HIRDLS: Global Atmospheric Profiles of Temperature and Trace Species
Updated 15d ago
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Description
Global distributions of temperature, clouds, aerosols, and 10 trace species in the stratosphere and upper troposphere are provided by the High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder. The instrument, a mid-infrared limb-scanning radiometer with 21 channels, was carried on NASA's Aura satellite launched on July 15, 2004. Despite a partial optical obstruction from launch, correction algorithms enable high vertical and horizontal resolution data between about 8 and 100 km altitude.
Use Cases
Monitoring stratospheric ozone (O3) depletion and recovery based on global distribution data.
Studying the transport and sources of greenhouse gases like methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in the upper atmosphere.
Analyzing the vertical structure of clouds and aerosols to improve climate models.
Investigating the chemistry of nitrogen species (NO2, HNO3, N2O5) in the stratosphere.
Tracking the global decline of regulated chlorofluorocarbons (CFC11, CFC12) and related compounds (ClONO2).
Strengths
Provides data for 10 specific trace species (O3, H2O, CH4, N2O, NO2, HNO3, N2O5, CFC11, CFC12, ClONO2) alongside temperature, clouds, and aerosols.
Offers high vertical and horizontal resolution atmospheric profiles from about 8 to 100 km altitude.
Data is corrected for a known instrument anomaly, retaining most scientific capabilities.
Limitations
Specific column names, dataset size, and row counts are not provided in the source metadata.
The instrument's optical beam was partially obstructed after launch, though corrected, which may introduce residual uncertainties.
The last update date (2026-07-08) appears to be a future date, casting doubt on metadata accuracy.
Provenance
Source
High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) instrument on NASA's Aura satellite.