GOME-2 is an enhancement of the ESA GOME-1 instrument flown on ERS-2, the Earth Observation satellite, which to date continues to provide a wealth of scientific data from orbit.

Within the EUMETSAT Polar System, which consists of a space segment comprised of three METOP satellites and their payloads, and a ground segment for command, control and data processing, GOME-2 is the operational instrument specifically devoted to measuring the ozone content in the atmosphere.

GOME-2 measurements will allow the daily global retrieval of total ozone and vertical ozone profile in the atmospheric, and in addition, the measurement of atmospheric trace gases.

The EUMETSAT Polar System, and the ESA METOP-1 Programme together form a co-operative venture between the two organisations, and lead to the launch of the first METOP satellite in mid-2003. The system provides operational meteorological data from polar orbiting satellites, to complement and complete an international system of polar satellites operated together with the US.

The contract on the procurement of three flight models of the GOME-2 instrument was signed today by Dr. Claudio Mastracci, ESA Director of Applications Programmes, Dr. Tillmann Mohr, EUMETSAT Director, and Dr. Giancarlo Grasso, Deputy Head, Defence Sector of Finmeccanica for Alenia Difesa/Officine Galileo BU Spazio.

The variations of atmospheric ozone are of vital importance for many reasons, and its distribution in the atmosphere needs to be mapped continuously. The enhanced GOME-2 instrument on METOP will continue the series of ESA measurements started by GOME-1 on ERS-2 and to be provided by the SCIAMACHY instrument on ESA's environmental satellite Envisat due to be launched in 2001.

In addition to innovative data for Numerical Weather Prediction, one of the most important contributions of GOME-2 will be the continuation and improvement of the climate record of ozone. Monthly and seasonal maps of ozone distribution throughout the atmosphere will provide a record of its variation with time and will help detect long-term trends of major importance for the health of the planet and its population.

The GOME-2 Instrument
The instrument consists of a scanning telescope and a spectrometer that senses the solar radiation back-scattered by the Earth in the ultraviolet and visible part of the spectrum (240nm-790nm) with a resolution of 0.2nm-0.4nm.

Its design is an evolution of the GOME-1 instrument, in operation on board ERS-2 since 1995. Improvements have been made in GOME-2 to achieve daily global coverage (with a nominal pixel size of 80Km x 40Km) and to increase its polarisation measurement capability allowing the detection of clouds and aerosols.

Data from GOME-2 will be used to generate maps of total atmospheric ozone as well as information on its vertical distribution. Satellite measurements of ozone in the upper atmosphere, when routinely assimilated into Numerical Weather Prediction models will have a large impact on the quality of the forecasts of ozone distribution and will also contribute to the improvement of weather forecasts.

The reason for this is that there are very few other observations of this important altitude region and changes in the structures of the ozone fields carry useful information about the atmospheric wind fields. Ozone measurements also contribute to the production of reliable estimates and forecasts of the amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth's surface.

Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment

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