BUV/Nimbus-4: Backscattered Ultraviolet Radiance Data from 1970-1977
Updated 2mo ago
10filesBIN
Available on 1 platform
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Description
From April 10, 1970 to May 6, 1977, the Nimbus-4 satellite's BUV instrument collected calibrated and geolocated backscattered ultraviolet radiances at 12 wavelengths between 250 and 340 nm during the daylit portion of its orbit. The data collection, produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), also contains quality flags, dark current analyses, orbital information, and housekeeping data. Data collection became increasingly sparse after a partial solar array failure in July 1972, particularly in equatorial regions.
Use Cases
Analyzing historical atmospheric ozone profiles based on backscattered ultraviolet radiance measurements.
Studying long-term changes in ultraviolet radiation levels based on calibrated radiance data from 12 specific wavelengths.
Developing or validating atmospheric models using geolocated orbital data and associated quality flags.
Investigating instrument performance and data gaps based on housekeeping data and the documented operational curtailment after 1972.
Strengths
Data covers a specific operational period from April 1970 to May 1977.
Contains calibrated radiance measurements at 12 distinct ultraviolet wavelengths between 250 and 340 nm.
Includes ancillary data such as quality flags, dark current analyses, and orbital information for context.
Limitations
Data collection became increasingly sparse after a partial power failure in July 1972, limiting coverage, especially in equatorial regions.
Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Data is stored in its original IBM 360 binary format, which may require specialized tools or conversion for modern analysis.
Provenance
Source
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Collection Method
Derived from the Primary Data Base (PDB) product, originally created on IBM 360 machines and archived on magnetic tapes before restoration to disk.
Time Range
April 10, 1970 to May 6, 1977
Freshness
Last updated 2026-03-13 07:33:03.714419; freshness should be verified.
Geography
Global coverage from satellite orbit, with noted sparsity in equatorial regions post-1972.
Data is archived in its original IBM binary file format (.BIN), which may require specific parsing tools. The license is listed as 'other-license-specified'; terms should be reviewed before use.