Daily Zonal Hydrogen Cyanide Mixing Ratios from Aura Satellite

MLS/Aura satellite data provides daily binned measurements of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) mixing ratios across near-global latitudes. The dataset contains zonal means and vortex averages across vertical pressure and potential temperature grids, processed by the NASA GES DISC. Each archived file contains one year of data in netCDF4 format.

Use Cases

• Analyze lat vs pressure zonal mean HCN averages to track inter-hemispheric transport of pollution.
• Use equivalent latitude vs potential temperature zonal mean data to study chemical composition inside the polar vortex.
• Correlate vortex average vs potential temperature fields with other trace gases to understand atmospheric dynamics.
• Employ the provided standard deviation and RMS fields for uncertainty quantification in chemical transport models.

Strengths

• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at 4-degree increments.
• Recommended useful vertical range spans from 21.5 hPa to 0.1 hPa with 8-12 km resolution.
• Data files contain multiple statistical views (average, min, max, std dev, rms) for each grid group.

Limitations

• Vertical resolution varies between 8 and 12 km, which may be coarse for fine-scale atmospheric layering studies.
• Useful data is constrained to the recommended pressure range (21.5 to 0.1 hPa), limiting tropospheric analysis.

Provenance

Source

NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC).

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Data files contain one year of data per file; specific years not provided.

Geography

Near-global coverage from 82 degrees south to 82 degrees north latitude.