Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘satellite altitude’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘m’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘The altitude of the satellite with respect to the geo- NC_STRING
detic sub satellite point on the WGS84 reference
ellipsoid’ (static)
valid_min 700000.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 900000.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
satellite_orbit_phase in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: Relative offset [0.0, . . . , 1.0] of the measurement in the orbit.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘fractional satellite orbit phase’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘Relative offset [0.0, ..., 1.0] of the measurement in NC_STRING
the orbit’ (static)
valid_min -0.02 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 1.02 (static) NC_FLOAT
solar_zenith_angle in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: Solar zenith angle ϑ0 at the ground pixel location on the reference ellipsoid. Angle is
measured away from the vertical. ESA definition of day side: ϑ0 < 92◦ . Pixels are processed
when ϑ0 ≤ ϑ0max with 80◦ ≤ ϑ0max ≤ 88◦ , depending on the algorithm. The actual value for
ϑ0max can be found in the algorithm metadata settings.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘solar zenith angle’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘solar_zenith_angle’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘degree’ (static) NC_STRING
valid_min 0.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude are in a different group. How to specify the related geospatial
coordinates in this case is not specified in the climate and forecast metadata conven-
tions [ER5].
comment ‘Solar zenith angle at the ground pixel location on NC_STRING
the reference ellipsoid. Angle is measured away
from the vertical’ (static)
solar_azimuth_angle in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: The solar azimuth angle at the ground pixel location on the reference ellipsoid. The angle is
measured clockwise from the North (North = 0◦ , East = 90◦ , South = ±180◦ , West = −90◦ ).
This is the same definition that is use in both OMI and GOME-2 level 1B files.
See the note on the viewing_azimuth_angle on the calculation of the relative azimuth
angle as used in radiative transfer calculations.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
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Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘solar azimuth angle’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘solar_azimuth_angle’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘degree’ (static) NC_STRING
valid_min -180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude are in a different group. How to specify the related geospatial
coordinates in this case is not specified in the climate and forecast metadata conven-
tions [ER5].
comment ‘Solar azimuth angle at the ground pixel location on NC_STRING
the reference ellipsoid. Angle is measured clock-
wise from the North (East = 90, South = +/-180,
West = -90)’ (static)
viewing_zenith_angle in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: Zenith angle of the satellite ϑ at the ground pixel location on the reference ellipsoid. Angle
is measured away from the vertical.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘viewing zenith angle’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘viewing_zenith_angle’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘degree’ (static) NC_STRING
valid_min 0.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
valid_max 180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude are in a different group. How to specify the related geospatial
coordinates in this case is not specified in the climate and forecast metadata conven-
tions [ER5].
comment ‘Zenith angle of the satellite at the ground pixel loc- NC_STRING
ation on the reference ellipsoid. Angle is measured
away from the vertical’ (static)
viewing_azimuth_angle in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: The satellite azimuth angle at the ground pixel location on the reference ellipsoid. The angle
is measured clockwise from the North (North = 0◦ , East = 90◦ , South = ±180◦ , West =
−90◦ ). This is the same definition that is use in both OMI and GOME-2 level 1B files.
To calculate the azimuth difference ϕ − ϕ0 it is not sufficient to just subtract solar_-
azimuth_angle from viewing_azimuth_angle. The angle needed for radiative trans-
fer calculations is (180◦ − (ϕ − ϕ0 )) mod 360◦ .
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘viewing azimuth angle’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘viewing_azimuth_angle’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘degree’ (static) NC_STRING
valid_min -180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
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valid_max 180.0 (static) NC_FLOAT

coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude are in a different group. How to specify the related geospatial
coordinates in this case is not specified in the climate and forecast metadata conven-
tions [ER5].
comment ‘Satellite azimuth angle at the ground pixel loca- NC_STRING
tion on the reference ellipsoid. Angle is measured
clockwise from the North (East = 90, South = +/
-180, West = -90)’ (static)
latitude_bounds in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: The latitude of the pixel corners of the ground pixels in the data. Latitude, longitude
coordinates for the ground pixel center and the ground pixel corners are calculated at the
WGS84 ellipsoid.
The order of the pixel corners follows the CF-metadata conventions [ER5, section 7.1], i.e.
the ordering is counter-clockwise when viewed from above. A graphical representation is
given in figure 7.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel, corner.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
longitude_bounds in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: The longitude of the pixel corners of the ground pixels in the data. Latitude, longitude
coordinates for the ground pixel center and the ground pixel corners are calculated at the
WGS84 ellipsoid.
The order of the pixel corners follows the CF-metadata conventions [ER5, section 7.1], i.e.
the ordering is counter-clockwise when viewed from above. A graphical representation is
given in figure 7.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel, corner.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
geolocation_flags in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/GEOLOCATIONS
Description: Additional flags describing the ground pixel, including the influence of a solar eclipse, the
possibility of sun glint, whether we are in the descending part of the orbit, whether we are
on the night side of the orbit, whether the pixel crosses the dateline (useful for plotting), or if
there was some geolocation error.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_UBYTE.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
_FillValue 255 (static) NC_UBYTE
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
flag_masks 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 128 (static) NC_UBYTE
flag_meanings ‘no_error solar_eclipse sun_glint_possible des- NC_STRING
cending night geo_boundary_crossing spacecraft_-
manoeuvre geolocation_error’ (static)
flag_values 0, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 128 (static) NC_UBYTE
long_name ‘geolocation flags’ (static) NC_STRING
max_val 254 (static) NC_UBYTE
min_val 0 (static) NC_UBYTE
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
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10.1.1.2 Group “DETAILED_RESULTS” in “SUPPORT_DATA”

Variables in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS

processing_quality_flags in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Processing quality flag. This flag indicates processing errors or reasons for not processing
a particular pixel (collectively ‘errors’, leading to a fill value in the output) and warnings that
occured while processing this pixel (warnings which may affect the quality of the retrieval
result). A detailed description is provided in appendix A.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_UINT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘Processing quality flags’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘Flags indicating conditions that affect quality of the NC_STRING
retrieval.’ (static)
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flag_meanings ‘success radiance_missing irradiance_missing NC_STRING

input_spectrum_missing reflectance_range_error
ler_range_error snr_range_error sza_range_error
vza_range_error lut_range_error ozone_range_-
error wavelength_offset_error initialization_error
memory_error assertion_error io_error numer-
ical_error lut_error ISRF_error convergence_error
cloud_filter_convergence_error max_iteration_-
convergence_error aot_lower_boundary_conver-
gence_error other_boundary_convergence_error
geolocation_error ch4_noscat_zero_error h2o_-
noscat_zero_error max_optical_thickness_error
aerosol_boundary_error boundary_hit_error
chi2_error svd_error dfs_error radiative_trans-
fer_error optimal_estimation_error profile_error
cloud_error model_error number_of_input_-
data_points_too_low_error cloud_pressure_-
spread_too_low_error cloud_too_low_level_error
generic_range_error generic_exception input_-
spectrum_alignment_error abort_error wrong_-
input_type_error wavelength_calibration_error
coregistration_error slant_column_density_error
airmass_factor_error vertical_column_density_er-
ror signal_to_noise_ratio_error configuration_error
key_error saturation_error max_num_outlier_-
exceeded_error solar_eclipse_filter cloud_filter
altitude_consistency_filter altitude_roughness_-
filter sun_glint_filter mixed_surface_type_filter
snow_ice_filter aai_filter cloud_fraction_fresco_-
filter aai_scene_albedo_filter small_pixel_radi-
ance_std_filter cloud_fraction_viirs_filter cirrus_-
reflectance_viirs_filter cf_viirs_swir_ifov_filter
cf_viirs_swir_ofova_filter cf_viirs_swir_ofovb_filter
cf_viirs_swir_ofovc_filter cf_viirs_nir_ifov_filter
cf_viirs_nir_ofova_filter cf_viirs_nir_ofovb_filter
cf_viirs_nir_ofovc_filter refl_cirrus_viirs_swir_filter
refl_cirrus_viirs_nir_filter diff_refl_cirrus_viirs_filter
ch4_noscat_ratio_filter ch4_noscat_ratio_std_filter
h2o_noscat_ratio_filter h2o_noscat_ratio_std_filter
diff_psurf_fresco_ecmwf_filter psurf_fresco_-
stdv_filter ocean_filter time_range_filter pixel_-
or_scanline_index_filter geographic_region_filter
input_spectrum_warning wavelength_calibration_-
warning extrapolation_warning sun_glint_warning
south_atlantic_anomaly_warning sun_glint_-
correction snow_ice_warning cloud_warning
AAI_warning pixel_level_input_data_missing
data_range_warning low_cloud_fraction_warn-
ing altitude_consistency_warning signal_to_-
noise_ratio_warning deconvolution_warning
so2_volcanic_origin_likely_warning so2_volcanic_-
origin_certain_warning interpolation_warning
saturation_warning high_sza_warning cloud_re-
trieval_warning cloud_inhomogeneity_warning
thermal_instability_warning’ (static)
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flag_masks 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, NC_UINT
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255, 255,
255, 255, 255, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192,
16384, 32768, 65536, 131072, 262144, 524288,
1048576, 2097152, 4194304, 8388608, 16777216,
33554432, 67108864, 134217728, 268435456,
536870912, 1073741824 (static)
flag_values 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, NC_UINT
17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43,
44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 64, 65,
66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79,
80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93,
94, 95, 96, 97, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192,
16384, 32768, 65536, 131072, 262144, 524288,
1048576, 2097152, 4194304, 8388608, 16777216,
33554432, 67108864, 134217728, 268435456,
536870912, 1073741824 (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude are in a different group. How to specify the related geospatial
coordinates in this case is not specified in the climate and forecast metadata conven-
tions [ER5].
number_of_spectral_points_in_retrieval in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The number of points in the spectrum that were used in the retrieval.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_USHORT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘Number of spectral points used in the retrieval’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude are in a different group. How to specify the related geospatial
coordinates in this case is not specified in the climate and forecast metadata conven-
tions [ER5].
number_of_spectral_points_in_retrieval_NIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RES-
ULTS
Description: The number of points in the spectrum that were used in the retrieval from the NIR spectrum
(band 6).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_USHORT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘number of spectral points used in the retrieval.’ NC_STRING
(static)
comment ‘Flags indicating conditions that affect quality of the NC_STRING
retrieval.’ (static)
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coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING

column_averaging_kernel in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Column averaging kernel for CH4 .
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel, layer.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Column averaging kernel for the methane retrieval’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
carbonmonoxide_total_column in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The vertical column of CO as a by-product of CH4 retrieval. This is not the official CO column
product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_carbon_monox- NC_STRING
ide’ (static)
long_name ‘CO total vertical column’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘This is a by-product of the methane retrieval, this NC_STRING
is not the official carbon monoxide product.’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
carbonmonoxide_total_column_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RES-
ULTS
Description: Precision of the vertical column of CO as a by-product of CH4 retrieval. This is not the official
CO column product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_carbon_monoxide NC_STRING
standard_error’ (static)
long_name ‘CO total vertical column precision’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘This is a by-product of the methane retrieval, this NC_STRING
is not the official carbon monoxide product.’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
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multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT

factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
water_total_column in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The vertical column of H2 O as a by-product of CH4 retrieval.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_water_vapor’ NC_STRING
(static)
long_name ‘H2O total vertical column’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
water_total_column_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Precision of the vertical column of H2 O as a by-product of CH4 retrieval.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_water_vapor stand- NC_STRING
ard_error’ (static)
long_name ‘H2O total vertical column precision’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
aerosol_size in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The aerosol size parameter in the CH4 retrieval.
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Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.

Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘aerosol size parameter of the power law size distri- NC_STRING
bution’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
aerosol_size_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Precision of the aerosol size parameter in the CH4 retrieval.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘precision of the aerosol size parameter of the NC_STRING
power law size distribution’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
aerosol_number_column in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The column number density of aerosol particles from the CH4 retrieval.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_number_content_of_aerosol_- NC_STRING
particles’ (static)
long_name ‘aerosol total vertical number column’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
aerosol_number_column_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Precision of the aerosol column number density in the CH4 retrieval.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_number_content_of_aerosol_- NC_STRING
particles standard_error’ (static)
The standard name from the standard name table for the precision of the aerosol amount.
This attribute originates from the CF standard.
long_name ‘precision of aerosol total vertical column’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
aerosol_mid_altitude in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The aerosol altitude parameter in the CH4 retrieval. Note that altitude is defined as the
(geometric) height above the geoid.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
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Attributes: Name Value Type

units ‘m’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘central altitude of aerosol altitude distribution. This NC_STRING
is the geometric height above the geoid.’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
aerosol_mid_altitude_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Precision of the aerosol altitude parameter in the CH4 retrieval.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘m’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘precision of central altitude of aerosol altitude dis- NC_STRING
tribution.’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
surface_albedo_SWIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Retrieved surface albedo in the SWIR band.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘surface_albedo’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘surface albedo in the SWIR channel’ (static) NC_STRING
radiation_- 2345.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here. The
wavelength is given in nm.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
surface_albedo_SWIR_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Precision of the retrieved surface albedo in the SWIR band.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘surface_albedo standard_error’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘precision of the surface albedo in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel’ (static)
radiation_- 2345.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here. The
wavelength is given in nm.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
surface_albedo_NIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Retrieved surface albedo in the NIR band.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
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Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘surface_albedo’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘surface albedo in the NIR channel’ (static) NC_STRING
radiation_- 758.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here. The
wavelength is given in nm.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
surface_albedo_NIR_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Precision of the retrieved surface albedo in the NIR band.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘surface_albedo standard_error’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘precision of the surface albedo in the NIR channel’ NC_STRING
(static)
radiation_- 758.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here. The
wavelength is given in nm.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
aerosol_optical_thickness_SWIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Retrieved aerosol optical thicknesss in the SWIR band.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘aerosol optical thickness in SWIR channel’ (static) NC_STRING
radiation_- 2345.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here. The
wavelength is given in nm.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
aerosol_optical_thickness_NIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Retrieved aerosol optical thicknesss in the near infrared band.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
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long_name ‘aerosol optical thickness in NIR band’ (static) NC_STRING

radiation_- 758.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here. The
wavelength is given in nm.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
wavelength_calibration_offset_SWIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Spectral shift of the measurement in the SWIR band. To obtain the wavelengths used in the
retrieval the value in this variable needs to be added to the wavelengths that are found in
Level 1B.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘nm’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Spectral shift in the SWIR band, add value to L1B NC_STRING
to obtain best fit result’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
wavelength_calibration_offset_NIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Spectral shift of the measurement in the NIR band. To obtain the wavelengths used in the
retrieval the value in this variable needs to be added to the wavelengths that are found in
Level 1B.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘nm’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Spectral shift in the NIR band, add value to L1B to NC_STRING
obtain best fit result’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
maximum_reflectance_NIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Maximum reflectance R = (πI)/(µ0 E0 ) in the NIR channel, band 6. Here I is the radiance,
E0 the irradiance, and µ0 = cos(ϑ0 ), where ϑ0 is the solar zenith angle.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Maximum reflectance in the NIR channel’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
maximum_reflectance_SWIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: Maximum reflectance R = (πI)/(µ0 E0 ) in the SWIR channel, bands 7 & 8. Here I is the
radiance, E0 the irradiance, and µ0 = cos(ϑ0 ), where ϑ0 is the solar zenith angle.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
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long_name ‘Maximum reflectance in the SWIR channel’ (static) NC_STRING

coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
chi_square in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The χ 2 value for the fit.
N  2
2 yi − f (xi ; a)
χ =∑ , (5)
i=1 σi
with f (xi ; a) the modeled result, yi the observation, σi the stated precision of the observation
and N the number of observations in the spectrum.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘chi squared of fit in both SWIR and NIR band’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
chi_square_SWIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: χ 2 for just the SWIR channel (bands 7 and 8).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘chi squared of fit in SWIR band’ (static) NC_STRING
radiation_- 2345.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
chi_square_NIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: χ 2 for just the NIR channel (band 6).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘chi squared of fit in NIR band’ (static) NC_STRING
radiation_- 758.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
wavelength
The wavelengths used for the determination of the aerosol index. The CF-conventions
propose to use a coordinate variable for this, but this seems more appropriate here.
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
degrees_of_freedom in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The degrees of freedom for the signal.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
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units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING

long_name ‘degrees of freedom for signal’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
degrees_of_freedom_methane in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The degrees of freedom for the signal for the CH4 retrieval (SWIR channel).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘degrees of freedom for \Methane profile’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
degrees_of_freedom_aerosol in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The degrees of freedom for the signal for the aerosol parameter retrieval (NIR channel).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘degrees of freedom for aerosol parameters’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
number_of_iterations in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The number of iterations needed to achieve convergence.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘number of iterations’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
fluorescence in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/DETAILED_RESULTS
Description: The retrieved chlorophyll fluorescence emission.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol s-1 m-2 nm-1 sr-1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘fluorescence emission’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_-
convert_to_-
photons_perse-
cond_pernm_-
percm2_persr
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The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. The radiances for Sentinel
5 precursor are given in mol s−1 m−2 nm−1 sr−1 . Traditionally the radiances are given in
photons s−1 cm−2 nm−1 sr−1 , This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the
radiance in photons s−1 cm−2 nm−1 sr−1 from the value in mol s−1 m−2 nm−1 sr−1 . This is
provided as a convenience to users who have tools that work in photons s−1 cm−2 nm−1 sr−1 .

10.1.1.3 Group “INPUT_DATA” in “SUPPORT_DATA”

Variables in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA

surface_altitude in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: The mean of the sub-pixels of the surface altitude within the approximate field of view, based
on the GMTED2010 surface elevation database. The surface altitude is referenced to the
Earth Gravitational Model 1996 (EGM96) geoid.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: surface elevation database.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘Surface altitude’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘surface_altitude’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘m’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
source ‘http://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/gmted_viewer/’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘The mean of the sub-pixels of the surface altitude- NC_STRING
within the approximate field of view, based on the
GMTED2010 surface elevation database’ (static)
surface_altitude_precision in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: The standard deviation of sub-pixels used in calculating the mean surface altitude, based
on the GMTED2010 surface elevation database. See the description of the surface_-
altitude variable for details.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: surface elevation database.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘surface altitude precision’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘surface_altitude standard_error’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘m’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_error_- 1.0 (static) NC_FLOAT
multiplier
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
source ‘http://topotools.cr.usgs.gov/gmted_viewer/’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘The standard deviation of sub-pixels used in cal- NC_STRING
culating the mean surface altitude, based on the
GMTED2010 surface elevation database’ (static)
surface_classification in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: This is a combined land/water mask and surface classification data field. For land the
“Global Land Cover Characteristics Data Base Version 2.0” is used [ER8], specifically the
“USGS Land Use/Land Cover System (Modified Level 2)” classification. Over water the
classification from the NASA SDP toolkit [ER9], which is based on [RD39].
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The structure of this variable is indicated with the flag_meanings, flag_values and flag_-
masks, following the CF-metadata convensions. Bits 0 and 1 indicate the land-water mask
at two levels, bit 2 gives a rough statistic on the coverage of the pixel, and the remainder of
the byte indicates the surface classification in more detail. Note that these values are static
and based on the databases indicated above.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_UBYTE.
Source: surface elevation database (including flag attributes).
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘Land-water mask and surface classification based NC_STRING
on a static database’ (static)
comment ‘Flag indicating land/water and further surface clas- NC_STRING
sifications for the ground pixel’ (static)
source ‘USGS (https://lta.cr.usgs.gov/GLCC) and NASA NC_STRING
SDP toolkit (http://newsroom.gsfc.nasa.gov/
sdptoolkit/toolkit.html)’ (static)
flag_meanings ‘land water some_water coast value_cov- NC_STRING
ers_majority_of_pixel water+shallow_ocean
water+shallow_inland_water water+ocean_-
coastline-lake_shoreline water+intermittent_water
water+deep_inland_water water+continental_-
shelf_ocean water+deep_ocean land+urban_-
and_built-up_land land+dryland_cropland_-
and_pasture land+irrigated_cropland_and_pas-
ture land+mixed_dryland-irrigated_cropland_-
and_pasture land+cropland-grassland_mosaic
land+cropland-woodland_mosaic land+grassland
land+shrubland land+mixed_shrubland-
grassland land+savanna land+deciduous_-
broadleaf_forest land+deciduous_needleleaf_-
forest land+evergreen_broadleaf_forest
land+evergreen_needleleaf_forest land+mixed_-
forest land+herbaceous_wetland land+wooded_-
wetland land+barren_or_sparsely_vegetated
land+herbaceous_tundra land+wooded_tundra
land+mixed_tundra land+bare_ground_tundra
land+snow_or_ice’ (static)
flag_values 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 17, 25, 33, 41, 49, 57, 8, 16, 24, 32, NC_UBYTE
40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80, 88, 96, 104, 112, 120, 128,
136, 144, 152, 160, 168, 176, 184 (static)
flag_masks 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, NC_UBYTE
249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249,
249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249, 249,
249, 249, 249 (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
instrument_configuration_identifier in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
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Description: The IcID from the instrument configuration in the Level 1B data product. The TROPOMI
instrument has many configurable parameters. For example, the exposure time, co-addition
period, gains and (for UVN-DEMs) the binning factors can be varied. As a result, the
instrument can be operated in many different modes or configurations. Each combination
of instrument settings is referred to as an instrument configuration and is identified by an
instrument configuration ID, a number in the range [1, 65535]. This instrument configuration
ID, or IcID, is primarily used by the instrument, where it identifies an entry in the instrument
configuration tables. On ground, the IcID is used to determine the intended purpose of a
measurement and is used in the L0 to 1b data processing to determine the processing path.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
Type: NC_INT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘IcID’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘The Instrument Configuration ID defines the type NC_STRING
of measurement and its purpose. The number of
instrument configuration IDs will increase over the
mission as new types of measurements are created
and used’ (static)
instrument_configuration_version in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: For an IcID (see the instrument_configuration_identifier above), it is possible
to have multiple versions, identified by the instrument configuration version or IcVersion.
The combination of IcID and IcVersion uniquely identifies the set of configuration settings
of the instrument. At a given time, only one IcVersion of an IcID can be active within the
instrument. The IcVersion allows to have multiple versions of a measurement with the same
purpose, but with different settings. As a result of, for example, instrument degradation, it
may be required to change the settings for a measurement. In that case, it is not necessary
to create a new IcID, instead the same IcID can be using with a new IcVersion.
Dimensions: time, scanline.
Type: NC_SHORT.
Source: L1B.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘IcVersion’ (static) NC_STRING
comment ‘Version of the instrument_configuration_identifier’ NC_STRING
(static)
scaled_small_pixel_variance in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: The scaled variance of the small pixel values for each ground pixel.

Nsmall pixels −1
1
hR(t, r, c)i = ∑ R(t, r, c, i) (6)
Nsmall pixels i=0
Nsmall pixels −1
1
V (t, r, c) = ∑ (R(t, r, c, i) − hR(t, r, c)i)2 (7)
Nsmall pixels i=0
V (t, r, c)
Vscaled (t, r, c) = (8)
hR(t, r, c)i2

with hR(t, r, c)i the mean reflectance for small pixels of ground pixel (t, r, c), V (t, r, c) the
variance of the small pixels, Vscaled (t, r, c) the scaled small pixel variance, and R(t, r, c, i) with
i = [0, . . . , Nsmall pixels − 1] the small pixel reflectance of ground pixel (t, r, c). The reflectance
R is calculated as R = (πI)/(µ0 E0 ), with I the radiance, E0 the irradiance and µ0 = cos(ϑ0 ),
where ϑ0 is the solar zenith angle.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
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Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
long_name ‘scaled small pixel variance’ (static) NC_STRING
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude are in a different group. How to specify the related geospatial
coordinates in this case is not specified in the climate and forecast metadata conven-
tions [ER5].
comment ‘The scaled variance of the reflectances of the NC_STRING
small pixels’ (static)
radiation_wavelength NC_FLOAT
The approximate wavelength of the small pixel column in nm. Note that due to the spectral
smile this wavelength will depend on the ground_pixel index.
eastward_wind in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: The horizontal component of the wind at 10 meter height in the eastward direction. This is
the 10U parameter from ECMWF (grib variable 165).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
standard_name ‘eastward_wind’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Eastward wind from ECMWF at 10 meter height NC_STRING
level’ (static)
units ‘m s-1’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
ancillary_vari- ‘northward_wind’ (static) NC_STRING
ables
northward_wind in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: The horizontal component of the wind at 10 meter height in the northward direction. This is
the 10V parameter from ECMWF (grib variable 166).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
standard_name ‘northward_wind’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Northward wind from ECMWF at 10 meter height NC_STRING
level’ (static)
units ‘m s-1’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
ancillary_vari- ‘eastward_wind’ (static) NC_STRING
ables
methane_profile_apriori in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: CH4 a priori vertical profile. Interpolated in space and time to SWIR ground pixel and time.
Values are integrated sub-columns.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel, layer.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
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standard_name ‘mole_content_of_methane_in_atmosphere_layer’ NC_STRING

(static)
long_name ‘mole content of methane in atmosphere layer’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
altitude_levels in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Altitude of layer interfaces of retrieval grid. Note that altitude is defined as the (geometric)
height above the geoid. The altitude levels depend on the pressure profile, and can therefore
not be parametrized.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel, level.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘m’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘altitude’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘height above the geoid’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
dry_air_subcolumns in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Dry air subcolumn per layer.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel, layer.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
proposed_stand- ‘mole_content_of_dry_air_in_atmosphere_layer’ NC_STRING
ard_name (static)
A standard name is currently unavailable for the amount of dry air in each layer. A suit-
able name for inclusion in the standard name list is “mole_content_of_dry_air_in_-
atmosphere_layer”, with canonical unit mol m−2 . This attribute originates from the CF
standard.
long_name ‘dry air subcolumns’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
surface_pressure in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
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Description: Pressure at surface elevation of S5P SWIR pixel. An equidistant pressure grid is used,
this variable specifies the interfaces. The pressure grid is equidistant between the surface
pressure and a fixed top pressure. This variable may be removed as the surface pressure is
available, and the top of atmosphere pressure can be specified easily.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘Pa’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘surface_air_pressure’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘surface air pressure’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
pressure_interval in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Pressure difference between retrieval levels. The pressure grid is equidistant between the
surface pressure and a fixed top pressure. Thus, the equidistant pressure grid is defined by
the surface_pressure and pressure_interval variables.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘Pa’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘pressure difference between levels in the retrieval’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
cloud_fraction_VIIRS_SWIR_IFOV in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR channel for the instantaneous field of view
(bands 7 and 8).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel for the instantaneous field of view’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
The latitude and longitude coordinates of the TROPOMI swath is not defined as a Cartesian
product of latitude and longitude axes. Following [ER5, section 5.2] we use this attribute to
connect the data with the geolocation. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
cloud_fraction_VIIRS_SWIR_OFOVa in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR channel (bands 7 and 8) for the 10 % upscaled
field of view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel for the 10% upscaled field of view’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
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cloud_fraction_VIIRS_SWIR_OFOVb in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR channel (bands 7 and 8) for the 50 % upscaled
field of view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel for the 50% upscaled field of view’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
cloud_fraction_VIIRS_SWIR_OFOVc in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR channel (bands 7 and 8) for the 100 % upscaled
field of view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel for the 100% upscaled field of view’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
cloud_fraction_VIIRS_NIR_IFOV in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the NIR channel for the instantaneous field of view (band
6).
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the NIR channel NC_STRING
for the instantaneous field of view (band 6).’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
cloud_fraction_VIIRS_NIR_OFOVa in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the NIR channel (band 6) for the 10 % upscaled field of
view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel for the 10% upscaled field of view’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
cloud_fraction_VIIRS_NIR_OFOVb in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the NIR channel (band 6) for the 50 % upscaled field of
view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
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Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel for the 50% upscaled field of view’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
cloud_fraction_VIIRS_NIR_OFOVc in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the NIR channel (band 6) for the 100 % upscaled field of
view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cloud fraction from VIIRS data in the SWIR chan- NC_STRING
nel for the 100% upscaled field of view’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
reflectance_cirrus_VIIRS_SWIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cirrus reflectance from VIIRS for the SWIR field of view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cirrus reflectance from VIIRS for the SWIR ground NC_STRING
pixel’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
reflectance_cirrus_VIIRS_NIR in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Cirrus reflectance from VIIRS for the NIR field of view.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: RAL-clouds.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Cirrus reflectance from VIIRS for the NIR ground NC_STRING
pixel’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
apparent_scene_pressure in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Scene pressure when FRESCO is running in snow/ice mode.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: FRESCO.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘Pa’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Apparent scene pressure from oxygen A-band NC_STRING
depth’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
apparent_scene_pressure_standard_deviation in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
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Description: Standard deviation of the apparent_scene_pressure for 9 ground pixels, the pixel under
consideration, and its 8 neighbours.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘Pa’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Standard deviation of the apparent scene pressure NC_STRING
from oxygen A-band depth over 9 ground pixels’
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
methane_weak_twoband_total_column in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Total CH4 column from the the weak band of the two-band retrieval. The value is taken from
the CO offline product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: CO offline product.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_methane’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Vertically integrated CH4 column from weak band’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
methane_strong_twoband_total_column in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Total CH4 column from the the strong band of the two-band non-scattering retrieval. The
value is taken from the CO offline product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: CO offline product.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_methane’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Vertically integrated CH4 column from strong band’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
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The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
methane_ratio_weak_strong_standard_deviation in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_-
DATA
Description: Standard deviation of the ratio of CH4 column from weak and strong band for 9 ground
pixels, the pixel under consideration, and its 8 neigbours.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Standard deviation of ratio of the methane column NC_STRING
from weak and strong band over 9 ground pixels’
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
water_weak_twoband_total_column in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Total water column from the the weak band of the two-band non-scattering retrieval. The
value is taken from the CO offline product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: CO offline product.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_water_vapor’ NC_STRING
(static)
long_name ‘Vertically integrated H2O column from weak band’ NC_STRING
(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
water_strong_twoband_total_column in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Total water column from the the strong band of the two-band non-scattering retrieval. The
value is taken from the CO offline product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: CO offline product.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol m-2’ (static) NC_STRING
standard_name ‘atmosphere_mole_content_of_water_vapor’ NC_STRING
(static)
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long_name ‘Vertically integrated H2O column from strong band’ NC_STRING

(static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_con-
vert_to_mo-
lecules_percm2
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. For an integrated column
value this means that the unit is mol m−2 . Traditionally the unit for an integrated column
is “molecules cm−2 ”. This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the total
column in molecules cm−2 from the value in mol m−2 . This is provided as a convenience to
users who have tools that work in molecules cm−2 .
water_ratio_weak_strong_standard_deviation in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: Standard deviation of the ratio of H2 O column from weak and strong band for 9 ground
pixels, the pixel under consideration, and its 8 neigbours.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Standard deviation of ratio of the water vapor NC_STRING
column from weak and strong band over 9 ground
pixels’ (static)
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
fluorescence_apriori in CH4___/PRODUCT/SUPPORT_DATA/INPUT_DATA
Description: The a priori chlorophyll fluorescence emission. The value is taken from the FRESCO
product.
Dimensions: time, scanline, ground_pixel.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘mol s-1 m-2 nm-1 sr-1’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘a priori fluorescence emission’ (static) NC_STRING
coordinates ‘/PRODUCT/longitude /PRODUCT/latitude’ (static) NC_STRING
multiplication_- 6.022140857e+19 (static) NC_FLOAT
factor_to_-
convert_to_-
photons_perse-
cond_pernm_-
percm2_persr
The quantities in Sentinel 5 precursor files are given in SI units. The radiances for Sentinel
5 precursor are given in mol s−1 m−2 nm−1 sr−1 . Traditionally the radiances are given in
photons s−1 cm−2 nm−1 sr−1 , This attribute provides the multiplication factor to calculate the
radiance in photons s−1 cm−2 nm−1 sr−1 from the value in mol s−1 m−2 nm−1 sr−1 . This is
provided as a convenience to users who have tools that work in photons s−1 cm−2 nm−1 sr−1 .

10.2 Group “METADATA” in “CH4___”

This is a group to collect metadata items, such as the items that also appear in the header file and items
required by Inspire [ER4]. Most metadata will be stored as attributes. Grouping attributes that belong to a
specific standard is done by using sub-groups in the Metadata group. Included in this group are the granule
description, algorithm settings and quality assurance parameters. Note that some metadata attributes are
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required to be attached to the global level by convention, such as the CF-Metadata convention [ER5] and the
NetCDF user guide [ER7].

10.2.1 Group “QA_STATISTICS” in “METADATA”

Quality assurance statistics are gathered in variables located in this group. These can include histograms of
the main parameters and event occurrence statistics. The contents of this group is under discussion. Note that
the QA statistics may be stored as scalar variables rather than attributes. The former allow attributes to be
attached to them, providing a more meaningful description than just the name.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS

Group attributes attached to QA_STATISTICS

Name Value Type
number_of_groundpixels 0 (static) NC_INT
Number of ground pixels in the file.
number_of_processed_- 0 (static) NC_INT
pixels
Number of ground pixels where a retrieval was attempted. This is the number_of_groundpixels minus
the pixels that were rejected based on time or configuration (range and step-size in scanline or ground_pixel
index).
number_of_successfully_- 0 (static) NC_INT
processed_pixels
Number of ground pixels where a retrieval was successful.
number_of_rejected_pixels_- 0 (static) NC_INT
not_enough_spectrum
Number of pixels where processing was not attempted because after filtering for bad and missing pixels there
were not enough spectral pixels left in either the radiance, irradiance or after calculating the reflectance.
number_of_failed_retrievals 0 (static) NC_INT
Number of pixels where processing failed for whatever reason.
number_of_ground_pixels_- 0 (static) NC_INT
with_warnings
Number of pixels with one or more warnings.
number_of_missing_scan- 0 (static) NC_INT
lines
Number of scanlines that are missing from the input.
number_of_radiance_miss- 0 (static) NC_INT
ing_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the number of spectral pixels in the radiance due to
flagging is too small to perform the fitting” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “1”.
number_of_irradiance_miss- 0 (static) NC_INT
ing_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the number of spectral pixels in the irradiance due to
flagging is too small to perform the fitting” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “2”.
number_of_input_spec- 0 (static) NC_INT
trum_missing_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the reflectance spectrum does not contain enough points
to perform the retrieval. This is different from (ir)radiance_missing in that the missing points may not be
aligned” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “3”.
number_of_reflectance_- 0 (static) NC_INT
range_error_occurrences
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Number of ground pixels where processing error “any of the reflectances is out of bounds (R < 0 or
R > Rmax )” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “4”.
number_of_ler_range_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “lambert-equivalent reflectivity out of range error” occurred,
i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “5”.
number_of_snr_range_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “too low signal to noise to perform retrieval” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “6”.
number_of_sza_range_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “solar zenith angle out of range, maximum value from
configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value
“7”.
number_of_vza_range_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “viewing zenith angle out of range, maximum value from
configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value
“8”.
number_of_lut_range_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “extrapolation in lookup table (airmass factor, cloud
radiances)” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “9”.
number_of_ozone_range_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “ozone column significantly out of range of profile cli-
matology” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value
“10”.
number_of_wavelength_off- 0 (static) NC_INT
set_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “wavelength offset exceeds maximum from configuration”
occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “11”.
number_of_initialization_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “an error occurred during the processing of the pixel, no
output was generated. The following errors raise this flag: Mismatch between irradiance and radiance
wavelengths; The on-ground distance between band 1 and band 2 ground pixels exceeds a threshold set in
the configuration. Derived a-priori information does not validate, no processing is possible” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “12”.
number_of_memory_error_- 0 (static) NC_INT
occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “memory allocation or deallocation error” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “13”.
number_of_assertion_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “error in algorithm detected during assertion” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “14”.
number_of_io_error_occur- 0 (static) NC_INT
rences
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Number of ground pixels where processing error “error detected during transfer of data between algorithm
and framework” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value
“15”.
number_of_numerical_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “general fatal numerical error occurred during inversion”
occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “16”.
number_of_lut_error_occur- 0 (static) NC_INT
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “error in accessing the lookup table” occurred, i.e. where
the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “17”.
number_of_ISRF_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “error detected in the input instrument spectral response
function input data” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the
value “18”.
number_of_convergence_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the main algorithm did not converge” occurred, i.e. where
the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “19”.
number_of_cloud_filter_- 0 (static) NC_INT
convergence_error_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the cloud filter did not converge” occurred, i.e. where the
lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “20”.
number_of_max_iteration_- 0 (static) NC_INT
convergence_error_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “no convergence because retrieval exceeds maximum
number of iterations. Maximum value from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the
processing_quality_flags have the value “21”.
number_of_aot_lower_- 0 (static) NC_INT
boundary_convergence_er-
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “no convergence because the aerosol optical thickness
crosses lower boundary twice in succession” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “22”.
number_of_other_bound- 0 (static) NC_INT
ary_convergence_error_oc-
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “no convergence because a state vector element crosses
boundary twice in succession. Note that a separate failure flag is defined for non-convergence due to
crossing of lower AOT boundary” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “23”.
number_of_geolocation_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “geolocation out of range” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8
bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “24”.
number_of_ch4_noscat_- 0 (static) NC_INT
zero_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the CH4 column retrieved by the non-scattering CO
algorithm from the weak band or strong band is 0” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “25”.
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number_of_h2o_noscat_- 0 (static) NC_INT

zero_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the H2 O column retrieved by the non-scattering CO
algorithm from the weak band or strong band is 0” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “26”.
number_of_max_optical_- 0 (static) NC_INT
thickness_error_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “maximum optical thickness exceeded during iterations”
occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “27”.
number_of_aerosol_bound- 0 (static) NC_INT
ary_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “boundary hit of aerosol parameters at last iteration”
occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “28”.
number_of_boundary_hit_- 0 (static) NC_INT
error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “fatal boundary hit during iterations” occurred, i.e. where
the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “29”.
number_of_chi2_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “χ 2 is not-a-number or larger than 1010 ” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “30”.
number_of_svd_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “singular value decomposition failure” occurred, i.e. where
the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “31”.
number_of_dfs_error_occur- 0 (static) NC_INT
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “degree of freedom is not-a-number” occurred, i.e. where
the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “32”.
number_of_radiative_trans- 0 (static) NC_INT
fer_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “errors occurred during the radiative transfer computations,
no processing possible” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have
the value “33”.
number_of_optimal_estima- 0 (static) NC_INT
tion_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “errors occurred during the optimal estimation, processing
has been terminated” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the
value “34”.
number_of_profile_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “flag that indicates if there were any errors during the
computation of the ozone profile” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “35”.
number_of_cloud_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “no cloud data” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the
processing_quality_flags have the value “36”.
number_of_model_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
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Number of ground pixels where processing error “forward model failure” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8
bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “37”.
number_of_number_of_in- 0 (static) NC_INT
put_data_points_too_low_-
error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “not enough input ozone columns to calculate a tropo-
spheric column” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value
“38”.
number_of_cloud_pres- 0 (static) NC_INT
sure_spread_too_low_er-
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “cloud pressure variability to low to estimate a tropospheric
column” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “39”.
number_of_cloud_too_low_- 0 (static) NC_INT
level_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “clouds are too low in the atmosphere to assume sufficient
shielding” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “40”.
number_of_generic_range_- 0 (static) NC_INT
error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “generic range error” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits
of the processing_quality_flags have the value “41”.
number_of_generic_excep- 0 (static) NC_INT
tion_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “catch all generic error” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8
bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “42”.
number_of_input_spec- 0 (static) NC_INT
trum_alignment_error_oc-
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “input radiance and irradiance spectra are not aligned
correctly” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “43”.
number_of_abort_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “not processed because processor aborted prematurely
(time out or user abort” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have
the value “44”.
number_of_wrong_input_- 0 (static) NC_INT
type_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “wrong input type error, mismatch between expectation
and received data” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the
value “45”.
number_of_wavelength_cal- 0 (static) NC_INT
ibration_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “an error occurred in the wavelength calibration of this
pixe” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “46”.
number_of_coregistration_- 0 (static) NC_INT
error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “no colocated pixels found in a supporting ban” occurred,
i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “47”.
number_of_slant_column_- 0 (static) NC_INT
density_error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “slant column fit returned error, no values can be compute”
occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “48”.
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number_of_airmass_factor_- 0 (static) NC_INT

error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “airmass factor could not be compute” occurred, i.e. where
the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “49”.
number_of_vertical_- 0 (static) NC_INT
column_density_error_-
occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “vertical column density could not be compute” occurred,
i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “50”.
number_of_signal_to_- 0 (static) NC_INT
noise_ratio_error_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the signal to noise ratio for this spectrum is too low for
processin” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “51”.
number_of_configuration_- 0 (static) NC_INT
error_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “error while parsing the configuratio” occurred, i.e. where
the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “52”.
number_of_key_error_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “key does not exis” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of
the processing_quality_flags have the value “53”.
number_of_saturation_er- 0 (static) NC_INT
ror_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “saturation in input spectru” occurred, i.e. where the lower
8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “54”.
number_of_max_num_out- 0 (static) NC_INT
lier_exceeded_error_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing error “the number of outliers detected in the DOAS fit exceeds a
maximum set for healthy spectra.” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “55”.
number_of_solar_eclipse_fil- 0 (static) NC_INT
ter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “solar eclipse” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the
processing_quality_flags have the value “64”.
number_of_cloud_filter_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “the cloud filter triggered causing the pixel to be skipped” occurred,
i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “65”.
number_of_altitude_consist- 0 (static) NC_INT
ency_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “too large difference between ECMWF altitude and DEM altitude
value” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “66”.
number_of_altitude_rough- 0 (static) NC_INT
ness_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “too large standard deviation of altitude in DEM” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “67”.
number_of_sun_glint_filter_- 0 (static) NC_INT
occurrences
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Number of ground pixels where input filter “for pixels over water, viewing direction inside sun glint region.
Definition of sun glint angle and threshold value from ATBD” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the
processing_quality_flags have the value “68”.
number_of_mixed_surface_- 0 (static) NC_INT
type_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel contains land and water areas (e.g. coastal pixel)” occurred,
i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “69”.
number_of_snow_ice_filter_- 0 (static) NC_INT
occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel contains snow/ice: Snow/ice flag according to dynamic
input OR climatological surface albedo at VIS wavelength is larger than 0.5” occurred, i.e. where the lower
8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “70”.
number_of_aai_filter_occur- 0 (static) NC_INT
rences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “aAI smaller than 2.0” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the
processing_quality_flags have the value “71”.
number_of_cloud_fraction_- 0 (static) NC_INT
fresco_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel contains clouds: The FRESCO effective cloud frac-
tion is larger than threshold. Threshold value from ATBD” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the
processing_quality_flags have the value “72”.
number_of_aai_scene_al- 0 (static) NC_INT
bedo_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel contains clouds: The difference between scene albedo at
380 nm from AAI calculation and the climatologcal surface albedo exceeds threshold. Threshold value from
ATBD. This test filters out clouds” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “73”.
number_of_small_pixel_radi- 0 (static) NC_INT
ance_std_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel contains clouds: Standard deviation of radiances in
small-pixel column exceeds threshold. Threshold value from ATBD” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of
the processing_quality_flags have the value “74”.
number_of_cloud_fraction_- 0 (static) NC_INT
viirs_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel contains clouds: The cloud fraction from VIIRS / NPP
exceeds theshold. Threshold value from ATBD” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “75”.
number_of_cirrus_reflect- 0 (static) NC_INT
ance_viirs_filter_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel contains clouds: Cirrus reflectance from VIIRS / NPP
exceeds threshold. Threshold value from ATBD” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “76”.
number_of_cf_viirs_swir_- 0 (static) NC_INT
ifov_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR ground pixel
exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “77”.
number_of_cf_viirs_swir_- 0 (static) NC_INT
ofova_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR OFOVa exceeds
a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “78”.
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number_of_cf_viirs_swir_- 0 (static) NC_INT

ofovb_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR OFOVb exceeds
a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “79”.
number_of_cf_viirs_swir_- 0 (static) NC_INT
ofovc_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR OFOVc exceeds
a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “80”.
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_- 0 (static) NC_INT
ifov_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR ground pixel
exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “81”.
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_- 0 (static) NC_INT
ofova_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR OFOVa exceeds
a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “82”.
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_- 0 (static) NC_INT
ofovb_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR OFOVb exceeds
a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “83”.
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_- 0 (static) NC_INT
ofovc_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR OFOVc exceeds
a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “84”.
number_of_refl_cirrus_- 0 (static) NC_INT
viirs_swir_filter_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “average VIIRS cirrus reflectance within SWIR ground pixel
exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_-
quality_flags have the value “85”.
number_of_refl_cirrus_- 0 (static) NC_INT
viirs_nir_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “average VIIRS cirrus reflectance within NIR ground pixel exceeds
a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “86”.
number_of_diff_refl_cirrus_- 0 (static) NC_INT
viirs_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “difference in VIIRS average cirrus reflectance between SWIR
and NIR ground pixel exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of
the processing_quality_flags have the value “87”.
number_of_ch4_noscat_ra- 0 (static) NC_INT
tio_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “the ratio between [CH4 ]weak and [CH4 ]strong is below or exceeds
a priori thresholds from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “88”.
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number_of_ch4_noscat_ra- 0 (static) NC_INT

tio_std_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “the standard deviation of [CH4 ]weak /[CH4 ]strong within the SWIR
pixel and the 8 neighbouring pixels exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the
lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “89”.
number_of_h2o_noscat_ra- 0 (static) NC_INT
tio_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “the ratio between [H2 O ]weak and [H2 O ]strong is below or exceeds
a priori thresholds from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_-
flags have the value “90”.
number_of_h2o_noscat_ra- 0 (static) NC_INT
tio_std_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “the standard deviation of [H2 O ]weak /[H2 O ]strong within the SWIR
pixel and the 8 neigbouring pixels exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the
lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “91”.
number_of_diff_psurf_- 0 (static) NC_INT
fresco_ecmwf_filter_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “difference between the FRESCO apparent surface pressure and
the ECMWF surface pressure exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where the lower
8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “92”.
number_of_psurf_fresco_- 0 (static) NC_INT
stdv_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “the standard deviation of the FRESCO apparent surface pressure
in the NIR pixel and the 8 surrounding pixels exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “93”.
number_of_ocean_filter_oc- 0 (static) NC_INT
currences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “the ground pixel is over ocean (and ocean glint retrievals are not
switched on)” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value
“94”.
number_of_time_range_fil- 0 (static) NC_INT
ter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “time is out of the range that is to be processed” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “95”.
number_of_pixel_or_scan- 0 (static) NC_INT
line_index_filter_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “not processed because pixel index does not match general
selection criteria” occurred, i.e. where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the
value “96”.
number_of_geographic_re- 0 (static) NC_INT
gion_filter_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where input filter “pixel falls outside the specified regions of interest” occurred, i.e.
where the lower 8 bits of the processing_quality_flags have the value “97”.
number_of_input_spec- 0 (static) NC_INT
trum_warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “number of good pixels in radiance, irradiance or
calculated reflectance below threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where bit 8 in the processing_-
quality_flags is set to “1”.
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number_of_wavelength_- 0 (static) NC_INT

calibration_warning_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “offset from wavelength fit is larger than limit set in
configuration” occurred, i.e. where bit 9 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_extrapolation_- 0 (static) NC_INT
warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “pressure or temperature outside cross section LUT
range, other lookup table extrapolation” occurred, i.e. where bit 10 in the processing_quality_flags
is set to “1”.
number_of_sun_glint_warn- 0 (static) NC_INT
ing_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “sun glint posibility warning” occurred, i.e. where bit 11
in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_south_atlantic_- 0 (static) NC_INT
anomaly_warning_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “tROPOMI is inside the south Atlantic anomaly while
taking these measurements” occurred, i.e. where bit 12 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_sun_glint_cor- 0 (static) NC_INT
rection_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “a sun glint correction has been applied” occurred, i.e.
where bit 13 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_snow_ice_warn- 0 (static) NC_INT
ing_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “snow/ice flag is set, i.e. using scene data from the
cloud support product” occurred, i.e. where bit 14 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_cloud_warning_- 0 (static) NC_INT
occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “cloud filter based on FRESCO apparent surface
pressure (VIIRS not available), cloud fraction above threshold or cloud pressure adjusted to force cloud
above surface. In case of Cloud product this flag indicates the possiblity of ice-clouds” occurred, i.e. where
bit 15 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_AAI_warning_- 0 (static) NC_INT
occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “possible aerosol contamination as either indicated by
the AAI (O3 profile)” occurred, i.e. where bit 16 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_pixel_level_in- 0 (static) NC_INT
put_data_missing_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “dynamic auxiliary input data (e.g.. cloud) is missing for
this ground pixel. A fallback option is used” occurred, i.e. where bit 17 in the processing_quality_-
flags is set to “1”.
number_of_data_range_- 0 (static) NC_INT
warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “carbon monoxide column tends to negative values;
Water column tends to negative values; Heavy water (HDO) column tends to negative values; others. In
case of the O3 product this flag indicates VCD or effective albedo values outside a valid range. In case
of the SO2 or the HCHO product this flag indicates AMF values outside a valid range. For O3 profile this
warning indicates an out of range cost function, or an out of range RMS difference between retrieval and a
priori” occurred, i.e. where bit 18 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
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number_of_low_cloud_frac- 0 (static) NC_INT

tion_warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “low cloud fraction, therefore no cloud pressure retrieved”
occurred, i.e. where bit 19 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_altitude_consist- 0 (static) NC_INT
ency_warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “difference between ECMWF surface elevation and
high-resolution surface elevation exceeds threshold from configuration” occurred, i.e. where bit 20 in the
processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_signal_to_- 0 (static) NC_INT
noise_ratio_warning_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “signal to noise ratio in SWIR and/or NIR band below
threshold from configuration. For the O3 and HCHO products this flag indicates an RMS above a certain
threshold” occurred, i.e. where bit 21 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_deconvolution_- 0 (static) NC_INT
warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “failed deconvolution irradiance spectrum (not pixel-
specific, but row-specific)” occurred, i.e. where bit 22 in the processing_quality_flags is set to
“1”.
number_of_so2_volcanic_- 0 (static) NC_INT
origin_likely_warning_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “warning for SO2 BL product, UTLS products: volcanic
origin except for heavily polluted sites. For O3 profile this warning is issued in case of a large SO2 column
which has an impact on the O3 profile retrieval” occurred, i.e. where bit 23 in the processing_quality_-
flags is set to “1”.
number_of_so2_volcanic_- 0 (static) NC_INT
origin_certain_warning_oc-
currences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “warning for SO2 BL product, UTLS products: volcanic
origin certain” occurred, i.e. where bit 24 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_interpolation_- 0 (static) NC_INT
warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “warning for interpolation on partially missing data. In
this case the valid available data is used, potentially leading to a bias” occurred, i.e. where bit 25 in the
processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_saturation_warn- 0 (static) NC_INT
ing_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “saturation occurred spectrum, possibly causing biases
in the retrieval” occurred, i.e. where bit 26 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_high_sza_warn- 0 (static) NC_INT
ing_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “warning for high solar zenith angle. In this case,
the processing can be performed with less final quality” occurred, i.e. where bit 27 in the processing_-
quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_cloud_retrieval_- 0 (static) NC_INT
warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “warning occurring when the retrieval diagnostic
indicates a degraded quality of the cloud retrieval” occurred, i.e. where bit 28 in the processing_-
quality_flags is set to “1”.
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number_of_cloud_inhomo- 0 (static) NC_INT

geneity_warning_occur-
rences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “the cloud coregistration inhomogeneity parameter is
above a given threshold. This warning is also set when the coregistration weight sums are less than 1”
occurred, i.e. where bit 29 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
number_of_thermal_instabil- 0 (static) NC_INT
ity_warning_occurrences
Number of ground pixels where processing warning “input spectra have been labeled with a thermal
instability warning flag” occurred, i.e. where bit 30 in the processing_quality_flags is set to “1”.
global_processing_warn- ‘None’ (static) NC_STRING
ings
All warning messages, separated by newlines, with duplicates removed.
time_for_algorithm_initializ- -1.0 (static) NC_DOUBLE
ation
Time in seconds needed for initialization.
time_for_processing -1.0 (static) NC_DOUBLE
Time in seconds needed for processing.
time_per_pixel -1.0 (static) NC_DOUBLE
Time per pixel in seconds needed for processing.
time_standard_deviation_- -1.0 (static) NC_DOUBLE
per_pixel
Standard deviation of the time per pixel in seconds needed for processing.

Dimensions in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS

vertices For the histogram boundaries.

size 2 (fixed)
XCH4_histogram_axis Histogram axis.
size 100 (fixed)
XCH4_pdf_axis Probability density function axis.
size 400 (fixed)

Variables in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS

methane_mixing_ratio_histogram_axis in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS
Description: Horizontal axis for the histograms of the CH4 mixing ratio.
Dimensions: XCH4_histogram_axis.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Same unit as the main parameter. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
comment ‘Histogram axis of methane mixing ratio’ (static) NC_STRING
long_name ‘Histogram of the methane mixing ratio’ (static) NC_STRING
bounds ‘XCH4_histogram_bounds’ (static) NC_STRING
methane_mixing_ratio_pdf_axis in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS
Description: Horizontal axis for the probability distribution functions of the CH4 dry air mixing ratio.
Dimensions: XCH4_pdf_axis.
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Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
units ‘1’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Same unit as the main parameter. This attribute originates from the CF standard.
comment ‘Probability density function of methane dry air mix- NC_STRING
ing ratio’ (static)
long_name ‘Probability density function of methane dry air mix- NC_STRING
ing ratio’ (static)
bounds ‘XCH4_pdf_bounds’ (static) NC_STRING
methane_mixing_ratio_histogram_bounds in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS
Dimensions: XCH4_histogram_axis, vertices.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
methane_mixing_ratio_pdf_bounds in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS
Dimensions: XCH4_pdf_axis, vertices.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
methane_mixing_ratio_histogram in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS
Description: Histogram of the CH4 dry air mixing ratio.
Dimensions: XCH4_histogram_axis.
Type: NC_INT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
comment ‘Histogram of the Methane dry air mixing ratio’ NC_STRING
(static)
number_of_over- 0 (dynamic) NC_INT
flow_values
The number of encountered values that are larger than the top of the histogram.
number_of_un- 0 (dynamic) NC_INT
derflow_values
The number of encountered values that are smaller than the base of the histogram.
methane_mixing_ratio_pdf in CH4___/METADATA/QA_STATISTICS
Description: Probability density function of the CH4 dry air mixing ratio.
Dimensions: XCH4_pdf_axis.
Type: NC_FLOAT.
Source: Processor.
Attributes: Name Value Type
comment ‘Probability density function of the Methane dry air NC_STRING
mixing ratio’ (static)
geolocation_- 0 (static) NC_FLOAT
sampling_total
The sum of cosine values of latitudes from the pixels that were used in the pdf.

10.2.2 Group “ALGORITHM_SETTINGS” in “METADATA”

The algorithm settings are attached as attributes to this group. The current settings are listed here, each item
in the list is a string attribute.
Configurations in CH4___/METADATA/ALGORITHM_SETTINGS
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configuration.version.framework 1.2.0
Allow the framework to verify that the configuration file is up to date.
configuration.version.algorithm 1.5.0
Allow the processor to verify that the configuration file is up to date.
processing.algorithm CH4___
Define the algorithm that is to be loaded.
processing.threadStackSize 50000000
Minimum threadStackSize = 10000000 (10 MB). A lower threadStackSize will cause a segmentation fault
during the execution.
processing.sgaLimit 30.0
For pixels over water, this is the limit of the scattering angle where sun glint may be present.
processing.vzaMin 0.0
processing.vzaMax 180.0
Maximum viewing zenith angle. Note: no filtering by framework.
processing.szaMin 0.0
processing.szaMax 180.0
Maximum solar zenith angle. Note: no filtering by framework.
processing.cirrusReflectanceIndex 0
Unknown.
coregistration.fraction.minimum 0.0
Setting minimum co-registration factor for target pixel coverage
processing.radiancePixelsMinError 0
Minimum flagged radiance pixels
processing.radianceFractionMinError 0
Minimum fraction of flagged radiance
input.count 7
Define the number of input files.
input.1.type L1B_RA_BD7
Define the input type (band) for the first input (radiance band 7). This key is needed to read from the
JobOrder input file.
input.1.irrType L1B_IR_SIR
Define which irradiance accompanies the first input.
input.1.band 7
Which band is this (for selecting the irradiance and coregistration to output).
input.2.type L1B_RA_BD8
Define the input type (band) for the second input (radiance band 8). This key is needed to read from the
JobOrder input file.
input.2.irrType L1B_IR_SIR
Define which irradiance accompanies the second input.
input.2.band 8
Which band is this (for selecting the irradiance and coregistration to output).
input.3.type L1B_RA_BD6
Define the input type (band) for the third input (radiance band 6). This key is needed to read from the
JobOrder input file.
input.3.irrType L1B_IR_UVN
Define which irradiance accompanies the third input.
input.3.band 6
Which band is this (for selecting the irradiance and coregistration to output).
input.4.type L2__CO____
Define the input type for the fourth input (CO, L2 product). This key is needed to read from the JobOrder
input file.
input.4.band 7
On which band is this (for coregistration to output).
input.5.type L2__FRESCO
Define the input type for the fifth input (FRESCO clouds, L2 product). This key is needed to read from
the JobOrder input file.
input.5.band 6
On which band is this (for coregistration to output).
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input.6.type L2__NP_BD6
Define the input type for the sixth input (NPP/VIIRS clouds on band 6, L2 product). This key is needed to
read from the JobOrder input file.
input.6.band 6
On which band is this (for coregistration to output).
input.6.required false
input.7.type L2__NP_BD7
Define the input type for the seventh input (NPP/VIIRS clouds on band 7 and 8, L2 product). This key is
needed to read from the JobOrder input file.
input.7.band 7
On which band is this (for coregistration to output).
input.7.required false
output.count 1
Define the number of output products (should be 1).
output.useFletcher32 true
Boolean to indicate status of Fletcher32 filter (default is on).
output.useCompression true
Boolean to set status of comression (default is on).
output.useShuffleFilter true
Boolean to set status of shuffle filter (default is on).
output.compressionLevel 3
Integer value to set compression level, default is 3.
output.1.type L2__CH4___
Output product short name. This key is needed to read from the JobOrder input file.
output.1.band 7
Geolocation in output follows this band.
output.1.config product.CH4___.xml
Output product specification.
output.histogram.methane_mixing_ratio.range 1200, 2000
Range for the histogram of XCH4.
input.coadd.count 1
processing.groupDem DEM_RADIUS_05000
Which DEM to use.
processing.correct_surface_pressure_for_altitude false
Flag to control the correction of the surface pressure for local orography. Default is true. Set to false
because correction is done in SRON code.
qa_value.input_spectrum_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the number of pixels in the input spectrum is below
nominal.
qa_value.wavelength_calibration_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the wavelength calibration offset is larger than a
configured threshold.
qa_value.extrapolation_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when extrapolation was used in the retrieval.
qa_value.sun_glint_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the pixel is potentially affected by sun glint.
qa_value.south_atlantic_anomaly_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the instrument was flying through the South Atlantic
Anomaly while taking this measurement.
qa_value.sun_glint_correction 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the cloud fraction was corrected for sun glint.
qa_value.snow_ice_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the snow_ice_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.cloud_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the cloud_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.AAI_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the AAI_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.pixel_level_input_data_missing 40.0
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he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the pixel_level_input_data_missing flag is raised.
qa_value.data_range_warning 40.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the data_range_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.low_cloud_fraction_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the low_cloud_fraction_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.altitude_consistency_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the altitude_consistency_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.signal_to_noise_ratio_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the signal_to_noise_ratio_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.deconvolution_warning 80.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the deconvolution_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.so2_volcanic_origin_likely_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the so2_volcanic_origin_likely_warning flag is
raised.
qa_value.so2_volcanic_origin_certain_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the so2_volcanic_origin_certain_warning flag is
raised.
qa_value.interpolation_warning 100.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the interpolation_warning flag is raised.
qa_value.thermal_instability_warning 40.0
he qa_value multiplication factor (in percent) for when the thermal_instability_warning flag is raised.
quality_control.qa_value.limit 0.5
f the maximum qa_value in the granule is smaller than this limit, then a warning shall be issued. Default
= 0.5
quality_control.missing_input.max_fraction 0.25
If the fraction of successfully processed pixels that has a pixel level input data missing warning attached
it exceeds this fraction, then a warning will be issued. Default = 0.5
quality_control.success.min_fraction 0.001
If the fraction of succesfully processed pixels is smaller than this limit, then a warning will be issued.
Default = 0.001

10.2.3 Group “GRANULE_DESCRIPTION” in “METADATA”

Common granule level metadata.

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/GRANULE_DESCRIPTION

Group attributes attached to GRANULE_DESCRIPTION

Name Value Type
GranuleStart NC_STRING
Start of the granule as ISO date/time string in UTC: YYYY -MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.mmmmmmZ. The formal
definition of ISO date/time strings is given in [RD38].
GranuleEnd NC_STRING
End of the granule as ISO date/time string in UTC: YYYY -MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.mmmmmmZ. The formal
definition of ISO date/time strings is given in [RD38].
InstrumentName ‘TROPOMI’ (static) NC_STRING
The name of the instrument, fixed to “TROPOMI”.
MissionName ‘Sentinel-5 precursor’ (static) NC_STRING
The name of the mission, fixed to “Sentinel-5 precursor”.
MissionShortName ‘S5P’ (static) NC_STRING
The short name of the mission, fixed to “S5P”.
ProcessLevel ‘2’ (static) NC_STRING
This is a level 2 product.
ProcessingCenter ‘%(processingcenter)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
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Where was the processor run? The source is the probably the joborder, the most likely value for operational
use is “DLR/Oberpfaffenhofen”.
ProcessingNode NC_STRING
The name of the machine that processed the data. This may aid in diagnosing failures in the processing.
ProcessorVersion ‘%(version)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The version number of the processor used to produce the file. This is a string formatted as “ma-
jor.minor.bugfix”.
ProductFormatVersion 1 (static) NC_INT
The version of the format of the product file. This should be incremented whenever a datafield is added to
the files.
ProcessingMode NC_STRING
This attribute indicates the mode of the processor.
Possible values: Near-realtime, Offline, Reprocessing, Test, SyntheticTest
LongitudeOfDaysideNadirEquatorCrossing NC_FLOAT
The longitude of the nadir-point at the day-side equator crossing. This gives a rough indication where the
orbit is located. The value is calculated using an orbit propagator before the observation, so that a consisten
value is used for all processing stages.
CollectionIdentifier ‘%(collection_identifier)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Identification of the processing collection, i.e. the group of products that can be used together as a
consistent data set.
ProductShortName ‘L2__CH4___’ (static) NC_STRING
The short product name. For the CH4 product this is fixed to “L2__CH4___”.

10.2.3.1 Group “ISO_METADATA” in “iso_metadata”

Metadata that is structured following the ISO metadata standards [RD32, RD40], especially part 2. The
metadata in this group is structured using the methods from Level 1B, which is described in the Level 1B
metadata specification [RD37].
All “objectType” attributes indicate the XML object when generating an ISO 19139 [RD40] compliant
XML metadata file.
Note that this group is meant to be treated as a ‘black box’. The information is collected here so that it can
be extracted into XML side-files for ingestion into data search tools and metadata collections.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA

Group attributes attached to ISO_METADATA

Name Value Type
gmd:dateStamp ‘2015-10-16’ (static) NC_STRING
Date of creation of the metadata, as ISO 8601 [RD38] string specifying year, month and day.
gmd:fileIdentifier ‘urn:ogc:def:EOP:ESA:SENTINEL.S5P_TROP_- NC_STRING
%(shortname)s’ (dynamic)
Unique identifier for metadata file, see the Level 1B metadata specification [RD37, table 5] for a discussion
of the value.
Replace %(. . . )s with the “ProductShortName” value from the Level 2 “/METADATA/GRANULE_-
DESCRIPTION” metadata group.
gmd:hierarchyLevelName ‘EO Product Collection’ (static) NC_STRING
Name of the hierarchy levels for which the metadata is provided.
gmd:metadataStandardName ‘ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata Part NC_STRING
2 Extensions for imagery and gridded data’ (static)
Name of the metadata standard.
gmd:metadataStandardVersion ‘ISO 19115-2:2009(E), S5P profile’ (static) NC_STRING
Version (profile) of the metadata standard used.
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objectType ‘gmi:MI_Metadata’ (static) NC_STRING

Name of the metadata class [RD37, table 5].

10.2.3.2 Group “gmd:language” in “ISO_METADATA”

Language used for the metadata, fixed to English.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:language

Group attributes attached to gmd:language

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/’ (static) NC_STRING
codeListValue ‘eng’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:LanguageCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.3 Group “gmd:characterSet” in “ISO_METADATA”

The character encoding used for the metadata. This is fixed to UTF-8, but the climate and forecasting
conventions, version 1.6 limits this further to 7-bit ASCII (which is a subset of UTF-8).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:characterSet

Group attributes attached to gmd:characterSet

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#MD_CharacterSetCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘utf8’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_CharacterSetCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.4 Group “gmd:hierarchyLevel” in “ISO_METADATA”

Scope to wich metadata applies.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:hierarchyLevel

Group attributes attached to gmd:hierarchyLevel

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#MD_ScopeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘series’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_ScopeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.5 Group “gmd:contact” in “ISO_METADATA”

Contact information for the product.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:contact

Group attributes attached to gmd:contact

Name Value Type
gmd:organisationName ‘Copernicus Space Component Data Access System, NC_STRING
ESA, Services Coordinated Interface’ (static)
objectType ‘gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.6 Group “gmd:contactInfo” in “gmd:contact”

The detailed contact information.
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Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:contact/gmd:contactInfo

Group attributes attached to gmd:contactInfo

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Contact’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.7 Group “gmd:address” in “gmd:contactInfo”

The actual email address.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:contact/gmd:contactInfo/gmd:address

Group attributes attached to gmd:address

Name Value Type
gmd:electronicMailAddress ‘EOSupport@copernicus.esa.int’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Address’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.8 Group “gmd:role” in “gmd:contact”

The role of the adress provided in this group.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:contact/gmd:role

Group attributes attached to gmd:role

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_RoleCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘pointOfContact’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_RoleCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.9 Group “gmd:identificationInfo” in “ISO_METADATA”

Identification information contains information to uniquely identify the data. Identification information includes
information about the citation for the resource, an abstract, the purpose, credit, the status and points of
contact. The MD_Identification entity is mandatory. The MD_Identification entity is specified (subclassed) as
MD_DataIdentification because in this case it is used to identify data.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo

Group attributes attached to gmd:identificationInfo

Name Value Type
gmd:abstract NC_STRING
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Brief narrative summary of the content of the resource. This is product specific, with modifications for
timeliness and and pixel size. The pixel size listed below are the “small” pixels, with a length of 5.5 km
in the flight direction for the main bands. For observations before August 6, 2019, the length in the flight
direction is 7 km. Ozone profile adds several pixels in the flight direction, and has an approximate pixel size
of 30 × 30 km2 for the “small” pixels, and 35 × 30 km2 for the “large” pixels.

L2__AER_AI (KNMI) Aerosol index with a spatial resolution of 5.5 × 3.5 km2 observed at about 13:30 local
solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI

L2__AER_LH (KNMI) Altitude of elevated aerosol layer for cloud-free observations with a spatial resolution
of 5.5 × 3.5 km2 observed at about 13:30 local solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI

L2__NO2___ (KNMI) Nitrogen dioxide tropospheric column with a spatial resolution of 5.5 × 3.5 km2 ob-
served at about 13:30 local solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI

L2__O3__PR (KNMI) Ozone profile with a vertical resolution of 6 km and a horizontal resolution of
30 × 30 km2 observed at about 13:30 local solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI
L2__CH4___ (SRON) Dry-air mixing ratio of methane for cloud-free observations with a spatial resolution
of 5.5 × 7 km2 observed at about 13:30 local solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI

L2__CO____ (SRON) Carbon monoxide column with a spatial resolution of 5.5 × 7 km2 observed at about
13:30 local solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI

L2__FRESCO (KNMI) Cloud fraction and cloud pressure with a spatial resolution of 5.5 × 3.5 km2 observed
at about 13:30 local solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI (KNMI FRESCO cloud support
product)

L2__O22CLD (KNMI) O2 –O2 cloud retrieval with a spatial resolution of 5.5 × 3.5 km2 observed at about
13:30 local solar time from spectra measured by TROPOMI (KNMI O2 –O2 cloud support product)

gmd:credit ‘%(credit)s’ (static) NC_STRING

Recognition of those who contributed to the resource(s).
gmd:language ‘eng’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:topicCategory ‘climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere’ (static) NC_STRING
Main theme(s) of the dataset.
objectType ‘gmd:MD_DataIdentification’ (static) NC_STRING
Name of the metadata class [RD37, table 10].

10.2.3.10 Group “gmd:citation” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

Citation data for the resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:citation

Group attributes attached to gmd:citation

Name Value Type
gmd:title NC_STRING
Name by which the cited resource is known. This is the same as the global “title” attribute.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING
Name of the metadata class [RD37, table 11].

10.2.3.11 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:citation”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:citation/gmd:date
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Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘%(processor_release_date)s’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.12 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Event used for reference date.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:citation/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘creation’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.13 Group “gmd:identifier” in “gmd:citation”

Unique identifier for metadata file, see the Level 1B metadata specification [RD37, table 5] for a discussion of
the value.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:citation/gmd:identifier

Group attributes attached to gmd:identifier

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘urn:ogc:def:EOP:ESA:SENTINEL.S5P_TROP_- NC_STRING
%(shortname)s’ (dynamic)
Replace “%(shortname)s” with the “ProductShortName” value from the Level 2 “/METADATA/GRANULE_-
DESCRIPTION” metadata group.
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.14 Group “gmd:pointOfContact” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

See description of the “gmd:contact” attribute above.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:pointOfContact

Group attributes attached to gmd:pointOfContact

Name Value Type
gmd:organisationName ‘Copernicus Space Component Data Access System, NC_STRING
ESA, Services Coordinated Interface’ (static)
objectType ‘gmd:CI_ResponsibleParty’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.15 Group “gmd:contactInfo” in “gmd:pointOfContact”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:pointOfContact/gmd:contactInfo

Group attributes attached to gmd:contactInfo

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Contact’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.16 Group “gmd:address” in “gmd:contactInfo”

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Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:pointOfContact/gmd:contactInfo/
gmd:address

Group attributes attached to gmd:address

Name Value Type
gmd:electronicMailAddress ‘EOSupport@copernicus.esa.int’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Address’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.17 Group “gmd:role” in “gmd:pointOfContact”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:pointOfContact/gmd:role

Group attributes attached to gmd:role

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_RoleCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘distributor’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_RoleCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.18 Group “gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

Provides category keywords, their type, and reference source. Within the framework of GEMET the choise of
keywords is very limited. More meaningful keywords can be derived from the Climate and Forecast metadada
conventions’ standard name list, see “gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2” below.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1

Group attributes attached to gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1

Name Value Type
gmd:keyword#1 ‘Atmospheric conditions’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Keywords’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.19 Group “gmd:type” in “gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1”

Subject matter used to group similar keywords.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1/
gmd:type

Group attributes attached to gmd:type

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#MD_KeywordTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘theme’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_KeywordTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.20 Group “gmd:thesaurusName” in “gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1”

Name by which the cited resource is known.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1/
gmd:thesaurusName
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Group attributes attached to gmd:thesaurusName

Name Value Type
gmd:title ‘GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.21 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:thesaurusName”

Reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1/
gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘2008-06-01’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.22 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

What date is used for the reference date.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#1/
gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘publication’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.23 Group “gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

Provides category keywords, their type, and reference source. These keywords are taken from the Climate
and Forecast metadada conventions’ standard name list [ER5]. The keywords listed below identify the most
important parameters in the product.

L2__AER_AI (KNMI) ultraviolet_aerosol_index

L2__AER_LH (KNMI) height_of_elevated_aerosol_layer

L2__NO2___ (KNMI) troposphere_mole_content_of_nitrogen_dioxide, stratosphere_mole_content_of_nitro-

gen_dioxide, atmosphere_mole_content_of_nitrogen_dioxide

L2__O3__PR (KNMI) mole_fraction_of_ozone_in_air

L2__CH4___ (SRON) atmosphere_mole_fraction_of_methane_in_dry_air

L2__CO____ (SRON) atmosphere_mole_content_of_carbon_monoxide

L2__FRESCO (KNMI) air_pressure_at_cloud_optical_centroid, effective_cloud_area_fraction_assuming_-

fixed_cloud_albedo, cloud_albedo_assuming_completely_cloudy_sky, air_pressure_at_cloud_optical_-
centroid_assuming_completely_cloudy_sky

L2__O22CLD (KNMI) air_pressure_at_cloud_optical_centroid, effective_cloud_area_fraction_assuming_fixed_-

cloud_albedo, cloud_albedo_assuming_completely_cloudy_sky, air_pressure_at_cloud_optical_centroid_-
assuming_completely_cloudy_sky

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2
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Group attributes attached to gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2

Name Value Type
gmd:keyword#1 NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Keywords’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.24 Group “gmd:thesaurusName” in “gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2”

Name by which the cited resource is known.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2/
gmd:thesaurusName

Group attributes attached to gmd:thesaurusName

Name Value Type
gmd:title ‘CF Standard Name Table v65’ (static) NC_STRING
xlink:href ‘http://cfconventions.org/standard-names.html’ (dy- NC_STRING
namic)
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.25 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:thesaurusName”

Reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2/
gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘2019-04-09’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.26 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

What date is used for the reference date.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:descriptiveKeywords#2/
gmd:thesaurusName/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘publication’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.27 Group “gmd:resourceConstraints” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

Provides information about constraints which apply to the resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:resourceConstraints

Group attributes attached to gmd:resourceConstraints

Name Value Type
gmd:useLimitation ‘no conditions apply’ (static) NC_STRING
Limitation affecting the fitness for use of the resource or metadata.
objectType ‘gmd:MD_LegalConstraints’ (static) NC_STRING
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10.2.3.28 Group “gmd:accessConstraints” in “gmd:resourceConstraints”

Access constraints applied to assure the protection of privacy or intellectual property, and any special restrictions
or limitations on obtaining the resource or metadata.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:resourceConstraints/
gmd:accessConstraints

Group attributes attached to gmd:accessConstraints

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#MD_RestrictionCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘copyright’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_RestrictionCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.29 Group “gmd:spatialRepresentationType” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

Method used to spatially represent geographic information.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:spatialRepresentationType

Group attributes attached to gmd:spatialRepresentationType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#MD_SpatialRepresentation-
TypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘grid’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_SpatialRepresentationTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.30 Group “gmd:characterSet” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:characterSet

Group attributes attached to gmd:characterSet

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#MD_CharacterSetCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘utf8’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_CharacterSetCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.31 Group “gmd:extent” in “gmd:identificationInfo”

Extent information including the bounding box, bounding polygon, vertical, and temporal extent of the dataset.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:extent

Group attributes attached to gmd:extent

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:EX_Extent’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.32 Group “gmd:geographicElement” in “gmd:extent”

Geographic position of the granule. This is only an approximate reference so specifying the coordinate
reference system is unnecessary. The usual limitations apply: −180◦ ≤ ϑ ≤ 180◦ and −90◦ ≤ δ ≤ 90◦ . Note
that for full orbits these values provide little information as at lease one pole will be present in the data, ensuring
full longitudinal coverage.
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Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:extent/gmd:geographicElement

Group attributes attached to gmd:geographicElement

Name Value Type
gmd:eastBoundLongitude 180.0 (dynamic) NC_FLOAT
gmd:northBoundLatitude 90.0 (dynamic) NC_FLOAT
gmd:southBoundLatitude -90.0 (dynamic) NC_FLOAT
gmd:westBoundLongitude -180.0 (dynamic) NC_FLOAT
gmd:extentTypeCode ‘true’ (static) NC_STRING
Indication of whether the bounding polygon encompasses an area covered by the data or an area where
data is not present. The value “true” indicates inclusion.
objectType ‘gmd:EX_GeographicBoundingBox’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.33 Group “gmd:temporalElement” in “gmd:extent”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:extent/gmd:temporalElement

Group attributes attached to gmd:temporalElement

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:EX_TemporalExtent’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.34 Group “gmd:extent” in “gmd:temporalElement”

Time period covered by the content of the dataset.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:identificationInfo/gmd:extent/gmd:temporalElement/
gmd:extent

Group attributes attached to gmd:extent

Name Value Type
gml:beginPosition ‘2014-11-14T19:58:00’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Time of the start of the granule, expressed as ISO 8601 [RD38] date-time string.
gml:endPosition ‘2014-11-14T20:08:00’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Time of the end of the granule, expressed as ISO 8601 [RD38] date-time string.
objectType ‘gml:TimePeriod’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.35 Group “gmd:dataQualityInfo” in “ISO_METADATA”

This group contains a general assessment of the quality of the dataset. In addition, the package contains
information about the sources and production processes used in producing a dataset, which is of particular
importance for imagery and gridded data.
For the TROPOMI level 2 products the use of the contained class LI_Lineage (group “gmd:lineage”,
section 10.2.3.43 on page 87) is important for describing the sources which are either used or produced
(output) in a series of process steps. The sources refer to the various L1b data products used as inputs (and
the L0 products used in producing those products) and the auxiliary data (static and especially dynamic) when
producing the L2 products.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo

Group attributes attached to gmd:dataQualityInfo

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:DQ_DataQuality’ (static) NC_STRING
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10.2.3.36 Group “gmd:scope” in “gmd:dataQualityInfo”

The specific data to which the data quality information applies.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:scope

Group attributes attached to gmd:scope

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:DQ_Scope’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.37 Group “gmd:level” in “gmd:scope”

Hierarchical level of the data specified by the scope.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:scope/gmd:level

Group attributes attached to gmd:level

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#MD_ScopeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘dataset’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_ScopeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.38 Group “gmd:report” in “gmd:dataQualityInfo”

Value (or set of values) obtained from applying a data quality measure or the outcome of evaluating the
obtained value (or set of values) against a specified acceptable conformance quality level.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:report

Group attributes attached to gmd:report

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:DQ_DomainConsistency’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.39 Group “gmd:result” in “gmd:report”

Value (or set of values) obtained from applying a data quality measure or the outcome of evaluating the
obtained value (or set of values) against a specified acceptable conformance quality level.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:report/gmd:result

Group attributes attached to gmd:result

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:DQ_ConformanceResult’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:pass ‘true’ (static) NC_STRING
Indication of confomance result. The value “true” indicates “pass”.
gmd:explanation ‘INSPIRE Data specification for orthoimagery is not NC_STRING
yet officially published so conformity has not yet been
evaluated’ (static)
Explanation of the meaning of conformance for this result. Within the context of INSPIRE conformance can
currently not be determined.

10.2.3.40 Group “gmd:specification” in “gmd:result”

Citation of product specification or user requirement against which data is being evaluated.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:report/gmd:result/gmd:specification
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Group attributes attached to gmd:specification

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:title ‘INSPIRE Data Specification on Orthoimagery - NC_STRING
Guidelines, version 3.0rc3’ (static)

10.2.3.41 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:specification”

Reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:report/gmd:result/gmd:specification/
gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘2013-02-04’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.42 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Meaning of the reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:report/gmd:result/gmd:specification/
gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘publication’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.43 Group “gmd:lineage” in “gmd:dataQualityInfo”

Non-quantitative quality information about the lineage of the data specified by the scope.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage

Group attributes attached to gmd:lineage

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:LI_Lineage’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:statement ‘L2 %(product)s dataset produced by %(processingcen- NC_STRING
ter)s from the S5P/TROPOMI L1B product’ (dynamic)
General explanation of the data producer’s knowledge about the lineage of a dataset. Insert short description
of the actual Level 2 product in this string (at the %(. . . )s).

10.2.3.44 Group “gmd:processStep” in “gmd:lineage”

Information about an event or transformation in the life of the dataset including details of the algorithm and
software used for processing.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep

Group attributes attached to gmd:processStep

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:LE_ProcessStep’ (static) NC_STRING
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gmd:description ‘Processing of L1b to L2 %(product)s data for orbit NC_STRING

%(orbit)d using the %(institute)s processor version
%(version)s’ (dynamic)
Description of the event, including related parameters or tolerances. Insert short description of the actual
Level 2 product, the orbit number, the name of the institude responsible for the CFI and the software version
in this string (at the respective %(. . . )s and %(. . . )d).

10.2.3.45 Group “gmi:output” in “gmd:processStep”

Description of the output.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:output

Group attributes attached to gmi:output

Name Value Type
gmd:description NC_STRING
Short description of the output, a copy of the global ‘title’ attribute.
objectType ‘gmi:LE_Source’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.46 Group “gmd:sourceCitation” in “gmi:output”

Reference to the actual filename of the output data and production date and time.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation

Group attributes attached to gmd:sourceCitation

Name Value Type
gmd:title ‘%(logical_filename)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Output file name without extension.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.47 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Production date and time of the output file.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date NC_STRING
Production date and time of the output file. Note that the definition in the XML schema appears to allow the
use of a “CI_DateTime” instead of a “CI_Date”.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTime’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.48 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Meaning of the reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
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codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING

gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘creation’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.49 Group “gmd:identifier” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Identification of the output product.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:identifier

Group attributes attached to gmd:identifier

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘%(shortname)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The product short name, a copy of the ‘ProductShortName’ attribute in ‘/METADATA/GRANULE_DESCRIP-
TION’.
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.50 Group “gmi:processedLevel” in “gmi:output”

Process level of the output file.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:output/gmi:processedLevel

Group attributes attached to gmi:processedLevel

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘L2’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.51 Group “gmi:processingInformation” in “gmd:processStep”

Description of the processor in more detail.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation

Group attributes attached to gmi:processingInformation

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:LE_Processing’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.52 Group “gmi:identifier” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Identification of the processor.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:identifier

Group attributes attached to gmi:identifier

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘%(institute)s L2 %(product)s processor, version %(ver- NC_STRING
sion)s’ (dynamic)
Descriptive name of the processor, with the %(. . . )s placeholders replaced with the responsible institute’s
name, product name and software release version.
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING
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10.2.3.53 Group “gmi:softwareReference” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Reference to document describing processing software.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:softwareReference

Group attributes attached to gmi:softwareReference

Name Value Type
gmd:title ‘%(processor_name)s processor’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Name of the processor.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.54 Group “gmd:date” in “gmi:softwareReference”

Release date (compile date) of the processor.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:softwareReference/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘%(processor_release_date)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Release date of the processor expressed as an ISO 8601 date string [RD38].
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTime’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.55 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

The release date of the processor.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:softwareReference/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘creation’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.56 Group “gmi:documentation#1” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Reference to the ATBD of the product.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#1

Group attributes attached to gmi:documentation#1

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:title ‘%(title_atbd)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Specification of the current release of the ATBD of the product.
doi ‘%(atbd_doi)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
DOI for the algorithm theoretical basis document.

10.2.3.57 Group “gmd:date” in “gmi:documentation#1”

Release date of the ATBD.
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Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#1/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘%(date_atbd)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Release date of the ATBD expressed as an ISO 8601 date string [RD38].
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.58 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Specify the type of the date of the ATBD (revision of publication).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#1/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘revision’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.59 Group “gmi:documentation#2” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Reference to the PUM of the product.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#2

Group attributes attached to gmi:documentation#2

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:title ‘%(title_pum)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Specification of the current release of the PUM of the product.
doi ‘%(pum_doi)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
DOI for the product user manual.

10.2.3.60 Group “gmd:date” in “gmi:documentation#2”

Release date of the PUM.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#2/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘%(date_pum)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Release date of the PUM expressed as an ISO 8601 date string [RD38].
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.61 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Specify the type of the date of the PUM (revision of publication).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#2/gmd:date/gmd:dateType
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Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘revision’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.62 Group “gmi:report” in “gmd:processStep”

Short report of what occurred during the process step.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmi:report

Group attributes attached to gmi:report

Name Value Type
gmi:description ‘Sentinel 5-precursor TROPOMI L1b processed to L2 NC_STRING
data using the %(institute)s L2 %(product)s processor’
(dynamic)
Textual description of what occurred during the process step. Replace %(. . . )s as indicated.
gmi:fileType ‘netCDF-4’ (static) NC_STRING
Type of file that contains the processing report, in our case the processing report is contained in the main
output file.
gmi:name ‘%(logical_filename)s.nc’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmi:LE_ProcessStepReport’ (dynamic) NC_STRING

10.2.3.63 Group “gmd:source#1” in “gmd:processStep”

Information about the source data used in creating the data specified by the scope. Repeat group as needed,
incrementing the number of the source (after the # mark).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmd:source#1

Group attributes attached to gmd:source#1

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:LE_Source’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:description NC_STRING
Description of the input data, including L1B, L2, dynamic auxiliary input data and semi-static auxiliary
input data. Base strings are “TROPOMI L1B %s radiance product”, “TROPOMI L1B %s irradiance
product”, “TROPOMI L2 %s product”, “Auxiliary ECMWF %s Meteorological forecast data”, “Processor %s
configuration file”, “Auxiliary %s reference data”, “Auxiliary %s algorithm lookup table”, “Auxiliary CTM %s
model input data”, “Auxiliary snow and ice input data” and “Auxiliary NPP/VIIRS cloud screening input data”.
The %s to be replaced with specific descriptors.

10.2.3.64 Group “gmi:processedLevel” in “gmd:source#1”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmd:source#1/gmi:processedLevel

Group attributes attached to gmi:processedLevel

Name Value Type
gmd:code Empty! NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING
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10.2.3.65 Group “gmd:sourceCitation” in “gmd:source#1”

Reference to the actual filename of the input data.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation

Group attributes attached to gmd:sourceCitation

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.66 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date NC_STRING
Production date and time of the input file(s) in this group expressed as an ISO 8601 date-time string [RD38].
Note that the definition in the XML schema appears to allow the use of a “CI_DateTime” instead of a
“CI_Date”.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.67 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Meaning of the reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘creation’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.68 Group “gmd:title” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:title

Group attributes attached to gmd:title

Name Value Type
gco:characterString NC_STRING
Textual description of the input file group (same as the “gmd:description” attribute in the “gmi:LE_-
Source” object).

10.2.3.69 Group “gmd:alternateTitle#1” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

All filenames in this group, in case more files of a particular file type are delivered, for instance for meteorological
or model input. Repeat group as needed, incrementing the number of the input file (after the # mark).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmd:dataQualityInfo/gmd:lineage/gmd:processStep/
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gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:alternateTitle#1

Group attributes attached to gmd:alternateTitle#1

Name Value Type
gmx:FileName Empty! NC_STRING
The basename of the input file.

10.2.3.70 Group “gmi:acquisitionInformation” in “ISO_METADATA”

Metadata regarding the acquisition of the original data.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmi:acquisitionInformation

Group attributes attached to gmi:acquisitionInformation

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:MI_AcquisitionInformation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.71 Group “gmi:platform” in “gmi:acquisitionInformation”

The platform we are on.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:platform

Group attributes attached to gmi:platform

Name Value Type
gmi:description ‘Sentinel 5 Precursor’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmi:MI_Platform’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.72 Group “gmi:identifier” in “gmi:platform”

Short identifier of the platform.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:platform/gmi:identifier

Group attributes attached to gmi:identifier

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘S5P’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:codeSpace ‘http://www.esa.int/’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:RS_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.73 Group “gmi:instrument” in “gmi:platform”

The instrument used for the observations.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:platform/gmi:instrument

Group attributes attached to gmi:instrument

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:MI_Instrument’ (static) NC_STRING
gmi:type ‘UV-VIS-NIR-SWIR imaging spectrometer’ (static) NC_STRING
Type of the instrument.

10.2.3.74 Group “gmi:identifier” in “gmi:instrument”

Unique identifier for the instrument.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ISO_METADATA/gmi:acquisitionInformation/gmi:platform/gmi:instrument/
gmi:identifier
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Group attributes attached to gmi:identifier

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘TROPOMI’ (static) NC_STRING
The actual identifier.
gmd:codeSpace ‘http://www.esa.int/’ (static) NC_STRING
Name or identifier of the organization responsible for the namespace.
objectType ‘gmd:RS_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.75 Group “EOP_METADATA” in “EOP_metadata”

Based on the OGC 10-025 standard for Observations & Measurements [RD41], an Earth Observation Product
(EOP) schema was developed which refines an observation into the feature type earth observation. This
schema was then extended with sensor-specific thematic schemas.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA

Group attributes attached to EOP_METADATA

Name Value Type
gml:id ‘%(logical_filename)s.ID’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Unique ID for this “atm:EarthObservation” object. Constructed from the logical output filename and the
extension “ID” separated by a dot.
objectType ‘atm:EarthObservation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.76 Group “om:phenomenonTime” in “EOP_METADATA”

Time coverage of the granule.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:phenomenonTime

Group attributes attached to om:phenomenonTime

Name Value Type
gml:beginPosition NC_STRING
Start of time coverage of the data in the granule expressed as an ISO 8601 date-time string [RD38].
gml:endPosition NC_STRING
End of time coverage of the data in the granule expressed as an ISO 8601 date-time string [RD38].
objectType ‘gml:TimePeriod’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.77 Group “om:procedure” in “EOP_METADATA”

Platform, instrument and sensor used for the acquisition and the acquisition parameters.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:procedure

Group attributes attached to om:procedure

Name Value Type
gml:id ‘%(logical_filename)s.EOE’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Unique ID for this “eop:EarthObservationEquipment” object. Constructed from the logical output filename
and the extension “EOE” separated by a dot.
objectType ‘eop:EarthObservationEquipment’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.78 Group “eop:platform” in “om:procedure”

Platform name and orbit type.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:procedure/eop:platform
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Group attributes attached to eop:platform

Name Value Type
eop:shortName ‘Sentinel-5p’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘eop:Platform’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.79 Group “eop:instrument” in “om:procedure”

Instrument descriptor.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:procedure/eop:instrument

Group attributes attached to eop:instrument

Name Value Type
eop:shortName ‘TROPOMI’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘eop:Instrument’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.80 Group “eop:sensor” in “om:procedure”

Sensor description.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:procedure/eop:sensor

Group attributes attached to eop:sensor

Name Value Type
eop:sensorType ‘ATMOSPHERIC’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘eop:Sensor’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.81 Group “eop:acquisitionParameters” in “om:procedure”

Additional parameters describing the data acquisition. Only an orbit number is used here.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:procedure/eop:acquisitionParameters

Group attributes attached to eop:acquisitionParameters

Name Value Type
eop:orbitNumber 0 (dynamic) NC_INT
objectType ‘eop:Acquisition’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.82 Group “om:observedProperty” in “EOP_METADATA”

An xlink to the observed property definition.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:observedProperty

Group attributes attached to om:observedProperty

Name Value Type
nilReason ‘inapplicable’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
This element should use the attribute ‘nilReason=”inapplicable”’.

10.2.3.83 Group “om:featureOfInterest” in “EOP_METADATA”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:featureOfInterest

Group attributes attached to om:featureOfInterest

Name Value Type
objectType ‘eop:FootPrint’ (static) NC_STRING
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gml:id ‘%(logical_filename)s.FP’ (dynamic) NC_STRING

Unique ID for this “eop:FootPrint” object. Constructed from the logical output filename and the extension
“FP” separated by a dot.

10.2.3.84 Group “eop:multiExtentOf” in “om:featureOfInterest”

Acquisition footprint coordinates, described by a closed polygon – the last point is equal to the first point, using
latitude, longitude pairs. The expected structure is “gml:Polygon/gml:exterior/gml:LinearRing/gml:posList”.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:featureOfInterest/eop:multiExtentOf

Group attributes attached to eop:multiExtentOf

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gml:MultiSurface’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.85 Group “gml:surfaceMembers” in “eop:multiExtentOf”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:featureOfInterest/eop:multiExtentOf/gml:surfaceMembers

Group attributes attached to gml:surfaceMembers

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gml:Polygon’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.86 Group “gml:exterior” in “gml:surfaceMembers”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/om:featureOfInterest/eop:multiExtentOf/gml:surfaceMembers/
gml:exterior

Group attributes attached to gml:exterior

Name Value Type
gml:posList NC_STRING
The Polygon geometry shall be encoded in the EPSG:4326 geographic coordinate reference system
(WGS-84) and the coordinate pairs shall be ordered as latitude/longitude. Polygons enclose areas with
points listed in counter-clockwise direction.
objectType ‘gml:LinearRing’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.87 Group “eop:metaDataProperty” in “EOP_METADATA”

This group contains all the metadata relative to the Eath observation product that do not fit inside one of the
other groups, i.e. metadata that do not describe the time, the mechanism, the location or the result of the
observation.
These metadata are mainly the EarthObservation identifier, the acquisition type and information relative to
the downlink and archiving centers.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/eop:metaDataProperty

Group attributes attached to eop:metaDataProperty

Name Value Type
objectType ‘eop:EarthObservationMetaData’ (static) NC_STRING
eop:acquisitionType ‘NOMINAL’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Used to distinguish at a high level the appropriateness of the acquisition for “general” use, whether the
product is a nominal acquisition, special calibration product or other. Copy from L1b. For Level 2 this should
always be ‘NOMINAL’.
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eop:identifier ‘%(logical_filename)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING

Logical file name.
eop:doi ‘%(product_doi)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Digital Object Identifier identifying the product (see http://www.datacite.org for DOIs for datasets).
eop:parentIdentifier ‘urn:ogc:def:EOP:ESA:SENTINEL.S5P_TROP_- NC_STRING
%(shortname)s’ (dynamic)
Unique collection identifier for metadata file, see the Level 1B metadata specification [RD37, table 5] for a
discussion of the value.
This is a copy of the “gmd:fileIdentifier” attribute in the “/METADATA/ISO_METADATA” group.
eop:productType ‘S5P_%(mode)s_%(product)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Product type identifier. Replace %(mode)s with the operational mode the processor is running in (‘NRTI’,
‘OFFL’ or ‘RPRO’, as per [RD25]) and %(product)s with the 10 character output file name semantic
descriptors as given in [RD42, RD43, RD44].
eop:status ‘ACQUIRED’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Refers to product status. Values listed in the standard: ‘ARCHIVED’, ‘ACQUIRED’, ‘CANCELLED’, ‘FAILED’,
‘PLANNED’, ‘POTENTIAL’, ‘REJECTED’, ‘QUALITY-DEGRADED’. Copied from L1B.
eop:productQualityStatus ‘NOMINAL’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Indicator that specifies whether the product quality is degraded or not. Allowed values: ‘DEGRADED’,
‘NOMINAL’.
eop:productQualityDegradationTag
‘NOT APPLICABLE’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Contains further textual information concerning the quality degradation. According to the metadata standards
it shall be provided only if “eop:productQualityStatus” value is set to ‘DEGRADED’. Because the way we
generate out output files, this attribute will always be present, even when “eop:productQualityStatus” value
is ‘NOMINAL’. In those cases the value shall be set to “NOT APPLICABLE”.
Possible values are “MISSING AUXILIARY INPUT” and “NOT APPLICABLE”. Note that Level 1B does not
set this value, so only problems detectable in the processor are covered.

10.2.3.88 Group “eop:processing” in “eop:metaDataProperty”

Processing information.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/EOP_METADATA/eop:metaDataProperty/eop:processing

Group attributes attached to eop:processing

Name Value Type
objectType ‘eop:ProcessingInformation’ (static) NC_STRING
eop:processingCenter ‘%(processingcenter)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The processing center, taken from the “Processing_Station” key in the joborder.
eop:processingDate ‘YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MM:SSZ’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The processing date, as an ISO 8601 date-time string [RD38].
eop:processingLevel ‘L2’ (static) NC_STRING
These are all Level 2 products.
eop:processorName ‘%(processor_name)s’ (static) NC_STRING
The name of the processor, “tropnll2dp.exe” for KNMI and “upas-l2” for DLR.
eop:processorVersion ‘%(version)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Version of the processor, as “major.minor.bugfix”.
eop:nativeProductFormat ‘netCDF-4’ (static) NC_STRING
Native product format.
eop:processingMode ‘%(mode)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Processing mode taken from mission specific code list. For S5P we use the File Class identifiers [RD25,
section 4.1.2]: ‘TEST’, ‘OGCA’, ‘GSOV’, ‘OPER’, ‘NRTI’, ‘OFFL’, ‘RPRO’.
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10.2.3.89 Group “ESA_METADATA” in “ESA_metadata”

Metadata defined in the ESA file format standard [RD31].

10.2.3.90 Group “earth_explorer_header” in “ESA_METADATA”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header

Group attributes attached to earth_explorer_header

Name Value Type
objectType ‘Earth_Explorer_Header’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.91 Group “fixed_header” in “earth_explorer_header”

The fixed header. We do not use a variable header, so only the fixed header is present.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/fixed_header

Group attributes attached to fixed_header

Name Value Type
objectType ‘Fixed_Header’ (static) NC_STRING
File_Name ‘%(logical_filename)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The logical file name, i.e. the file name without extension.
File_Description NC_STRING
This is a copy of the global “title” attribute.
Notes NC_STRING
This is a copy of the global “comment” attribute.
Mission ‘S5P’ (static) NC_STRING
The mission identifier for the Sentinel 5-precursor mission is “S5P”.
File_Class NC_STRING
The file class of the output. Values are taken from the tailoring of the EO file format tailoring for S5P [RD25,
section 4.1.2].
File_Type ‘%(shortname)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Following the EO file format tailoring for S5P [RD25, sections 4.1.3.1 and 4.1.3.2].
File_Version 0 (dynamic) NC_INT
The file version information is not part of the file name conventions for S5P. If a file version number is to be
recorded in this attribute, then it has to be provided by the PDGS via the job order. If provided, then the
value is ≥ 1. If not provided the fill value is 0.

10.2.3.92 Group “validity_period” in “fixed_header”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/fixed_header/validity_period

Group attributes attached to validity_period

Name Value Type
objectType ‘Validity_Period’ (static) NC_STRING
Validity_Start NC_STRING
The value is the string “UTC=” concatenated with the time_coverage_start global attribute. This
attribute corresponds to the “Validity_Start” element in the “Validity_Period” XML structure in the header file.
Validity_Stop NC_STRING
The value is the string “UTC=” concatenated with the time_coverage_end global attribute. This attribute
corresponds to the “Validity_Stop” element in the “Validity_Period” XML structure in the header file.
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10.2.3.93 Group “source” in “fixed_header”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/fixed_header/source

Group attributes attached to source

Name Value Type
objectType ‘Source’ (static) NC_STRING
System ‘%(processingcenter)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Name of the Ground Segment element creating the file. For Level 2 files, this is the PDGS, but for testing
a different value may be used. This attribute corresponds to the “System” element in the “Source” XML
structure in the header file.
Creator ‘%(processor_name)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Name of the facility or tool, within the Ground Segment element, creating the file. This attribute corresponds
to the “Creator” element in the “Source” XML structure in the header file.
Creator_Version ‘%(version)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Version number of the tool that created the file. This attribute corresponds to the “Creator_Version” element
in the “Source” XML structure in the header file.
Creation_Date NC_STRING
The start date and time of processing, as a string: “UTC=YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss”. This attribute corres-
ponds to the “Creator_Date” element in the “Source” XML structure in the header file.

10.2.3.94 Group “variable_header” in “earth_explorer_header”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header

Group attributes attached to variable_header

Name Value Type
objectType ‘Variable_Header’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.95 Group “gmd:lineage” in “variable_header”

Non-quantitative quality information about the lineage of the data specified by the scope.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage

Group attributes attached to gmd:lineage

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:LI_Lineage’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:statement ‘L2 %(product)s dataset produced by %(processingcen- NC_STRING
ter)s from the S5P/TROPOMI L1B product’ (dynamic)
General explanation of the data producer’s knowledge about the lineage of a dataset. Insert short description
of the actual Level 2 product in this string (at the %(. . . )s).

10.2.3.96 Group “gmd:processStep” in “gmd:lineage”

Information about an event or transformation in the life of the dataset including details of the algorithm and
software used for processing.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep
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Group attributes attached to gmd:processStep

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:LE_ProcessStep’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:description ‘Processing of L1b to L2 %(product)s data for orbit NC_STRING
%(orbit)d using the %(institute)s processor version
%(version)s’ (dynamic)
Description of the event, including related parameters or tolerances. Insert short description of the actual
Level 2 product, the orbit number, the name of the institude responsible for the CFI and the software version
in this string (at the respective %(. . . )s and %(. . . )d).

10.2.3.97 Group “gmi:output” in “gmd:processStep”

Description of the output.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:output

Group attributes attached to gmi:output

Name Value Type
gmd:description NC_STRING
Short description of the output, a copy of the global ‘title’ attribute.
objectType ‘gmi:LE_Source’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.98 Group “gmd:sourceCitation” in “gmi:output”

Reference to the actual filename of the output data and production date and time.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation

Group attributes attached to gmd:sourceCitation

Name Value Type
gmd:title ‘%(logical_filename)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Output file name without extension.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.99 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Production date and time of the output file.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date NC_STRING
Production date and time of the output file. Note that the definition in the XML schema appears to allow the
use of a “CI_DateTime” instead of a “CI_Date”.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTime’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.100 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Meaning of the reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date/gmd:dateType
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Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘creation’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.101 Group “gmd:identifier” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Identification of the output product.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:output/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:identifier

Group attributes attached to gmd:identifier

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘%(shortname)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
The product short name, a copy of the ‘ProductShortName’ attribute in ‘/METADATA/GRANULE_DESCRIP-
TION’.
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.102 Group “gmi:processedLevel” in “gmi:output”

Process level of the output file.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:output/gmi:processedLevel

Group attributes attached to gmi:processedLevel

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘L2’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.103 Group “gmi:processingInformation” in “gmd:processStep”

Description of the processor in more detail.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation

Group attributes attached to gmi:processingInformation

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:LE_Processing’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.104 Group “gmi:identifier” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Identification of the processor.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:identifier

Group attributes attached to gmi:identifier

Name Value Type
gmd:code ‘%(institute)s L2 %(product)s processor, version %(ver- NC_STRING
sion)s’ (dynamic)
Descriptive name of the processor, with the %(. . . )s placeholders replaced with the responsible institute’s
name, product name and software release version.
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING
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10.2.3.105 Group “gmi:softwareReference” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Reference to document describing processing software.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:softwareReference

Group attributes attached to gmi:softwareReference

Name Value Type
gmd:title ‘%(processor_name)s processor’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Name of the processor.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.106 Group “gmd:date” in “gmi:softwareReference”

Release date (compile date) of the processor.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:softwareReference/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘%(processor_release_date)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Release date of the processor expressed as an ISO 8601 date string [RD38].
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTime’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.107 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

The release date of the processor.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:softwareReference/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘creation’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.108 Group “gmi:documentation#1” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Reference to the ATBD of the product.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#1

Group attributes attached to gmi:documentation#1

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:title ‘%(title_atbd)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Specification of the current release of the ATBD of the product.

10.2.3.109 Group “gmd:date” in “gmi:documentation#1”

Release date of the ATBD.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#1/gmd:date
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Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘%(date_atbd)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Release date of the ATBD expressed as an ISO 8601 date string [RD38].
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.110 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Specify the type of the date of the ATBD (revision of publication).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#1/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘revision’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.111 Group “gmi:documentation#2” in “gmi:processingInformation”

Reference to the PUM of the product.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#2

Group attributes attached to gmi:documentation#2

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:title ‘%(title_pum)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Specification of the current release of the PUM of the product.

10.2.3.112 Group “gmd:date” in “gmi:documentation#2”

Release date of the PUM.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#2/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date ‘%(date_pum)s’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
Release date of the PUM expressed as an ISO 8601 date string [RD38].
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.113 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Specify the type of the date of the PUM (revision of publication).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:processingInformation/gmi:documentation#2/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
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codeListValue ‘revision’ (static) NC_STRING

objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.114 Group “gmi:report” in “gmd:processStep”

Short report of what occurred during the process step.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmi:report

Group attributes attached to gmi:report

Name Value Type
gmi:description ‘Sentinel 5-precursor TROPOMI L1b processed to L2 NC_STRING
data using the %(institute)s L2 %(product)s processor’
(dynamic)
Textual description of what occurred during the process step. Replace %(. . . )s as indicated.
gmi:fileType ‘netCDF-4’ (static) NC_STRING
Type of file that contains the processing report, in our case the processing report is contained in the main
output file.
gmi:name ‘%(logical_filename)s.nc’ (dynamic) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmi:LE_ProcessStepReport’ (dynamic) NC_STRING

10.2.3.115 Group “gmd:source#1” in “gmd:processStep”

Information about the source data used in creating the data specified by the scope. Repeat group as needed,
incrementing the number of the source (after the # mark).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmd:source#1

Group attributes attached to gmd:source#1

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmi:LE_Source’ (static) NC_STRING
gmd:description NC_STRING
Description of the input data, including L1B, L2, dynamic auxiliary input data and semi-static auxiliary
input data. Base strings are “TROPOMI L1B %s radiance product”, “TROPOMI L1B %s irradiance
product”, “TROPOMI L2 %s product”, “Auxiliary ECMWF %s Meteorological forecast data”, “Processor %s
configuration file”, “Auxiliary %s reference data”, “Auxiliary %s algorithm lookup table”, “Auxiliary CTM %s
model input data”, “Auxiliary snow and ice input data” and “Auxiliary NPP/VIIRS cloud screening input data”.
The %s to be replaced with specific descriptors.

10.2.3.116 Group “gmi:processedLevel” in “gmd:source#1”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmd:source#1/gmi:processedLevel

Group attributes attached to gmi:processedLevel

Name Value Type
gmd:code Empty! NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:MD_Identifier’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.117 Group “gmd:sourceCitation” in “gmd:source#1”

Reference to the actual filename of the input data.
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Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation

Group attributes attached to gmd:sourceCitation

Name Value Type
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Citation’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.118 Group “gmd:date” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date

Group attributes attached to gmd:date

Name Value Type
gmd:date NC_STRING
Production date and time of the input file(s) in this group expressed as an ISO 8601 date-time string [RD38].
Note that the definition in the XML schema appears to allow the use of a “CI_DateTime” instead of a
“CI_Date”.
objectType ‘gmd:CI_Date’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.119 Group “gmd:dateType” in “gmd:date”

Meaning of the reference date for the cited resource.
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:date/gmd:dateType

Group attributes attached to gmd:dateType

Name Value Type
codeList ‘http://www.isotc211.org/2005/resources/Codelist/ NC_STRING
gmxCodelists.xml#CI_DateTypeCode’ (static)
codeListValue ‘creation’ (static) NC_STRING
objectType ‘gmd:CI_DateTypeCode’ (static) NC_STRING

10.2.3.120 Group “gmd:title” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:title

Group attributes attached to gmd:title

Name Value Type
gco:characterString NC_STRING
Textual description of the input file group (same as the “gmd:description” attribute in the “gmi:LE_-
Source” object).

10.2.3.121 Group “gmd:alternateTitle#1” in “gmd:sourceCitation”

All filenames in this group, in case more files of a particular file type are delivered, for instance for meteorological
or model input. Repeat group as needed, incrementing the number of the input file (after the # mark).
Attributes in CH4___/METADATA/ESA_METADATA/earth_explorer_header/variable_header/gmd:lineage/
gmd:processStep/gmd:source#1/gmd:sourceCitation/gmd:alternateTitle#1
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Group attributes attached to gmd:alternateTitle#1

Name Value Type
gmx:FileName Empty! NC_STRING
The basename of the input file.

11 Units
The units attribute originates from the NetCDF-4 users guide [ER7]. This means that the use of this attribute
is integral to the use of NetCDF-4 itself, and that the use of the units attribute in the NetCDF-4 users guide is
a hard requirement. The NetCDF-4 users guide [ER7] strongly suggests to use the UDUnits [ER10] package
to handle units. The CF metadata conventions reinforce this requirement [ER5, sections 1.3 and 3.1].
Making the UDUnits package [ER10] a requirement, and thereby forcing all units to be compliant with formal
SI units3 is a good thing for consistency and will help avoid confusion in the long run. In the short term it will
require adjustments within the earth observation community, as many of the units that the user community is
accustomed to are not SI, and are therefore not available within the UDUnits package. The MAG has decided
that Sentinel 5 precursor will represent all level 2 output in SI units. In particular, all column amounts will be
given in mol m−2 .
To make it easier for end-users to adjust to these ‘new’ units, conversion factors are attached to the
appropriate variables.

multiplication_factor_to_convert_to_molecules_percm2 Multiply the contents of the variable with this

scale factor (6.02214 × 10+19 ) to obtain columns in molecules cm−2

multiplication_factor_to_convert_to_DU Multiply the contents of the variable with this scale factor (2241.15)
to obtain columns in DU.

multiplication_factor_to_convert_to_photons_persecond_pernm_percm2_persr Multiply the contents

of the variable with this scale factor (6.02214 × 10+19 ) to obtain a radiance in photons s−1 nm−1 cm−2 sr−1 .

12 Quality Assurance parameters

The Level 2 output will include automated quality assurance parameters. These include ‘event counters’ for
each of the flags defined in the processing quality flags, see tables 11 and 12. These processing quality flags
are made uniform across all products, and include flags that may not be applicable to a particular algorithm.
We still count all flags, so this list is the same for all products, a list is provided in table 4.
In addition to these ‘event counters’, we also store a histogram of the main parameters. Storing a histogram
of retrieved values is easy during processing, and allows for continuous statistical quality monitoring of the
retrieval. It also makes it easy to collect histograms of S5P/TROPOMI data for longer periods. The bins for the
histogram depend on the parameter in the Level 2 product, and are defined in the configuration file.
In addition to the histogram an approximation of a probability density function can be created:
" #
(x j − xi )2


1 N cos δgeo,i
fpdf (x j ) = ∑ √ exp (9)
N i=0 σi 2π 2σi2

This is a discrete approximation of a continuous probability
density function, for discrete values x j for all
successful retrievals i = 1, . . . , N . The value of cos δgeo,i is used to make the result less sensitive to the
relative oversampling of S5P at high latitude.
The mission performance center for Sentinel 5 precursor maintains a record of quality control/quality
assurance parameters for monitoring purposes.

3
And some deeply entrenched non-SI units such as DU.
 issue 2.4.0, 2022-07-11 – released
S5P L2 PUM Methane
Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. The actual integer values of incident occurrences are stored. Using percentages stored as integers will hide potential
issues, especially given the total number of pixels in a S5P/TROPOMI granule.

Name Description
number_of_groundpixels Number of ground pixels in the file.
number_of_processed_pixels Number of ground pixels where a retrieval was attempted. This is the
number_of_groundpixels minus the pixels that were rejected on trivial
grounds, such as the solar zenith angle.
number_of_successfully_processed_pixels Number of ground pixels where a retrieval was successful.
number_of_rejected_pixels_not_enough_spectrum Number of ground pixels where a retrieval was not attempted because too
many spectral pixels were flagged as bad.
number_of_failed_retrievals Number of pixels that were attempted but failed.
number_of_ground_pixels_with_warnings Number of pixels with one or more warnings.
number_of_missing_scanlines Number of scanlines that are missing from the input, presumably transmission
errors.
number_of_radiance_missing_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the number of spectral pixels in the radiance
due to flagging is too small to perform the fitting” occurred.
number_of_irradiance_missing_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the number of spectral pixels in the irradiance
due to flagging is too small to perform the fitting” occurred.
number_of_input_spectrum_missing_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the reflectance spectrum does not contain
enough points to perform the retrieval. This is different from (ir)radiance_-
missing in that the missing points may not be aligned” occurred.
number_of_reflectance_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “any of the reflectances is out of bounds
(R < 0 or R > Rmax )” occurred.
number_of_ler_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “lambert-equivalent reflectivity out of range
error” occurred.

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
number_of_snr_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “too low signal to noise to perform retrieval”
occurred.
number_of_sza_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “solar zenith angle out of range, maximum
value from configuration” occurred.

Page 108 of 129

number_of_vza_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “viewing zenith angle out of range, maximum
value from configuration” occurred.
number_of_lut_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “extrapolation in lookup table (airmass factor,
cloud radiances)” occurred.
 issue 2.4.0, 2022-07-11 – released
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Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_ozone_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “ozone column significantly out of range of
profile climatology” occurred.
number_of_wavelength_offset_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “wavelength offset exceeds maximum from
configuration” occurred.
number_of_initialization_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “an error occurred during the processing
of the pixel, no output was generated. The following errors raise this flag:
Mismatch between irradiance and radiance wavelengths; The on-ground
distance between band 1 and band 2 ground pixels exceeds a threshold
set in the configuration. Derived a-priori information does not validate, no
processing is possible” occurred.
number_of_memory_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “memory allocation or deallocation error”
occurred.
number_of_assertion_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “error in algorithm detected during assertion”
occurred.
number_of_io_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “error detected during transfer of data between
algorithm and framework” occurred.
number_of_numerical_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “general fatal numerical error occurred during
inversion” occurred.
number_of_lut_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “error in accessing the lookup table” occurred.
number_of_ISRF_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “error detected in the input instrument spectral
response function input data” occurred.
number_of_convergence_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the main algorithm did not converge” oc-
curred.
number_of_cloud_filter_convergence_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the cloud filter did not converge” occurred.

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
number_of_max_iteration_convergence_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “no convergence because retrieval exceeds
maximum number of iterations. Maximum value from configuration” occurred.
number_of_aot_lower_boundary_convergence_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “no convergence because the aerosol optical

Page 109 of 129

thickness crosses lower boundary twice in succession” occurred.
number_of_other_boundary_convergence_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “no convergence because a state vector
element crosses boundary twice in succession. Note that a separate failure
flag is defined for non-convergence due to crossing of lower AOT boundary”
occurred.
 issue 2.4.0, 2022-07-11 – released
S5P L2 PUM Methane
Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_geolocation_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “geolocation out of range” occurred.
number_of_ch4_noscat_zero_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the CH4 column retrieved by the non-
scattering CO algorithm from the weak band or strong band is 0” occurred.
number_of_h2o_noscat_zero_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the H2 O column retrieved by the non-
scattering CO algorithm from the weak band or strong band is 0” occurred.
number_of_max_optical_thickness_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “maximum optical thickness exceeded during
iterations” occurred.
number_of_aerosol_boundary_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “boundary hit of aerosol parameters at last
iteration” occurred.
number_of_boundary_hit_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fatal boundary hit during iterations” occurred.
number_of_chi2_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “χ 2 is not-a-number or larger than 1010 ”
occurred.
number_of_svd_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “singular value decomposition failure” oc-
curred.
number_of_dfs_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “degree of freedom is not-a-number” occurred.
number_of_radiative_transfer_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “errors occurred during the radiative transfer
computations, no processing possible” occurred.
number_of_optimal_estimation_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “errors occurred during the optimal estimation,
processing has been terminated” occurred.
number_of_profile_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “flag that indicates if there were any errors
during the computation of the ozone profile” occurred.
number_of_cloud_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “no cloud data” occurred.
number_of_model_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “forward model failure” occurred.

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
number_of_number_of_input_data_points_too_low_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “not enough input ozone columns to calculate
a tropospheric column” occurred.
number_of_cloud_pressure_spread_too_low_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “cloud pressure variability to low to estimate

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a tropospheric column” occurred.
number_of_cloud_too_low_level_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “clouds are too low in the atmosphere to
assume sufficient shielding” occurred.
number_of_generic_range_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “generic range error” occurred.
number_of_generic_exception_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “catch all generic error” occurred.
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Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_input_spectrum_alignment_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “input radiance and irradiance spectra are not
aligned correctly” occurred.
number_of_abort_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “not processed because processor aborted
prematurely (time out or user abort)” occurred.
number_of_wrong_input_type_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “wrong input type error, mismatch between
expectation and received data” occurred.
number_of_wavelength_calibration_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “an error occurred in the wavelength calibra-
tion of this pixel” occurred.
number_of_coregistration_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “no colocated pixels found in a supporting
band” occurred.
number_of_slant_column_density_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “slant column fit returned error, no values can
be computed” occurred.
number_of_airmass_factor_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “airmass factor could not be computed” oc-
curred.
number_of_vertical_column_density_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “vertical column density could not be com-
puted” occurred.
number_of_signal_to_noise_ratio_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the signal to noise ratio for this spectrum is
too low for processing” occurred.
number_of_configuration_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “error while parsing the configuration” oc-
curred.
number_of_key_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “key does not exist” occurred.
number_of_saturation_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “saturation in input spectrum” occurred.
number_of_max_num_outlier_exceeded_error_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the number of outliers detected in the DOAS

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
fit exceeds a maximum set for healthy spectra. ” occurred.
number_of_solar_eclipse_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “solar eclipse” occurred.
number_of_cloud_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the cloud filter triggered causing the pixel to

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be skipped” occurred.
number_of_altitude_consistency_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “too large difference between ECMWF altitude
and DEM altitude value” occurred.
number_of_altitude_roughness_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “too large standard deviation of altitude in
DEM” occurred.
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Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_sun_glint_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “for pixels over water, viewing direction inside
sun glint region. Definition of sun glint angle and threshold value from ATBD”
occurred.
number_of_mixed_surface_type_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel contains land and water areas (e.g.
coastal pixel)” occurred.
number_of_snow_ice_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel contains snow/ice: Snow/ice flag ac-
cording to dynamic input OR climatological surface albedo at VIS wavelength
is larger than 0.5” occurred.
number_of_aai_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “AAI smaller than 2.0” occurred.
number_of_cloud_fraction_fresco_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel contains clouds: The FRESCO effective
cloud fraction is larger than threshold. Threshold value from ATBD” occurred.
number_of_aai_scene_albedo_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel contains clouds: The difference between
scene albedo at 380 nm from AAI calculation and the climatologcal surface
albedo exceeds threshold. Threshold value from ATBD. This test filters out
clouds” occurred.
number_of_small_pixel_radiance_std_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel contains clouds: Standard deviation
of radiances in small-pixel column exceeds threshold. Threshold value from
ATBD” occurred.
number_of_cloud_fraction_viirs_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel contains clouds: The cloud fraction
from VIIRS / NPP exceeds theshold. Threshold value from ATBD” occurred.
number_of_cirrus_reflectance_viirs_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel contains clouds: Cirrus reflectance from
VIIRS / NPP exceeds threshold. Threshold value from ATBD” occurred.
number_of_cf_viirs_swir_ifov_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P
SWIR ground pixel exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
number_of_cf_viirs_swir_ofova_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P
SWIR OFOVa exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_cf_viirs_swir_ofovb_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P

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SWIR OFOVb exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_cf_viirs_swir_ofovc_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P
SWIR OFOVc exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_ifov_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P
NIR ground pixel exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
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Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_ofova_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P
NIR OFOVa exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_ofovb_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P
NIR OFOVb exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_cf_viirs_nir_ofovc_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P
NIR OFOVc exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_refl_cirrus_viirs_swir_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “average VIIRS cirrus reflectance within SWIR
ground pixel exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_refl_cirrus_viirs_nir_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “average VIIRS cirrus reflectance within NIR
ground pixel exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_diff_refl_cirrus_viirs_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “difference in VIIRS average cirrus reflect-
ance between SWIR and NIR ground pixel exceeds a priori threshold from
configuration” occurred.
number_of_ch4_noscat_ratio_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the ratio between [CH4 ]weak and [CH4 ]strong
is below or exceeds a priori thresholds from configuration” occurred.
number_of_ch4_noscat_ratio_std_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the standard deviation of [CH4 ]weak /[CH4
]strong within the SWIR pixel and the 8 neighbouring pixels exceeds a priori
threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_h2o_noscat_ratio_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the ratio between [H2 O ]weak and [H2 O ]strong
is below or exceeds a priori thresholds from configuration” occurred.
number_of_h2o_noscat_ratio_std_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the standard deviation of [H2 O ]weak /[H2 O
]strong within the SWIR pixel and the 8 neigbouring pixels exceeds a priori
threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_diff_psurf_fresco_ecmwf_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “difference between the FRESCO apparent

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
surface pressure and the ECMWF surface pressure exceeds a priori threshold
from configuration” occurred.
number_of_psurf_fresco_stdv_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the standard deviation of the FRESCO

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apparent surface pressure in the NIR pixel and the 8 surrounding pixels
exceeds a priori threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_ocean_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the ground pixel is over ocean (and ocean
glint retrievals are not switched on)” occurred.
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Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_time_range_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “time is out of the range that is to be processed”
occurred.
number_of_pixel_or_scanline_index_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “not processed because pixel index does not
match general selection criteria” occurred.
number_of_geographic_region_filter_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pixel falls outside the specified regions of
interest” occurred.
number_of_input_spectrum_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “number of good pixels in radiance, irradiance
or calculated reflectance below threshold from configuration” occurred.
number_of_wavelength_calibration_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “offset from wavelength fit is larger than limit
set in configuration” occurred.
number_of_extrapolation_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “pressure or temperature outside cross section
LUT range, other lookup table extrapolation” occurred.
number_of_sun_glint_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “sun glint posibility warning” occurred.
number_of_south_atlantic_anomaly_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “TROPOMI is inside the south Atlantic anom-
aly while taking these measurements” occurred.
number_of_sun_glint_correction_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “A sun glint correction has been applied”
occurred.
number_of_snow_ice_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “snow/ice flag is set, i.e. using scene data
from the cloud support product” occurred.
number_of_cloud_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “cloud filter based on FRESCO apparent
surface pressure (VIIRS not available), cloud fraction above threshold or cloud
pressure adjusted to force cloud above surface. In case of Cloud product this
flag indicates the possiblity of ice-clouds” occurred.

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
number_of_AAI_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “possible aerosol contamination as either
indicated by the AAI (O3 profile)” occurred.
number_of_pixel_level_input_data_missing_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “dynamic auxiliary input data (e.g.. cloud) is
missing for this ground pixel. A fallback option is used” occurred.

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Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_data_range_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “carbon monoxide column tends to negative
values; Water column tends to negative values; Heavy water (HDO) column
tends to negative values; others. In case of the O3 product this flag indicates
VCD or effective albedo values outside a valid range. In case of the SO2 or
the HCHO product this flag indicates AMF values outside a valid range. For
O3 profile this warning indicates an out of range cost function, or an out of
range RMS difference between retrieval and a priori” occurred.
number_of_low_cloud_fraction_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “low cloud fraction, therefore no cloud pres-
sure retrieved” occurred.
number_of_altitude_consistency_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “difference between ECMWF surface elevation
and high-resolution surface elevation exceeds threshold from configuration”
occurred.
number_of_signal_to_noise_ratio_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “signal to noise ratio in SWIR and/or NIR
band below threshold from configuration. For the O3 and HCHO products this
flag indicates an RMS above a certain threshold” occurred.
number_of_deconvolution_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “failed deconvolution irradiance spectrum (not
pixel-specific, but row-specific)” occurred.
number_of_so2_volcanic_origin_likely_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “warning for SO2 BL product, UTLS products:
volcanic origin except for heavily polluted sites. For O3 profile this warning is
issued in case of a large SO2 column which has an impact on the O3 profile
retrieval” occurred.
number_of_so2_volcanic_origin_certain_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “warning for SO2 BL product, UTLS products:
volcanic origin certain” occurred.
number_of_interpolation_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “warning for interpolation on partially missing

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
data. In this case the valid available data is used, potentially leading to a bias”
occurred.
number_of_saturation_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “saturation occurred spectrum, possibly caus-
ing biases in the retrieval” occurred.

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number_of_high_sza_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “warning for high solar zenith angle. In this
case, the processing can be performed with less final quality” occurred.
number_of_cloud_retrieval_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “warning occurring when the retrieval dia-
gnostic indicates a degraded quality of the cloud retrieval” occurred.
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Table 4: Common quality assurance parameters. (continued).

Name Description
number_of_cloud_inhomogeneity_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “the cloud coregistration inhomogeneity para-
meter is above a given threshold. This warning is also set when the coregis-
tration weight sums are less than 1” occurred.
number_of_thermal_instability_warning_occurrences Number of ground pixels where “input spectra have been labeled with a
thermal instability warning flag” occurred.

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13 Generic metadata and attributes

Metadata gives information about the satellite, algorithms, configuration as well as other parameters useful for
the interpretation of the processed data and tracing the production process of the level 2 files. The Sentinel 5
precursor product files, both for level 1B and level 2 contain a rich amount of metadata, both at the variable
level and at the granule level. The full description of the metadata in the files for the Methane product is given
in the file format description, in section 10.2. Here we provide some background on what can be found in which
location. The abbreviations listed in table 5 are used in the following part of this document to better identify the
nature of the attributes.

Table 5: The abbreviations used in metadata descriptions to indicate the origin of a specific attribute, and the
abbreviations used to indicate the type of an attribute.

Abbreviation Description
NUG netCDF-4 Users Guide [ER7]
CF Climate and Forecast metadata conventions [ER5], which includes the COARDS [ER11]
conventions
ISO ISO standards 19115, 19115-2 and 19157 [RD32, RD33, RD34]
Inspire Inspire directive [ER4]
ACDD ESIP-ACDD Attribute convention for dataset discovery [ER6]
CCI Attributes requested by the ESA climate change initiative project. These largely overlap with
the ACDD attributes.
ESA Fixed ESA Header [RD31]
S5P Internal use – mostly for retrieval settings, possibly as an extension to ISO 19115 [RD32]
S Attribute is a string attribute
P Attribute has the data-type of the variable with which it is associated (‘parent’ data type).
I Attribute is an integer value
F Attribute is a floating point value (either 32-bit or 64-bit).
T Attribute is a CCSDS-ASCII time representation (“UTC=” + ISO 8601 [RD38])

We follow several metadata conventions in the S5P level 2 files, as can be seen in table 5. These include
ISO 19115-2 [RD33], OGC 10.157r3 [RD35], the ESA earth observation header [RD31] and the Climate
and Forecast metadata conventions [ER5]. Following ISO 19115-2 also ensures compliance with the Inspire
directive, with the provision that a few items that are optional in the ISO standard are required by Inspire. These
metadata standards prescribe the generation of XML files as side-files to the main product file. These metadata
standards are mostly intended for data discovery and data dissemination. This means that the metadata must
be ingested by a server so that it can be stored in a database. This database will end users help to find the
data they need. Ingestion of this metadata is facilitated by storing the metadata in a predefined XML format.
While it is possible to store the required XML directly in a NetCDF variable or attribute, it is hard to use these
directly to extract metadata. Using attributes for the individual metadata fields makes it far easier for users to
read the metadata from their programs, as the interface becomes uniform: just netCDF-4.
The then question becomes how to store the metadata for the ISO 19115-2, OGC 10.157r3 and the ESA
earth observation header in the NetCDF datafile, in a way that facilitates automated creation of the XML side
files for ingestion into the database for dissemination en discovery. Fortunately this problem has already been
solved by the S5P L1B team, and a description can be found in the L1B input/output data specification and the
metadata specification [RD2, RD37]. The short version is that the attributes in the data file can be exported
as NcML [RD45], which can be translated into the desired output using an XSLT transformation. Support
attributes are added to the data file to facilitate this. Creating such a transformation script has been declared
out of scope for the level 1B and level 2 processor CFI providers.

13.1 The Climate and Forecast conventions

The CF metadata conventions [ER5] provide guidelines for attributes for variables so that the link between data
and its geolocation and time of observation can be made automatically. Applying the CF-metadata conventions
to the output products already limits the number of choices we will have to make. Units and other attributes are
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already defined and some structure is provided by the CF-conventions, for instance in linking data fields with
geolocation.

13.2 NetCDF User Guide Conventions

A full description of the conventions might be found in the NetCDF user manual [ER7]]. In general, names
starting with underscore character are always reserved for use by the NetCDF library. NUG conventions are a
subset of the CF-conventions.

13.3 Global attributes

Global attributes that are present at the root level of a S5p L2 product as described in section 10. These are
mostly string attributes.

13.4 ESA earth observation header

The ESA earth observations file format guidelines and tailoring for S5P [RD31, RD25] specify the creation
of a header file with a basic description of the contents of an output file. This header file consists of a fixed
part and a customizable variable part. The variable part contains the lineage of the product is repeated, see
section 10.2.3.43 for a description the the attributes contained in this part of the header. The fixed header is
described in tables 6 – 8.

Table 6: Metadata in the fixed header required by the ESA earth observation file format standard. The data
types refer to the short list in table 5.

Name Data type Definition

File_Name S File name of the product without extension.
File_Description S Description of the file type.
Notes S Any type of notes/comments (multi-lines).
Mission S Description of the mission (Fixed to “S5P”)
File_Class S Description of the file class. It is redundant with the File Class
element embedded in the File Name.(e.g., “NRTI”)
File_Type S Description of the file type, for the current product it is set to “L2__-
Methane”. It is redundant with the File Type element embedded in
the File Name.
Validity_Period Group, see table 7 Time coverage of the data.
File_Version I It is redundant with the File Version element embedded in the File
Name.
Source Group, see table 8 Information about the ground segment facility where the product
was generated.

Table 7: Fields in the Validity_Period group. The data types refer to the short list in table 5.

Name Data type Definition

Validity_Start T This is the UTC Validity Start Time, the same as the Validity Start
Time in the File Name and the time_coverage_start global attribute.
Validity_Stop T This is the UTC Validity Stop Time, the same as the Validity Stop
Time in the File Name and the time_coverage_end global attribute.
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Table 8: Fields in the source group. The data types refer to the short list in table 5.

Name Data type Definition

System S Name of the Ground Segment element creating the file.
Creator S Name of the facility or tool, within the Ground Segment element,
creating the file.
Creator_Version S Version of the tool.
Creation_Date T This is the UTC Creation Date. This field also appears in the file
name and in the date_created global attribute.

13.5 Inspire directive

INSPIRE is based on the infrastructures for spatial information established and operated by the 27 Member
States of the European Union. The INSPIRE directive came into force on 15 May 2007 and will be developed
in several stages until a complete release with due date set in 2019. The INSPIRE directive aims to create a
European Union (EU) spatial data infrastructure. This will enable the sharing of environmental spatial informa-
tion among public sector organizations and better facilitate public access to spatial information across Europe.
The European Commission issued a Metadata Regulation [RD46] which aims at setting the requirements for
the creation and maintenance of metadata for spatial data sets, spatial data set series and spatial data services
corresponding to the themes listed in the annexes of the regulation.
Since many different standard are involved, collisions may occur. The INSPIRE Metadata Implementing
Rules [RD47] define how the Regulation can be implemented using ISO 19115. As also reported in [RD37],
the conclusion of the study pointed out the following:

1. The conformance of an ISO 19115 metadata set to the ISO 19115 Core does not guarantee the
conformance to INSPIRE.

2. The use of these guidelines to create INSPIRE metadata ensures that the metadata is not in conflict
with ISO 19115. However, full conformance to ISO 19115 implies the provision of additional metadata
elements which are not required by INSPIRE.

13.6 ISO and OGC standards

Two ISOs standards useful for the description of collection of Earth Observation products and to the description
of individual EO products are ISO 19115-2 [RD33] and ISO 19156 [RD48], respectively. However, these two
ISOs do not provide any encoding syntax but they are merely conceptual models. On the other hand, standards
that provide encoding and XML schema for describing, validating and exchanging metadata about geographic
datasets and for observations and measurements are:

1. ISO 19139 [RD40]

2. OGC 10-025C [RD49]
3. OGC 10-157 [RD35]

Full description of all above mentioned standard is not part of this document. The S5p L01B evelopment
team have addressed and analyzed the complex structure of the application of all those ISOs and OGC
standard in the S5P L01B metadata specification [RD37].

13.7 Attributes
In Table 10 a list of attributes that can be appended to variables in S5p products. Not all of these attributes will
be used on all variables, but for each variables an appropriate selection is made. The different types with their
respective abbreviations are shown in Table 5. The NetCDF attribute _FillValue which represents missing
or undefined data can assume the default values listed in Table 9.
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Table 9: netCDF-4 type definitions and fill values. In order to avoid rounding errors, it is recommended to
use the hexadecimal notation when specifying fill values for float and double types. Note that these are the
netCDF-4 default fill values, there should be no need to specify these values explicitly. In some cases the fill
value for float or double variables may fall within the valid range of a variable. For those cases an explicit fill
value must be set, the value −9.9692099683868690 × 1036 (hex: -0x1.ep+122) is recommended for these
cases.

Type Description Fill value

byte 8-bit signed integer −127
ubyte 8-bit unsigned integer 255
short 16-bit signed integer −32767
ushort 16-bit unsigned integer 65535
int 32-bit signed integer −2147483647
uint 32-bit unsigned integer 4294967295
float 32-bit floating point 9.9692099683868690 × 1036 (hex: 0x1.ep+122)
double 64-bit floating point 9.9692099683868690 × 1036 (hex: 0x1.ep+122)

Table 10: Attributes for variables used in S5p netCDF-4 files. The data types refer to the short list in table 5.

Name Type Std. Description

ancillary_variables S CF Identifies a variable that contains closely associated data, e.g.
the measurement uncertainties of instrument data.
bounds S CF Connects a boundary variable to a coordinate variable.
cell_measures S CF Identifies variables that contain cell areas or volumes. This
can be used to connect approximate ground pixel coverage in
km2 to data-fields.
comment S CF Miscellaneous information about the data or methods used to
produce it.
coordinates S CF Identifies auxiliary coordinate variables, providing a connection
between data and geolocation, time.
_FillValue P NUG Value to represent missing or undefined data. Recommended
(default) values are given in table 9.
flag_masks P CF Provides a list of bit fields expressing Boolean or enumerated
flags.
flag_meanings S CF Use in conjunction with flag_values to provide descriptive
words or phrases for each flag value.
flag_values P CF Provides a list of the flag values. Use in conjunction with
flag_meanings.
formula S CF Formula to calculate the values for an adaptive grid, for in-
stance for a dimensionless vertical coordinate. Example:
“hyam hybm (mlev=hyam+hybm*aps)”.
formula_terms S CF Identifies variables that correspond to the terms in a formula,
for instance for a dimensionless vertical coordinate. Example:
“ap: hyam b: hybm ps: aps”
institution S CF Specifies where the original data was produced.
long_name S CF A descriptive name that indicates a variable’s content. This
name is not standardized.
positive S CF Direction of increasing vertical coordinate value (‘up’ for z in m
or ‘down’ for p in hPa).
references S CF References that describe the data or methods used to produce
it.
source S CF Method of production of the original data.
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Table 10: Attributes for variables used in S5p netCDF-4 files (continued).

Name Type Std. Description

standard_error_multiplier F CF If a data variable with a standard_name modifier of standard_-
error has this attribute, it indicates that the values are the
stated multiple of one standard error. The only allowed value
for S5p files is 1, used only to disambiguate.
standard_name S CF A standard name that references a description of a variable’s
content in the standard name table.
units S CF Units of a variable’s content. See section 11 for a detailed
discussion.
valid_max P NUG Largest valid value of a variable.
valid_min P NUG Smallest valid value of a variable.
valid_range P[2] NUG Smallest and largest valid values of a variable. This attribute
should not be combined with either valid_min or valid_max

A Flag descriptions
The following tables describe the Measurement flags, Processing quality flags (processing failures and filter
conditions, errors and warnings) and surface classifications.
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Table 11: Processing quality flags, errors, processing failures and filter conditions for S5P Level 2. Warnings are listed in table 12. The value in the first column is the
result of a bitwise ‘and’ of 255 (0xFF) and the value in the “processing_quality_flags” variable.

# Short name Description Algorithm

0 success No failures, output contains value. Warnings still possible. All
1 radiance_missing The number of spectral pixels in the radiance due to flagging is too small to perform All
the fitting.
2 irradiance_missing The number of spectral pixels in the irradiance due to flagging is too small to All
perform the fitting.
3 input_spectrum_missing The reflectance spectrum does not contain enough points to perform the retrieval. All
This is different from (ir)radiance_missing in that the missing points may not be
aligned.
4 reflectance_range_error Any of the reflectances is out of bounds (R < 0 or R > Rmax ). FRESCO
5 ler_range_error Lambert-equivalent reflectivity out of range error. CO, CH4
6 snr_range_error Too low signal to noise to perform retrieval. CO
7 sza_range_error Solar zenith angle out of range, maximum value from configuration. All
8 vza_range_error Viewing zenith angle out of range, maximum value from configuration. Development phase only
9 lut_range_error Extrapolation in lookup table (airmass factor, cloud radiances). NO2
10 ozone_range_error Ozone column significantly out of range of profile climatology. Total O3 column
11 wavelength_offset_error Wavelength offset exceeds maximum from configuration. FRESCO, NO2
12 initialization_error An error occurred during the processing of the pixel, no output was generated. All
The following errors raise this flag: Mismatch between irradiance and radiance
wavelengths; The on-ground distance between band 1 and band 2 ground pixels
exceeds a threshold set in the configuration. Derived a-priori information does not
validate, no processing is possible.
13 memory_error Memory allocation or deallocation error. CO, CH4

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
14 assertion_error Error in algorithm detected during assertion. CO
15 io_error Error detected during transfer of data between algorithm and framework. CO, ALH, CH4 , O3 profile
16 numerical_error General fatal numerical error occurred during inversion. CO, FRESCO

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17 lut_error Error in accessing the lookup table. CH4
18 ISRF_error Error detected in the input instrument spectral response function input data. CH4
19 convergence_error The main algorithm did not converge. All
20 cloud_filter_convergence_error The cloud filter did not converge. CO
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Table 11: Processing quality flags, errors, processing failures and filter conditions for S5P Level 2 (continued).

# Short name Description Algorithm

21 max_iteration_convergence_error No convergence because retrieval exceeds maximum number of iterations. Max- ALH
imum value from configuration.
22 aot_lower_boundary_convergence_error No convergence because the aerosol optical thickness crosses lower boundary ALH
twice in succession.
23 other_boundary_convergence_error No convergence because a state vector element crosses boundary twice in suc- ALH
cession. Note that a separate failure flag is defined for non-convergence due to
crossing of lower AOT boundary.
25 ch4_noscat_zero_error The CH4 column retrieved by the non-scattering CO algorithm from the weak band CH4
or strong band is 0.
26 h2o_noscat_zero_error The H2 O column retrieved by the non-scattering CO algorithm from the weak band CH4
or strong band is 0.
27 max_optical_thickness_error Maximum optical thickness exceeded during iterations. CH4
28 aerosol_boundary_error Boundary hit of aerosol parameters at last iteration. CH4
29 boundary_hit_error Fatal boundary hit during iterations. CH4
30 chi2_error χ2 is not-a-number or larger than 1010 . CH4
31 svd_error Singular value decomposition failure. CH4
32 dfs_error Degree of freedom is not-a-number. CH4
33 radiative_transfer_error Errors occurred during the radiative transfer computations, no processing possible. O3 profile
34 optimal_estimation_error Errors occurred during the optimal estimation, processing has been terminated. O3 profile
35 profile_error Flag that indicates if there were any errors during the computation of the ozone O3 profile
profile.
36 cloud_error No cloud data. Cloud
37 model_error Forward model failure. Cloud, Total O3 column

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
38 number_of_input_data_points_too_low_error Not enough input ozone columns to calculate a tropospheric column. Tropospheric O3 column
39 cloud_pressure_spread_too_low_error Cloud pressure variability to low to estimate a tropospheric column. Tropospheric O3 column
40 cloud_too_low_level_error Clouds are too low in the atmosphere to assume sufficient shielding. Tropospheric O3 column

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41 generic_range_error Generic range error. All
42 generic_exception Catch all generic error. All
43 input_spectrum_alignment_error Input radiance and irradiance spectra are not aligned correctly. All
44 abort_error Not processed because processor aborted prematurely (time out or user abort) All
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Table 11: Processing quality flags, errors, processing failures and filter conditions for S5P Level 2 (continued).

# Short name Description Algorithm

45 wrong_input_type_error Wrong input type error, mismatch between expectation and received data. All
46 wavelength_calibration_error An error occurred in the wavelength calibration of this pixel All
47 coregistration_error No colocated pixels found in a supporting band All
51 signal_to_noise_ratio_error The signal to noise ratio for this spectrum is too low for processing All
52 configuration_error Error while parsing the configuration All
53 key_error Key does not exist All
54 saturation_error Saturation in input spectrum All
55 max_num_outlier_exceeded_error The number of outliers detected in the DOAS fit exceeds a maximum set for healthy NO2
spectra.
64 solar_eclipse_filter Solar eclipse. All
65 cloud_filter The cloud filter triggered causing the pixel to be skipped. CO, ALH, CH4
66 altitude_consistency_filter Too large difference between ECMWF altitude and DEM altitude value. CO, CH4
67 altitude_roughness_filter Too large standard deviation of altitude in DEM. CO, ALH, CH4
68 sun_glint_filter For pixels over water, viewing direction inside sun glint region. Definition of sun ALH
glint angle and threshold value from ATBD.
69 mixed_surface_type_filter Pixel contains land and water areas (e.g. coastal pixel). ALH
70 snow_ice_filter Pixel contains snow/ice: Snow/ice flag according to dynamic input OR climatological ALH
surface albedo at VIS wavelength is larger than 0.5.
71 aai_filter AAI smaller than 2.0. ALH
72 cloud_fraction_fresco_filter Pixel contains clouds: The FRESCO effective cloud fraction is larger than threshold. ALH
Threshold value from ATBD.
73 aai_scene_albedo_filter Pixel contains clouds: The difference between scene albedo at 380 nm from AAI ALH

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
calculation and the climatologcal surface albedo exceeds threshold. Threshold
value from ATBD. This test filters out clouds.
74 small_pixel_radiance_std_filter Pixel contains clouds: Standard deviation of radiances in small-pixel column ex- ALH, CH4
ceeds threshold. Threshold value from ATBD.

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75 cloud_fraction_viirs_filter Pixel contains clouds: The cloud fraction from VIIRS / NPP exceeds theshold. ALH
Threshold value from ATBD.
76 cirrus_reflectance_viirs_filter Pixel contains clouds: Cirrus reflectance from VIIRS / NPP exceeds threshold. ALH
Threshold value from ATBD.
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Table 11: Processing quality flags, errors, processing failures and filter conditions for S5P Level 2 (continued).

# Short name Description Algorithm

77 cf_viirs_swir_ifov_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR ground pixel exceeds a priori CH4
threshold from configuration.
78 cf_viirs_swir_ofova_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR OFOVa exceeds a priori threshold CH4
from configuration.
79 cf_viirs_swir_ofovb_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR OFOVb exceeds a priori threshold CH4
from configuration.
80 cf_viirs_swir_ofovc_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P SWIR OFOVc exceeds a priori threshold CH4
from configuration.
81 cf_viirs_nir_ifov_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR ground pixel exceeds a priori CH4
threshold from configuration.
82 cf_viirs_nir_ofova_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR OFOVa exceeds a priori threshold CH4
from configuration.
83 cf_viirs_nir_ofovb_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR OFOVb exceeds a priori threshold CH4
from configuration.
84 cf_viirs_nir_ofovc_filter Fraction of cloudy VIIRS pixels wihtin S5P NIR OFOVc exceeds a priori threshold CH4
from configuration.
85 refl_cirrus_viirs_swir_filter Average VIIRS cirrus reflectance within SWIR ground pixel exceeds a priori CH4
threshold from configuration.
86 refl_cirrus_viirs_nir_filter Average VIIRS cirrus reflectance within NIR ground pixel exceeds a priori threshold CH4
from configuration.
87 diff_refl_cirrus_viirs_filter Difference in VIIRS average cirrus reflectance between SWIR and NIR ground pixel CH4
exceeds a priori threshold from configuration.
88 ch4_noscat_ratio_filter The ratio between [CH4 ]weak and [CH4 ]strong is below or exceeds a priori thresholds CH4

SRON-S5P-LEV2-MA-001
from configuration.
89 ch4_noscat_ratio_std_filter The standard deviation of [CH4 ]weak /[CH4 ]strong within the SWIR pixel and the 8 CH4
neighbouring pixels exceeds a priori threshold from configuration.
90 h2o_noscat_ratio_filter The ratio between [H2 O ]weak and [H2 O ]strong is below or exceeds a priori thresholds CH4

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from configuration.
91 h2o_noscat_ratio_std_filter The standard deviation of [H2 O ]weak /[H2 O ]strong within the SWIR pixel and the 8 CH4
neigbouring pixels exceeds a priori threshold from configuration.
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Table 11: Processing quality flags, errors, processing failures and filter conditions for S5P Level 2 (continued).

# Short name Description Algorithm

92 diff_psurf_fresco_ecmwf_filter Difference between the FRESCO apparent surface pressure and the ECMWF CH4
surface pressure exceeds a priori threshold from configuration.
93 psurf_fresco_stdv_filter The standard deviation of the FRESCO apparent surface pressure in the NIR pixel CH4
and the 8 surrounding pixels exceeds a priori threshold from configuration.
94 ocean_filter The ground pixel is over ocean (and ocean glint retrievals are not switched on). CH4
95 time_range_filter Time is out of the range that is to be processed. All
96 pixel_or_scanline_index_filter Not processed because pixel index does not match general selection criteria. All
97 geographic_region_filter Pixel falls outside the specified regions of interest. All

Table 12: Processing quality flags, warnings for S5P Level 2. Errors, processing failures and filter conditions are listed in table 11. If a bitwise ‘and’ of the mask value and
the value in the “processing_quality_flags“ variable is not zero, then the warning applies to the specific retrieval.

Bit # Mask (hex) Short name Description Algorithm

0–7 0x000000FF error If non-zero an error has occurred when processing the pixel, see table 11 for All
details.
8 0x00000100 input_spectrum_warning Number of good pixels in radiance, irradiance or calculated reflectance below All
threshold from configuration.
9 0x00000200 wavelength_calibration_warning Offset from wavelength fit is larger than limit set in configuration. Most
10 0x00000400 extrapolation_warning Pressure or temperature outside cross section LUT range, other lookup table CO, CH4
extrapolation.
11 0x00000800 sun_glint_warning Sun glint posibility warning. All
12 0x00001000 south_atlantic_anomaly_warning TROPOMI is inside the south Atlantic anomaly while taking these measure- All

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ments.
13 0x00002000 sun_glint_correction A sun glint correction has been applied. Cloud
14 0x00004000 snow_ice_warning Snow/ice flag is set, i.e. using scene data from the cloud support product. NO2 , Cloud

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15 0x00008000 cloud_warning Cloud filter based on FRESCO apparent surface pressure (VIIRS not avail- CH4 , O3 profile, Cloud
able), cloud fraction above threshold or cloud pressure adjusted to force cloud
above surface. In case of Cloud product this flag indicates the possiblity of
ice-clouds.
16 0x00010000 AAI_warning Possible aerosol contamination as either indicated by the AAI (O3 profile). O3 profile
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Table 12: Processing quality flags, warnings for S5P Level 2 (continued).

Bit # Mask (hex) Short name Description Algorithm

17 0x00020000 pixel_level_input_data_missing Dynamic auxiliary input data (e.g.. cloud) is missing for this ground pixel. A All
fallback option is used.
18 0x00040000 data_range_warning Carbon monoxide column tends to negative values; Water column tends CO, CH4 , O3 , SO2 , HCHO, O3 profile
to negative values; Heavy water (HDO) column tends to negative values;
others. In case of the O3 product this flag indicates VCD or effective albedo
values outside a valid range. In case of the SO2 or the HCHO product this
flag indicates AMF values outside a valid range. For O3 profile this warning
indicates an out of range cost function, or an out of range RMS difference
between retrieval and a priori.
19 0x00080000 low_cloud_fraction_warning Low cloud fraction, therefore no cloud pressure retrieved. Cloud
20 0x00100000 altitude_consistency_warning Difference between ECMWF surface elevation and high-resolution surface CH4
elevation exceeds threshold from configuration.
21 0x00200000 signal_to_noise_ratio_warning Signal to noise ratio in SWIR and/or NIR band below threshold from config- CH4 , O3 , HCHO
uration. For the O3 and HCHO products this flag indicates an RMS above a
certain threshold.
22 0x00400000 deconvolution_warning Failed deconvolution irradiance spectrum (not pixel-specific, but row-specific). CO, CH4
23 0x00800000 so2_volcanic_origin_likely_warning Warning for SO2 BL product, UTLS products: volcanic origin except for heavily SO2 , O3 profile
polluted sites. For O3 profile this warning is issued in case of a large SO2
column which has an impact on the O3 profile retrieval.
24 0x01000000 so2_volcanic_origin_certain_warning Warning for SO2 BL product, UTLS products: volcanic origin certain. SO2
25 0x02000000 interpolation_warning Warning for interpolation on partially missing data. In this case the valid All
available data is used, potentially leading to a bias.
26 0x04000000 saturation_warning Saturation occurred spectrum, possibly causing biases in the retrieval All
27 0x08000000 high_sza_warning Warning for high solar zenith angle. In this case, the processing can be All

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performed with less final quality.
28 0x10000000 cloud_retrieval_warning Warning occurring when the retrieval diagnostic indicates a degraded quality Cloud
of the cloud retrieval.

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29 0x20000000 cloud_inhomogeneity_warning The cloud coregistration inhomogeneity parameter is above a given threshold. Cloud
This warning is also set when the coregistration weight sums are less than 1.
30 0x40000000 thermal_instability_warning Input spectra have been labeled with a thermal instability warning flag. All
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Table 13: Surface classification for S5P Level 2. This is a combined land/water mask and surface classification data field. For land the “Global Land Cover Characteristics
Data Base Version 2.0” is used [ER8], specifically the “USGS Land Use/Land Cover System (Modified Level 2)” classification. Over water the classification from the
NASA SDP toolkit [ER9], which is based on [RD39].

Bit # Mask (hex) Short name Description

0 0x03 Land The pixel is over land, for more than 50 %
1 0x03 Water The pixel is over water, for more than 50 %
2 0x03 some_water Pixel contains water (however small the fraction), i.e. at least one of the
15 × 15 arcsecond subpixels in the SDP dataset is classified as water
3 0x03 coastline Pixel is water, but contains land (coastline)
0 0x04 mixed_surface Pixel has a mixed surface type. Classification is result of highest bin, not
overwhelming majority, i.e. type covers less than 50 % of pixel surface
4 0x04 value_covers_majority_of_pixel Pixel is dominated by surface type, i.e. type covers more than 50 % of pixel
surface
9 0xF9 Water+Shallow_Ocean Water, shallow ocean
17 0xF9 Water+Shallow_Inland_Water Water, shallow inland water (lake)
25 0xF9 Water+Ocean_Coastline-Lake_Shoreline Water, mixed with land; coastline
33 0xF9 Water+Intermittent_Water Intermittent water, for instance the Wadden Sea
41 0xF9 Water+Deep_Inland_Water Deep inland water
49 0xF9 Water+Continental_Shelf_Ocean Water, continental shelf ocean
57 0xF9 Water+Deep_Ocean Water, deep ocean
8 0xF9 Land+Urban_And_Built-up_Land Land, urban areas
16 0xF9 Land+Dryland_Cropland_And_Pasture Land, Dryland Cropland and Pasture
24 0xF9 Land+Irrigated_Cropland_And_Pasture Land, Irrigated Cropland and Pasture
32 0xF9 Land+Mixed_Dryland-irrigated_Cropland_And_Pasture Land, Mixed Dryland/Irrigated Cropland and Pasture

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40 0xF9 Land+Cropland-grassland_Mosaic Land, Cropland/Grassland Mosaic
48 0xF9 Land+Cropland-woodland_Mosaic Land, Cropland/Woodland Mosaic
56 0xF9 Land+Grassland Land, Grassland

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64 0xF9 Land+Shrubland Land, Shrubland
72 0xF9 Land+Mixed_Shrubland-grassland Land, Mixed Shrubland/Grassland
80 0xF9 Land+Savanna Land, Savanna
88 0xF9 Land+Deciduous_Broadleaf_Forest Land, Deciduous Broadleaf Forest
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Table 13: Surface classification for S5P Level 2 (continued).

Bit # Mask (hex) Short name Description

96 0xF9 Land+Deciduous_Needleleaf_Forest Land, Deciduous Needleleaf Forest
104 0xF9 Land+Evergreen_Broadleaf_Forest Land, Evergreen Broadleaf Forest
112 0xF9 Land+Evergreen_Needleleaf_Forest Land, Evergreen Needleleaf Forest
120 0xF9 Land+Mixed_Forest Land, Mixed Forest
128 0xF9 Land+Herbaceous_Wetland Land, Herbaceous Wetland
136 0xF9 Land+Wooded_Wetland Land, Wooded Wetland
144 0xF9 Land+Barren_Or_Sparsely_Vegetated Land, Barren or Sparsely Vegetated
152 0xF9 Land+Herbaceous_Tundra Land, Herbaceous Tundra
160 0xF9 Land+Wooded_Tundra Land, Wooded Tundra
168 0xF9 Land+Mixed_Tundra Land, Mixed Tundra
176 0xF9 Land+Bare_Ground_Tundra Land, Bare Ground Tundra
184 0xF9 Land+Snow_Or_Ice Land, Snow or Ice

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