MLS/Aura Daily Sulfur Dioxide Measurements on Zonal Grids

ML3DZSO2 is a daily binned sulfur dioxide (SO2) mixing ratio dataset from the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite. 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 and geolocation fields.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric sulfur dioxide transport based on zonal mean and vortex average data groups.
• Analyzing SO2 vertical profiles for atmospheric chemistry studies based on pressure and potential temperature grids.
• Studying volcanic eruption impacts on the atmosphere using near-global, daily binned measurements.
• Validating climate model outputs against satellite-derived SO2 mixing ratio statistics.

Strengths

• Data version 5.1 indicates a specific, documented processing pipeline.
• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Recommended useful vertical range from 215 to 10 hPa with about 3 km resolution.
• Files contain one year of data and are in netCDF4 format, compatible with HDF5 tools.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the satellite's near-global coverage.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 240 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite.

Time Range

Each file contains one year of data.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:32:29.300607; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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