MLS/Aura Daily Hydrogen Chloride (HCl) Mixing Ratios on Zonal Grids

One year of near-global (-82 to +82 degrees latitude) atmospheric hydrogen chloride (HCl) mixing ratio data, binned daily from the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite. The data is produced by NASA and contains zonal mean and vortex average profiles across multiple vertical grids from 100 to 0.316 hPa. Files are archived in netCDF4 format and contain statistical summaries (average, min, max, std dev, rms) for each grid.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric chlorine chemistry based on HCl mixing ratio profiles.
• Analyzing seasonal and latitudinal variations in HCl based on the zonal mean data.
• Studying polar vortex dynamics using the vortex average vs potential temperature data.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models based on the statistical summaries (average, min, max, std dev, rms) provided.

Strengths

• Data version is specified as 5.1, indicating a mature processing pipeline.
• Spatial coverage is near-global, spanning -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Vertical resolution is between 3 and 6 km across the recommended useful range of 100 to 0.316 hPa.
• Each data file contains one year of data, providing a substantial temporal chunk for analysis.

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 640 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite.

Time Range

One year per data file (specific years not stated).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:33:10.572467; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Near-global coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.