Daily Binned Nitrous Oxide Mixing Ratios from Aura MLS Satellite

MLS/Aura Level 3 data provides daily binned nitrous oxide (N2O) mixing ratios on zonal and vertical grids. The dataset offers near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at 4-degree increments and a useful vertical range from 68.1 to 0.464 hPa. It is produced by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) from EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder radiance measurements.

Use Cases

• Analyze lat vs pressure zonal mean N2O averages to study global stratospheric transport patterns.
• Model N2O distribution using equivalent latitude vs potential temperature zonal mean data to isolate vortex dynamics.
• Assess data variability and uncertainty for climate models using the standard deviation and RMS fields within each data group.
• Track temporal evolution of N2O by combining daily binned files into a multi-year time series.
• Compare vortex average vs potential temperature data to examine polar chemical processing.

Strengths

• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Data provided on multiple grids: lat vs pressure, lat vs potential temperature, equivalent latitude vs potential temperature, and vortex average.
• Each data group includes statistical fields: average, min, max, standard deviation, and RMS.

Limitations

• The vertical resolution is between 4 and 6 km, which may be coarse for fine-scale atmospheric process studies.
• Instrument change from 640 GHz to 190 GHz radiometer in August 2013 may introduce consistency considerations for long-term analysis.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

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

Time Range

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

Freshness

null

Geography

Near-global, -82 to +82 degrees latitude at 4-degree latitude zonal increments.