MLS/Aura Hydroxyl Mixing Ratio: Near-Global Atmospheric Data from 2004-2014

MLS/Aura Level 2 Hydroxyl (OH) Mixing Ratio data provides near-global measurements of atmospheric hydroxyl radicals from the Microwave Limb Sounder instrument. The dataset covers a primary period from August 2004 to December 2009, with additional 30-day collection periods in August/September of 2011-2014. Data is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and stored in HDF-EOS5 format.

Use Cases

• Modeling atmospheric hydroxyl radical concentrations based on near-global satellite measurements.
• Analyzing temporal trends in atmospheric chemistry based on data from 2004 to 2014.
• Studying the vertical distribution of hydroxyl radicals based on profiles from 31.6 to 0.00316 hPa.
• Correlating hydroxyl levels with other atmospheric constituents based on geolocated swath data.

Strengths

• Continuous data coverage from August 8, 2004 to December 12, 2009.
• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Data includes specific 30-day collection periods in August/September of 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the THz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).

Time Range

Primary: August 8, 2004 to December 12, 2009. Supplementary: ~30 days in August/September of 2011-2014.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 00:34:51.298894; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Near-global (-82 degrees to +82 degrees latitude).