MLS/Aura Daily Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) Mixing Ratios on Global Grids

ML3DBHCN is the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder daily binned product for hydrogen cyanide (HCN) mixing ratios. The data version is 5.1, providing near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a resolution of 4° latitude by 5° longitude. It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and was last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze global HCN distribution patterns based on daily binned data on latitude-longitude-pressure grids.
• Study stratospheric transport and chemistry based on data binned by potential temperature and equivalent latitude.
• Calculate zonal mean statistics for model validation based on the provided average, min, max, standard deviation, and RMS fields.

Strengths

• Data version 5.1 indicates a mature, processed product.
• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Data is archived in netCDF4 format, compatible with standard scientific tools.
• Each file contains six distinct group objects for different analysis perspectives (e.g., lat-lon maps, zonal means).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The recommended useful vertical range is from 21.5 to 0.1 hPa, limiting analysis outside this altitude.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 190 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite.

Time Range

Daily binned product; specific temporal coverage is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:04:46.393370; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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