AIRS/Aqua L3 Monthly Support: Atmospheric Sounding Data

AIRS/Aqua L3 Monthly Support Product (AIRH3SPM) is a satellite-derived atmospheric dataset from NASA's EOS Aqua platform. It contains visible, infrared, and microwave sensor data from the AIRS, AMSU, and HSB instruments, aggregated to a 1-degree by 1-degree spatial grid on a monthly basis. The data includes fields which are not fully validated or are intermediary values, as noted by the NASA GES DISC.

Use Cases

• Analyzing atmospheric temperature profiles based on infrared and microwave sounding data.
• Studying atmospheric water vapor and humidity levels based on the combined sensor suite.
• Investigating cloud properties and types based on the described atmospheric sounding group.
• Monitoring trace gases and atmospheric chemistry based on the listed platform tags for carbon monoxide and oxygen.

Strengths

• Data originates from NASA's EOS Aqua satellite, a major Earth observation platform.
• Combines measurements from three distinct sensor types: visible, infrared, and microwave.
• Provides a long-term record with a last update timestamp in March 2026.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The dataset contains fields which are not fully validated, as noted in the description.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Satellite observations from the AIRS, AMSU, and HSB instruments aboard the EOS Aqua platform.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 06:13:36.625729; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage, based on the polar-orbiting satellite platform.