Annual measurements of nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations in dry air samples collected from Arrival Heights, Ross Island. Between 12 to 18 samples are collected each year, with the record beginning in May 1996. The dataset is produced by SCIOPS and measurements are traceable to World Meteorological Organisation scales.
Use Cases
- Analyze long-term trends in N2O mixing ratio from the annual time-series data.
- Model the relationship between Antarctic atmospheric N2O levels and global greenhouse gas inventories.
- Validate satellite-based atmospheric chemistry models using ground-truth measurements from Arrival Heights.
- Correlate N2O concentration data with other polar climate indicators for seasonal analysis.
Strengths
- Long-term record spanning from May 1996 to present.
- Annual sampling provides consistent 12 to 18 data points per year.
- Measurements are traceable to the World Meteorological Organisation N2O scales.
Limitations
- Sample size is limited to 12-18 annual measurements.
- Geographic coverage is restricted to a single site at Arrival Heights, Ross Island.
- Temporal resolution is annual, missing finer intra-year variability.
Provenance
- Source
- nasa_earthdata
- Collection Method
- Small whole dry air samples (2L) collected by a pump system, dried using magnesium perchlorate, and analyzed for N2O mixing ratio.
- Time Range
- May 1996 - present
- Freshness
- Annual updates.
- Geography
- Arrival Heights, Ross Island, Antarctica