MLS/Aura Level 3: Daily Binned Geopotential Height Data from 2005 to Present

MLS/Aura satellite data provides daily binned geopotential height measurements derived from 118 and 240 GHz radiometers. The dataset, version 5.1, covers near-global latitudes from -82 to +82 degrees at 4-degree increments and spans from August 2, 2005, to the present. NASA archives the data in netCDF4 files, each containing a year of information across four distinct zonal mean group objects.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric temperature and pressure fields based on geopotential height data.
• Analyzing polar vortex structure and evolution based on the 'equivalent latitude' vs 'potential temperature' zonal mean groups.
• Studying atmospheric wave activity and transport using the lat vs pressure and lat vs potential temperature zonal averages.
• Calculating climatological averages and variability from the provided daily binned statistics (average, min, max, std dev, rms).

Strengths

• Data coverage spans from August 2005 to the present, providing a long-term record.
• Spatial coverage is near-global, from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Files contain multiple statistical measures per grid point, including average, min, max, standard deviation, and RMS.
• Data is archived in the netCDF4 format, which is widely supported by scientific tools.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The recommended useful vertical range is between 261 and 0.001 hPa, which may limit analysis outside those bounds.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for specific modeling tasks.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

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

Time Range

August 2, 2005 to current

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:05:10.767053; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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