Satellite Merged Nitrous Oxide Zonal Averages on Pressure Grid

GOZCARDS Merged Nitrous Oxide data provides monthly zonal mean concentrations on a vertical pressure grid. The dataset merges measurements from the ACE-FTS and Aura MLS satellite instruments, with records from 2004 onward. It is produced and distributed by NASA's GES DISC.

Use Cases

• Analyze long-term trends in N2O concentration by latitude and pressure level using the zonal mean values.
• Study the vertical distribution of nitrous oxide from 147 to 0.5 hPa using the pressure grid data.
• Assess inter-instrument consistency by comparing the merged ACE-FTS and Aura MLS data records.
• Calculate variability in atmospheric N2O using the provided standard deviation, minimum, and maximum values for each zonal mean.
• Validate chemical transport model outputs against the satellite-derived, bias-removed merged dataset.

Strengths

• Data merges records from two established satellite instruments: ACE-FTS (v2.2u) and Aura MLS (v3.3).
• Provides derived statistics including standard deviation and min/max values for each zonal mean.
• Covers a vertical pressure range from 147 hPa to 0.5 hPa.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage may have a gap, as the last update recorded was December 31, 2012.
• Spatial resolution is limited to 10-degree zonal (latitude) bands.
• The underlying source data (GozSmlpN2O) is a separate product, requiring additional steps for full provenance analysis.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Merging and bias removal of Level 3 data from ACE-FTS and Aura MLS satellite instruments.

Time Range

2004 onward.

Freshness

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Geography

Global, averaged into 10-degree latitude zones.