GOZCARDS Source Nitrous Oxide: Satellite-Based Zonal Averages on a Pressure Grid

2004 onward monthly zonal averages of nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations derived from ACE-FTS and Aura MLS satellite instruments. The data, provided by NASA, includes statistical measures like standard deviation and min/max values on a vertical pressure grid from 147 to 0.5 hPa. It is distributed in netCDF4 format and serves as source material for a separate merged product.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric nitrous oxide transport and chemistry based on vertical pressure profiles.
• Analyzing long-term trends in atmospheric N2O concentrations based on data from 2004 onward.
• Validating climate and atmospheric chemistry models based on satellite-derived zonal means.
• Studying the variability of N2O concentrations based on provided standard deviation and min/max statistics.

Strengths

• Data originates from two established satellite instruments: ACE-FTS (v2.2) and Aura MLS (v2.2).
• Covers a specific vertical pressure range from 147 to 0.5 hPa.
• Includes derived statistical information beyond the mean, such as standard deviation and minimum/maximum values.
• Temporal coverage extends from 2004 to the present, providing a multi-decade record.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific analytical tasks.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Calculated from original Level 2 satellite instrument data.

Time Range

2004 onward

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:10:37.282145; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global zonal averages