Satellite Water Vapor Zonal Averages on a Pressure Grid

GOZCARDS Source Water Vapor data provides monthly zonal averages, standard deviations, and min/max values on a vertical pressure grid. The dataset merges measurements from four satellite instruments: HALOE (1991-2005), UARS MLS (1991-1997), ACE-FTS (2004-onward), and Aura MLS (2004-onward). It was last updated by the GES DISC in December 2012.

Use Cases

• Analyzing long-term trends in stratospheric water vapor using zonal mean values across pressure levels from 147 to 0.01 hPa.
• Assessing measurement uncertainty and variability by comparing standard deviation and min/max value fields from different satellite sources.
• Creating merged atmospheric composition products by using this source data as input for algorithms like those in the GozMmlpH2O product.
• Studying inter-instrument consistency by comparing zonal averages from HALOE, UARS MLS, ACE-FTS, and Aura MLS over overlapping time periods.

Strengths

• Combines data from four established satellite instruments spanning from 1991 onward.
• Provides derived statistical fields like standard deviation and minimum/maximum values alongside zonal means.
• Covers a specific vertical pressure range from 147 to 0.01 hPa for atmospheric profiling.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is inconsistent across source instruments, with gaps between some mission periods.
• Data has not been updated since 2012, limiting analysis of recent atmospheric changes.
• Spatial resolution is limited to 10-degree zonal means, lacking finer granularity.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Calculated zonal means and statistics from original Level 2 satellite instrument data.

Time Range

1991 onward, with instrument-specific coverage periods.

Freshness

Last updated 2012-12-31; no stated update frequency.

Geography

Global zonal (latitude band) coverage.