Aqua AIRS Monthly Atmospheric Support Data at 1-Degree Resolution

Aqua/AIRS L3 Monthly Support Product provides Level 3 gridded atmospheric data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU), and Humidity Sounder for Brazil (HSB) instruments aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. The dataset contains monthly aggregated, 1-degree by 1-degree gridded values representing atmospheric parameters, though specific columns are not detailed. It is produced by the GES DISC organization and the initial release was in March 2003.

Use Cases

• Analyzing monthly global atmospheric temperature profiles using gridded infrared and microwave sounding data.
• Studying humidity distribution and variability from the combined AIRS, AMSU, and HSB sensor suite.
• Investigating atmospheric composition and support parameters for climate model validation.
• Examining spatial patterns of intermediary or unvalidated atmospheric fields for research purposes.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from a sophisticated instrument suite combining visible, infrared, and microwave sensors for atmospheric sounding.
• Provides global coverage with a consistent 1-degree by 1-degree spatial grid for monthly time periods.

Limitations

• The dataset contains fields that are not fully validated and may include values from failed retrievals, as quality control information is unavailable for some fields.
• Critical metadata such as specific column names, row counts, and file size are unknown across all sources.
• There is a conflict in reported last-updated dates, with NASA Earthdata listing March 2003 and Data.gov listing March 2026, creating uncertainty about data currency.

Provenance

Source

GES_DISC (Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center)

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the AIRS, AMSU, and HSB instruments on NASA's Aqua spacecraft, gridded to a 1x1 degree global monthly product.

Freshness

2026-03-13 17:52:00.099810

Geography

Global