MLS/Aura ML3DBT: Daily Binned Atmospheric Temperature on Assorted Grids

Daily binned temperature data derived from radiances measured by the 118 and 240 GHz radiometers on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite. The data version is 4.2, with near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at a resolution of 4° latitude by 5° longitude. The data is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is archived in netCDF4 format, with each file containing six group objects for different map and zonal mean views.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global temperature distributions based on lat-lon map vs pressure data.
• Studying zonal mean temperature structures based on lat vs pressure zonal mean data.
• Investigating atmospheric dynamics using equivalent latitude and vortex average data.
• Validating climate models using the provided statistical fields (average, min, max, std dev, rms).

Strengths

• Data version 4.2 indicates a mature, processed product.
• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Vertical resolution between 3 and 6 km across a range from 261 to 0.001 hPa.
• Each file contains six structured group objects with statistical and geolocation fields.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 118 and 240 GHz radiometers on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite.

Time Range

Daily binned data; specific date range is not provided in the description.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:32:22.232386; freshness should be verified.

Geography

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