ATMOSL2PF: Atmospheric Trace Gas Profiles from Four Shuttle Missions

ATMOS Level 2 product version 3 contains vertical concentrations of 35 trace gases, including ozone-depleting chlorine and fluorine molecules, reported at 85 pressure levels from 1 to 10^-7 atm. The data were collected by a Fourier transform interferometer spectrometer during four NASA space shuttle missions between 1985 and 1994. Files include time, geolocation, and other information, grouped by mission and occultation type.

Use Cases

• Analyze vertical profiles of ozone-depleting substances based on reported concentrations of HCl, HF, ClONO2, and CFCs.
• Study diurnal variations in nitrogen oxides based on NO and NO2 data with and without diurnal correction.
• Model atmospheric transport and chemistry based on co-measured concentrations of H2O, CO2, CH4, and N2O.
• Investigate historical trends in trace gases based on data spanning four missions from 1985 to 1994.

Strengths

• Reports concentrations for 35 distinct trace gas species.
• Provides vertical profiles at 85 standardized pressure levels.
• Data spans four distinct shuttle missions over a 9-year period from 1985 to 1994.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data format is FORTRAN-friendly fixed field ASCII, which may require specialized parsing.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measured by the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) Fourier transform interferometer on space shuttle missions.

Time Range

April 30, 1985 to November 12, 1994

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 08:54:34.677354; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global coverage from space shuttle orbits.