Daily Binned Nitrous Oxide Mixing Ratios from Aura Satellite

MLS/Aura Level 3 data provides daily binned nitrous oxide (N2O) mixing ratios on zonal and vertical grids. The dataset is derived from Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) radiance measurements and processed by the GES DISC. Data files contain one year of observations per file in netCDF4 format.

Use Cases

• Analyze lat vs pressure zonal mean N2O averages to study global stratospheric transport patterns.
• Investigate seasonal variability of N2O using the lat vs potential temperature zonal mean data group.
• Compare vortex average vs potential temperature N2O values to examine polar chemical processes.
• Utilize the standard deviation and RMS fields within each data group to assess measurement uncertainty and data quality.
• Map near-global N2O distributions from -82 to +82 degrees latitude for climate model input or validation.

Strengths

• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Recommended useful vertical range spans from 68.1 to 0.464 hPa with 4-6 km vertical resolution.
• Data files contain multiple statistical measures per grid cell, including average, min, max, std dev, and rms.

Limitations

• Instrument change occurred on August 6, 2013, shifting from 640 GHz to 190 GHz radiometer, which may introduce inhomogeneities for long-term trend analysis.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and total temporal coverage are not provided in the description.
• Data is binned at 4-degree latitude increments, which limits fine-scale spatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

NASA EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), processed and archived by the GES DISC.

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the MLS 640 GHz and later 190 GHz radiometers, binned daily onto zonal and vertical grids.

Time Range

Data files contain one year of data per file; specific start and end years are not stated.

Freshness

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Geography

Near-global, -82 to +82 degrees latitude.