GOZCARDS Source Ozone: 1-Month Zonal Averages from Multiple Satellite Instruments

NASA's GOZCARDS project provides global zonal mean ozone data on a vertical pressure grid from 147 to 0.5 hPa. The dataset merges measurements from seven satellite instruments, including SAGE I, SAGE II, HALOE, UARS MLS, ACE-FTS, Aura MLS, and SAGE III, covering a period from 1979 onward. It contains calculated averages, standard deviations, and minimum/maximum values for ozone concentration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term stratospheric ozone trends based on multi-instrument data from 1979 onward.
• Validating satellite instrument consistency for ozone measurements based on zonal mean comparisons.
• Modeling atmospheric chemistry on a vertical pressure grid based on data from 147 to 0.5 hPa.
• Studying zonal (latitude band) distribution of ozone based on 10-degree zonal averages.

Strengths

• Integrates data from seven distinct satellite instruments, providing cross-validation.
• Covers a long temporal range, with source data beginning in 1979.
• Provides derived statistics like standard deviation and min/max values alongside zonal means.
• Data is distributed in the self-describing netCDF4 format.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific modeling tasks.
• The dataset is a source product; a merged, consistent product (GozMmlpO3) is separate.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via the GES DISC.

Collection Method

Zonal means and statistics calculated from original Level 2 satellite instrument data.

Time Range

1979 onward, with instrument-specific coverage periods (e.g., SAGE I: 1979-1981, ACE-FTS: 2004 onward).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:30:41.266640; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global, aggregated into 10-degree latitude bands (zonal means).