MLS/Aura Daily Binned Relative Humidity With Respect To Ice (RHI) on Zonal Grids

ML3DZRHI is a daily binned product for relative humidity with respect to ice derived from radiances measured by the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder. The data version is 5.1, with near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at 4-degree increments. Each netCDF4 file contains one year of data, organized into four group objects with statistical fields.

Use Cases

• Modeling atmospheric humidity and ice processes based on relative humidity with respect to ice (RHI) data.
• Analyzing zonal mean humidity distributions based on the latitude vs pressure and latitude vs potential temperature grids.
• Studying polar vortex dynamics based on the equivalent latitude vs potential temperature and vortex average groups.
• Conducting time-series analysis of atmospheric water vapor based on daily binned data spanning a year.

Strengths

• Data covers a near-global latitude range from -82 to +82 degrees.
• Each file contains a full year of data, facilitating annual cycle analysis.
• Data includes multiple statistical fields per group: average, min, max, standard deviation, and rms.
• Vertical resolution is between 3 and 6 km over a recommended range from 316 to 0.0215 hPa.

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 118 and 190 GHz radiometers on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder.

Time Range

Data files contain one year of data; specific years are not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:32:32.597918; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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