BUVN04L3zm: Nimbus-4 Satellite Ozone Profiles and Total Column Data

72 months of ozone profile and total column data from May 1970 through April 1976, derived from the Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet instrument on the Nimbus-4 satellite. The Level-3 monthly zonal mean product averages good retrievals across 36 five-degree latitude bands. It was produced by NASA using the v8.6 SBUV algorithm.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical ozone layer depletion based on profile data at 21 pressure layers
• Studying latitudinal ozone distribution based on zonal means across 36 latitude bands
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models based on total column ozone estimates
• Investigating seasonal ozone variability based on monthly zonal means from 1970-1976

Strengths

• 72 months of continuous data from May 1970 to April 1976
• Zonal means computed across 36 five-degree latitude bands
• Profile data provided at 21 pressure layers from 1013.25 hPa to 0.101325 hPa
• Data screened using statistical criteria for number of retrievals, mean latitude, and mean time

Limitations

• Some profiles have 20 layers and do not report the topmost layer
• Total error flag = 5 is anomalously applied at high latitudes and may be removed in future versions
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from Level-2 retrieved ozone profiles using the v8.6 SBUV algorithm from the Solar Backscattered Ultraviolet instrument on Nimbus-4.

Time Range

May 1970 through April 1976

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 07:28:58.206212; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global, with data averaged into 5-degree latitude zones