Nimbus-4 BUV Ozone Zonal Means with Pressure Levels

April 1970 to May 1977 data from the Nimbus-4 satellite's Backscatter Ultraviolet (BUV) instrument provides monthly, weekly, daily, and quarterly zonal means of total ozone, reflectivity, and ozone mixing ratios across 10-degree latitude zones. The dataset, originally processed on IBM 360 systems and restored from magnetic tapes, includes statistical measures like standard deviation and sample size for each averaged observation. It is hosted by NASA's GES DISC and represents a key early satellite record of stratospheric ozone before the instrument's operational decline after a 1972 power system failure.

Use Cases

• Analyzing latitudinal and temporal trends in total ozone columns from 80°N to 80°S using the 10-degree zonal means.
• Studying vertical ozone distribution by examining mixing ratios across 19 specified pressure levels from 0.3 to 100 mbar.
• Assessing data reliability and variability for specific zones and time periods using the included standard deviation, minimum, maximum, and sample size statistics.
• Comparing early satellite-derived ozone records with later instruments to understand measurement consistency and instrument drift.

Strengths

• Provides a multi-year record from a pioneering instrument, covering a critical period from 1970 to 1977 for atmospheric baseline studies.
• Includes detailed statistical metadata (standard deviation, min, max, sample size) for each zonal mean, allowing for uncertainty analysis.
• Offers data at multiple temporal resolutions (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) and 19 vertical pressure levels for detailed analysis.

Limitations

• Data sparsity increased significantly after July 1972 due to a partial solar array failure, particularly affecting equatorial regions.
• Data is stored in an original IBM binary file format (approximately 380 kB per file), which may require specialized tools or knowledge to parse.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (1977-05-06 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-03-13 on Data.gov), creating uncertainty about recent stewardship.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC)

Collection Method

Satellite measurements from the Nimbus-4 Backscatter Ultraviolet (BUV) instrument, processed into zonal means on IBM 360 machines and restored from archived magnetic tapes.

Time Range

1970-04-10 to 1977-05-06

Freshness

1977-05-06 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Global, averaged in 10-degree latitude zones from 80°N to 80°S.