Satellite Ice Water Content Grids from HIRDLS and MLS Instruments

February 2005 to December 2007 data provides monthly gridded ice water content measurements from the joint HIRDLS and MLS satellite instruments. The dataset, version 2, was produced by the GES DISC organization using v3.3 MLS and v7 HIRDLS input data. It offers near-global spatial coverage from -80 to +90 degrees latitude.

Use Cases

• Analyze spatial and temporal trends in ice water content using the gridded IWC values across the -80 to +90 degree latitude range.
• Compare cloud properties from two instruments by examining the separate HIRDLS and MLS grid objects, which include fields for volume density, cloud top pressure, and cloud frequency.
• Study vertical profiles of atmospheric ice using data fields organized by vertical pressure information from 215 to 82 hPa.
• Correlate cloud occurrence with other atmospheric variables using the time, latitude, and pressure dimensions included in each grid.

Strengths

• Covers a specific 35-month mission period from February 2005 to December 2007.
• Provides vertically resolved data with a useful range from 215 to 82 hPa pressure levels.
• Combines measurements from two satellite instruments, HIRDLS and MLS, into a single product.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with the last update in December 2007, limiting analysis of recent trends.
• Spatial coverage is near-global but does not include the highest polar latitudes above +90 degrees.
• Vertical resolution differs between instruments (approx. 1.5 km for HIRDLS vs. 3 km for MLS), complicating direct comparison.

Provenance

Source

GES_DISC (Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center).

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing data from the HIRDLS and MLS instruments on the Aura spacecraft, gridded into a Level 3 product.

Time Range

February 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007.

Freshness

Static dataset; last updated December 31,的无2007.

Geography

Near-global, -80 to +90 degrees latitude.