ML3DZH2O: Daily Binned Water Vapor Mixing Ratio from Aura Satellite

Daily binned water vapor (H2O) mixing ratio data derived from the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite. The dataset is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with files containing one year of data each. Spatial coverage is near-global from -82 to +82 degrees latitude at 4-degree zonal increments, with vertical resolution varying from 1.5 km to 15 km.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric humidity trends based on daily binned zonal mean data.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of water vapor mixing ratio across latitude bands.
• Studying polar vortex dynamics using equivalent latitude vs potential temperature grids.
• Validating climate model outputs against satellite-derived water vapor statistics (average, min, max, std dev).

Strengths

• Near-global spatial coverage from -82 to +82 degrees latitude.
• Data files contain one full year of observations, facilitating annual trend analysis.
• Provides multiple statistical views (average, min, max, std dev, rms) across four distinct grid group objects.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The recommended useful vertical range is between 316 and 0.00215 hPa, with degraded resolution (15 km) above 0.1 hPa.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Derived from radiances measured by the 190 GHz radiometer on the EOS Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).

Time Range

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

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:02:07.786537; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Near-global (-82 to +82 degrees latitude).